State of the World's Forests 2014

By Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Across the world, forests, trees on farms, and agroforestry systems play a crucial role in the livelihoods of rural people by providing employment, energy, nutritious foods and a wide range of other goods and ecosystem services. They have tremendous potential to contribute to sustainable development and to a greener economy. Yet, clear evidence of this has been lacking. This evidence is critical to inform policies on forest management and use, and to ensure that the benefits from forests are recognized in the post-2015 development agenda, not only with respect to the environment, but also for their contributions to broader social issues. This edition of State of the World’s Forests addresses this knowledge gap by systematically gathering and analysing available data on forests’ contributions to people’s livelihoods, food, health, shelter and energy needs. Crucially, the report also suggests how information might be improved and policies adjusted, so that the socioeconomic benefits from forests can be enhanced in the future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• Release date: Apr 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9789251084502

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

An intergovernmental organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has 194 Member Nations, two associate members and one member organization, the European Union. Its employees come from various cultural backgrounds and are experts in the multiple fields of activity FAO engages in. FAO’s staff capacity allows it to support improved governance inter alia, generate, develop and adapt existing tools and guidelines and provide targeted governance support as a resource to country and regional level FAO offices. Headquartered in Rome, Italy, FAO is present in over 130 countries.Founded in 1945, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO provides a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. The Organization publishes authoritative publications on agriculture, fisheries, forestry and nutrition.

Book preview

Cover illustration: Elena Grossi

Photos on divider pages:

Chapter 1: Patrick Dugan, President of Bagong Pag-asa Foundation Incorporate, Philippines, and supporter of the implementation of the Assisted Natural Reforestation project, points out trees that have flourished thanks to the project.

Chapter 2: Nakiru, from the Karamojong ethnic group of agro-pastoral herders living mainly in the north-east of Uganda, learns how to spell the words tree and table in her tribal language.

Chapter 3: Making furniture, Hanoi, Viet Nam.

Chapter 4: High-rise housing seen from the elevated walkway of the Forest Walk, Southern Ridges, Singapore.

Chapter 5: Children planting trees, Guatemala.

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.

ISBN 978-92-5-108269-0 (print)

E-ISBN 978-92-5-108270-6 (PDF)

E-ISBN 978-92-5-108450-2 (EPUB)

© FAO, 2014

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Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Acronyms and abbreviations

Executive summary

Key findings

Key messages

1. Introduction

2. The measurement of socioeconomic benefits

Key message

The definition of socioeconomic benefits

Current measures of the socioeconomic benefits from forests

A proposed definition of the socioeconomic benefits from forests

3. The multiple benefits provided by forests

Key findings

Income from forestry and forest-related activities

The numbers of people benefiting from income generation

Consumption benefits

The importance of forest benefits for specific groups

4. Policy measures to enhance forest-related benefits

Key messages

Securing and sustaining forests’ benefits

Encouraging the provision of goods and services contributing to poverty reduction and the development of rural communities

Improving access to forest resources and markets to support livelihoods and income diversification

Creating enabling environments to encourage investment and related involvement of local and indigenous communities

Encouraging voluntary instruments as a means of developing and promoting forest products from sustainably managed forests and improving market transparency

Promoting efficient production and processing of forest products, and related waste reduction and recycling

Promoting fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the utilization of traditional forest-related knowledge and practices

Recognizing the range of values derived from forest-related goods and services and reflecting them in the marketplace

5. Strengthening the links between policies and benefits

Key findings and messages

Summary of the main socioeconomic benefits from forests

Summary of the main policy developments since 2007

Opportunities to enhance the socioeconomic benefits from forests

References

Annexes

Annex 1. Data sources used to assess the socioeconomic benefits from forests

Annex 2. Contribution of the formal forest sector to employment and GDP, 2011

Annex 3. Indicators of the socioeconomic benefits from forests, 2011

Annex 4. Data sources used to obtain information on countries’ policy measures to enhance forest-related benefits

Figures

Figure 1: Hierarchy of needs that may be satisfied by the consumption of forest goods and services

