Forest and land use - Risk reduction and adaptation rolled into one

Forest and land use measures have the potential to compensate many times over the current annual worldwide emissions of greenhouse gases by 2030. Such measures have a positive effect on the community, on the availability of water and on the stability of soil for agricultural use, at the same time enabling rural populations to satisfy their basic needs and earn additional income.

Key facts

•

For more than 2.5 billion people, wood, charcoal and biomass are the only sources of energy.

•

The restoration of natural vegetation increases the stability of the soil and the availability of water, while revitalising agricultural and livestock production.

•

Unsustainable forest and land use is responsible for one-fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

•Without the sale of wood for heating and building as well as natural products from the forest, farmers and their families would lose 60% of their annual income. The remainder would have to be used to buy imported building materials and fuel.

Some 25% of the planet’s land area, i.e. about 33 million square kilometres, is covered by forest. About 130,000 square kilometres of forest has disappeared every year for the past 20 years. An additional 10 million square kilometres has suffered degradation to a greater or lesser extent due to the unsustainable harvesting of timber or to agricultural encroachment. This destruction has immediate consequences for the local and global climates, the availability of water and the fertility of the soil. Reorganisation of the use of agricultural land to allow for population growth and the increasing demand for living space could help to reverse this trend.

The challenges facing us today
Land use techniques in many developing countries such as field-forest rotation are unsustainable. The situation requires measures that would allow more intensive use, developing both the agricultural and forestry potential. Farmers must be taught land management techniques that are both economically and ecologically beneficial, or must begin the practice of agroforestry or piecemeal afforestation.
Where there is collective ownership of the land, there is a need for the regeneration of natural forest and scrubland vegetation under new rules of exploitation that apply to all social classes and rural communities.
In cases of limited availability of state funds, the responsibility for forest management as well as the corresponding user rights should be transferred to the local communities and village collectives. Profits from the sale of products and environmental services from forest and land use can provide a real incentive to make rural populations use local resources in a sustainable way.

Focus of the SDC

Through its international policy dialogue, the SDC promotes

transfers from the state to the local community or village collective by means of forest and common land management practices
training decision-makers in the handling of forest and climate related issues and in negotiation techniques

In partner countries, the SDC supports and promotes

small-farmer and community initiatives for sustainable forest management, for the regeneration of degraded forests, and for afforestation
approaches for multifunctional land use (use in common of forest and pastureland, agroforestry, trees for the production of food, for building, fuel, animal feed or green manure, environmental and tourism services) with the following aspects:
- compensation for community service or renunciation on behalf of the community
- collaboration in regulation and legislation procedures for multifunctional land use
- equitable cooperation between state institutions and the population
- national and sub-national networks to promote the interests of local communities
- subsidiarity, i.e. appropriate regulations at the local level for forest and land use
- development of alternatives for energy and food supply, and for the generation of rural income

As part of its effort to provide new know-how, the SDC promotes

activities with a direct impact on operational programmes and policy dialogue
country and theme-specific coordination of multilateral and bilateral actors in climate and forest related fields

In Switzerland, the SDC promotes

a social oriented perspective to climate and land-use related activities in the Swiss public and in Switzerland’s official policy dialogue

Contact:

gpcc@eda.admin.ch

Additional Information and Documents

Internal Links

External Links

PROFOR - Program on Forests

PROFOR is a multi-donor partnership formed to pursue a shared goal of enhancing forests' contribution to poverty reduction, sustainable development and protection of environmental services.
http://www.profor.info/profor/
Rights and Resources Initiative

The Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) is a global coalition working to advance forest tenure, policy and market reforms, primarily in developing countries. Its mission is to promote pro-poor reforms that will increase household and community ownership, control and benefits from forests and trees.
http://www.rightsandresources.org/french/
International Year of Forest 2011
http://www.un.org/en/events/iyof2011/