Shifting cultivation is a dominant form of farming in the eastern Himalayas, practised by a diverse group of indigenous people from the most marginalized social and economic groups. The survival of these indigenous people and the survival of their forests are inextricably linked. However, policy makers and natural resource managers perceive shifting cultivation to be wasteful, destructive to forests, and unsustainable.
Forests, trees and woodlands cover almost one-third of the Earth’s land area. They are a crucial source of food and income for more than a billion people around the globe. They provide a variety of wood and non-wood products and vital ecosystem services – preventing erosion from wind and water, preserving water quality, shading crops and livestock, absorbing carbon which contributes to countering climate change, and providing habitat for many species of plants and animals, thus helping to conserve the planet’s biological diversity.
Degradation of forests can have severe negative local impacts and far-reaching consequences, including soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, dust storms, diminished livelihood opportunities and reduced yields of forest products and services. Reversing the adverse conditions requires urgent and scaled-up action, through scientific and holistic landscape-level restoration approaches, balancing both socio-economic and environmental goals and the diverse needs of various sectors and stakeholders in the landscape.
Bangladesh is faced by a number of environmental crises, including an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme climatic events, a scarcity of natural resources and the degradation of the natural environment. Combined with high rates of poverty, these heighten vulnerability to environmental shocks. To address these challenges, effective investment in the environment and forestry sectors is essential.
There are numerous global, regional, national and even subnational targets for increasing forest area and forest restoration. In light of these global targets and emerging ambitious national commitments, it is imperative to develop low-cost strategies and techniques for landscape restoration. The most widely used restoration strategies involving planting of tree seedlings are often costly and their application for restoring vast expanses of degraded forest lands in the region may be limited.
Este documento es el resultado final de ese proceso. Dirigido a una audiencia mundial – que comprende las instancias decisorias urbanas, funcionarios públicos, asesores políticos y demás partes interesadas – contribuirá al desarrollo de bosques urbanos y periurbanos que ayuden a las ciudades a resolver sus exigencias actuales y futuras de productos forestales y servicios del ecosistema.
Report of the 24th Session of the Committee on Forestry
The critical role of forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation is now widely recognized. Forests contribute significantly to climate change mitigation through their carbon sink and carbon storage functions. They play an essential role in reducing vulnerabilities and enhancing adaptation of people and ecosystems to climate change and climate variability, the negative impacts of which are becoming increasingly evident in many parts of the world.
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