Figure 2: Contribution of the forest sector to GDP in 2011

Figure 3: Income generated in the forest sector across the global population in 2011

Figure 4: Contribution of the forest sector to employment in 2011

Figure 5: Contribution of wood energy to TPES in 2011

Figure 6: Contribution of wood energy to TPES across the global population in 2011

Figure 7: Proportion of households using woodfuel for cooking in 2011

Figure 8: Proportion of households where forest products are the main material used in house construction in 2011

Figure 9: Relationship between the contribution of the forest sector to GDP and per capita GDP in 2011

Figure 10: Relationship between the proportion of households cooking with wood in a country and per capita GDP in 2011

Boxes

Box 1: How many people live in or near forests?

Box 2: The impact of PES on forestry income

Box 3: Estimated impacts on human health of cooking with woodfuel in 2011

Box 4: Burkina Faso – enhancing socioeconomic benefits from NWFPs

Box 5: Specific poverty reduction measures in national forest policies – Nepal

Box 6: Public forest programmes creating jobs – the US Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program

Box 7: Forest land allocation in Viet Nam

Box 8: Amending forest concessions – Brazil

Box 9: China – Forest Tenure Trade Centres and Forest Farmer Cooperatives

Box 10: Promoting more efficient energy markets: charcoal producer associations in Kenya

Box 11: Guyana log-tracking system

Box 12: Recognizing rights of indigenous peoples and their cultural and spiritual values – Peru and Ecuador

Box 13: Forest tourism as an economic pillar – China

Box 14: Costa Rica – natural capital accounting

Tables

Table 1: Information currently collected regularly on the socioeconomic benefits from forests

Table 2: The linkages between the production and consumption of forests goods and services and fulfilment of human needs

Table 3: Summary of available information on the socioeconomic benefits from forests

Table 4: Value added in the forest sector and contribution to GDP in 2011, by region and ub-sector

Table 5: Estimated income from the informal production of woodfuel and forest products used for house construction in 2011

Table 6: Estimated income from the informal production of NWFPs in 2011

Table 7: Total employment and average proportion of the workforce employed in the forest sector in 2011, by region and sub-sector

Table 8: Estimated amount of labour used to produce woodfuel and charcoal in 2011

Table 9: Estimated number of people engaged in woodfuel and charcoal production in 2011

Table 10: Estimated number of people that benefit from private forest ownership

Table 11: Consumption of food from forests in 2011, by region and source

Table 12: Contribution of edible NWFPs to food supply, by region and source

Table 13: Consumption of wood energy in 2011, by region and source

Table 14: Proportion of households cooking with woodfuel in 2011, by region and fuel type

Table 15: Proportion of households where forest products are the main material used in houses in 2011, by region and type of use

Table 16: Number of people using woodfuel to boil and sterilize water

Table 17: Proportion of urban and rural households cooking with woodfuel in 2011

Table 18: Number and proportion of urban and rural households using forest products for housing in 2011

Table 19: Female employment as a proportion of total employment in 2011, by region and sub-sector

Table 20: Estimated number of people engaged in woodfuel and charcoal production in 2011, by gender and type of engagement

Table 21: Key socioeconomic benefits and relevant national policies and measures of the Forest Instrument

Table 22: Main sources used for Chapter 4

Table 23: Countries amending NFPs or forest policies with reference to SFM or developing C&I for SFM since 2007

Table 24: Forest-related measures in PRSPs issued since 2007

Table 25: Examples of countries that have substantively addressed producer organizations and forest small and medium enterprise development since 2007

Table 26: Countries with recent (2009–2013) NFPs or forest policies addressing investment in forest resources

Table 27: Examples of national forest funds established or strengthened since 2007

Table 28: Countries addressing TFRK-related measures in policies or reports

Table 29: TFRK measures reported by countries to international bodies

Table 30: Types of measures to recognize the range of values of forests and trees, and to reflect them in the market place

Table 31: Summary of the socioeconomic benefits from forests in 2011

Foreword

This edition of FAO’s State of the World’s Forests (SOFO 2014) analyses data on the socioeconomic benefits of forests, showing that well managed forests have tremendous potential to contribute to sustainable development and to promote food security: goals that are at the heart of FAO’s mandate.

