Forests are home to most of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity, yet forests and their biodiversity continue to be lost at an alarming rate. Deforestation is the greatest driver of the loss of valuable plants and animals, but there are other threats include: over-harvesting of timber, invasive species, climate change, desertification and forest fires.
The conservation of the world’s biodiversity is utterly dependent on the way in which we interact with and use the world’s forests. The critical importance of sustainable forest management in halting deforestation and forest degradation, and the associated decline in supply of ecosystem services, is well recognized. However, much more needs to be done to make sure that the conservation and sustainable utilization of biodiversity are embedded at every level of forest management.
Regarding this sensitive issue, a special event entitled "Biodiversity mainstreaming in forestry" was organized as part of COFO26, which will be held on 6th October 2022 starting at 8:15 am CEST in the Red Room of the FAO headquarters.
The objectives of this special event are to:
- report on the key findings of the review on biodiversity mainstreaming in forestry;
- launch and disseminate the FAO Forestry Paper “Mainstreaming biodiversity in forestry”;
- discuss the way forward with member countries and partner organizations to validate and support the implementation of recommendations from the review on the ground.
This special event will be attended also the International Model Forest Network through the intervention of Toni Ventre (General Secretary of the Mediterranean Model Forest Network).
For those who did not have the opportunity to participate, they can follow the event online by registering at this link: https://fao.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0kd-irrj4pEtPykLf1Epr3ippnt3CIoIBT
The publication “Mainstreaming biodiversity in forestry” will be available for download form 6th Octobre 2022 at this link: https://www.fao.org/sustainable-forest-management/toolbox/tools/tool-detail/en/c/1605869/