Forests are widely known as the world’s largest repository of terrestrial biodiversity. They also play a vital role in global climate change mitigation and contribute to soil and water conservation in many fragile ecosystems.

Furthermore, forests contribute significantly to food security in many ways. Millions of people depend on food from forests, and from trees located outside forests, to increase the nutritional quality and diversity of their diets. This is particularly relevant during periods of seasonal food shortages, extreme climatic events and conflict. They also contribute to rural livelihoods and poverty alleviation through income generated by employment in the production of forest goods and services.

As reported in SOFO 2014, about one-third of the world’s population, living mainly in less developed countries, rely on wood as their primary or only energy source. They use woodfuel to prepare safe and nutritious food and, in many cases, to sterilize water by boiling. Forests can also contribute to poverty alleviation by providing sustainable and affordable shelter.

To further measure the importance of forests, we need to improve our understanding of the people who live in and around forests – in many cases depending directly on forests for their livelihoods. For this reason, one of the key recommendations of SOFO 2014 is that data collection must focus on people – not on trees alone.

This is a very timely statement, given that the International Year of Family Farming is being celebrated in 2014, an observance that FAO is honored to coordinate on behalf of the United Nations System.

Forest dwellers are part of the group of family farmers, pastoralists and artisanal fishers that already play an important role in guaranteeing food security, promoting sustainable development and preserving biodiversity in many countries but, at the same time, are among the world’s most vulnerable people.

I hope you will enjoy reading SOFO 2014 and that it will stimulate new ideas on the multiple relationships between people and forests and how we can work together on their advancement in order to promote food security and sustainable development.

Acknowledgements

State of the World’s Forests 2014 was prepared by E. Rametsteiner and A. Whiteman under the overall coordination of E. Muller. Substantial inputs were provided by I. Animon, J. Baumgartner, D. Judge-Lord, D. Kneeland, A. Lebedys and Y. Li. Inputs were also provided by R. d’Annunzio, F. Bojang, M. Boscolo, A. Ferrazzo, A. Halloran, M. Hogarth, L. Jin, F. Kafeero, V. Khristolyubova, I. Kouplevatskaya, Q. Ma, K. MacDicken, R. Matta, J. Maes, J. Mbairamadji, C. Münke, L. Pettinotti, J. Tissari and M. Wilkie. The publication benefited from reviews and comments from many members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) and other technical divisions within FAO. S. Lapstun edited and coordinated the production of the publication. The FAO Meeting Programming and Documentation Service provided printing services and carried out the translations, with feedback from N. Berrahmouni, A. Hamid, D. Morales, D. Reeb, D. Rozas, and C. Sabogal, in addition to the contributors mentioned above. FAO’s Office for Corporate Communication provided design and editorial support. Layout was carried out by ITCILO on the basis of a design by O. Bolbol.

Acronyms and abbreviations

Executive summary

This edition of FAO’s State of the World’s Forests report ( SOFO 2014 ) addresses a crucial knowledge gap by bringing together and analysing data about the socioeconomic benefits of forests that has not been systematically examined before.

The first chapter of the report sets out its context and purpose. Although forests provide employment, energy, nutritious foods and a wide range of other goods and ecosystem services, clear evidence of this has been lacking. This evidence is necessary to inform policy decisions regarding forest management and use and to ensure that the socioeconomic benefits from forests are recognized in the post-2015 agenda.

Chapter 2 describes what is known about the socioeconomic benefits from forests. It provides a working definition of these benefits for the purposes of this publication, i.e. the basic human needs and improvements in quality of life (higher order needs) that are satisfied by the consumption of goods and services from forests and trees or are supported indirectly by income and employment in the forest sector. The approaches currently available for measuring forests’ socioeconomic benefits are often inadequate, however, due both to methodological limitations and a lack of reliable data.

Section 3 presents the data that was collected