Environmental and forestry protection is a very important issue today. Forests are being cut down at an alarming rate, and levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are rising, threatening ecosystems, food security, water security, climate stability and rural livelihoods. To tackle this important issue effectively, it is necessary to tackle all four aspects: legislation, technology, local people and international cooperation.
Forests provide many essential services, including carbon sequestration, rainfall regulation, biodiversity conservation, livelihoods and culture, and increased resilience to disasters and crises. However, deforestation for agriculture, infrastructure and logging activities, as well as climate change, are all eroding these forest ecosystem services. Biodiversity loss undermines forest regenerative processes, soil degradation reduces agricultural productivity, and carbon released from decomposing tree trunks accelerates climate change, further stressing forest ecosystems.
Trees are being cut down for cash. The relative speed at which they can earn money through timber harvesting or agriculture is often a big factor. Ecosystem services such as filtering water or absorbing carbon are hard to put a price tag on. Corruption is also a factor, where weak governance allows illegal logging to continue. Climate change is also contributing to deforestation in many places by making it warmer and drier and affecting rainfall patterns.
To address the current challenges in our forests, we need a truly sustainable approach. In this sense, the following measures need to be taken: 1. To reinforce legislation and to impose its adequate application. The granting of individual land ownership and the recognition of the indigenous right to the use of their ancestral territory are essential to avoid forest conflicts and to achieve the positive economic effects which will be derived from the sustainable and ecological management of the forests. 2. To have an administration and police force capable of ensuring compliance with legislation. To impose adequate penalties to make the illegal cutting down of forests unprofitable. 3. To establish a market price for carbon, so that all the advantages and costs of the carbon emissions which are generated are reflected in the global economy. 4. To reform the fiscal system, eliminating all the subsidies which encourage the destruction of our forests.
Forests & Foods Innovation Programme – Objectives: Innovation in relation to forests, illegal cutting, detection and restoration. The use of new technology in everyday life gives us new possibilities to achieve more and better in relation to forest care and the elimination of illegal timber from the market. Using satellite imagery and drones, we can monitor our forests constantly and efficiently respond to any forest crime. New renewable energy technologies that do not use wood biomass, and technologies to increase agricultural production and promote intensive, high-yielding and sustainable agriculture on existing arable land. Bringing restoration science into the management sequence, and hence increasing the pace of reforestation and relating it to forest protection and biodiversity conservation measures.
Communities must be involved. Indigenous peoples and local communities must be empowered to take an active role in biodiversity conservation. Their knowledge is invaluable, and local communities have the right to manage their biodiversity and ecosystems sustainably in a way that benefits their development. Securing the rights of local communities to access their land is therefore crucial for ensuring that their interests are linked to the conservation of biodiversity. Community-based forest management can create a stable income-generating forest resource for communities, while community-based conservation activities can provide training for local communities to enable them to monitor and manage their own resources.
This is a global issue that requires a global response. Climate agreements must consider the protection of forests, as forests play an important cost-effective role in the climate strategy. Any compensation mechanisms for countries that are taking concrete measures to reduce deforestation and forest degradation must have robust accounting and verification procedures in place. Technology exchanges and better coordination of anti-illegal logging efforts are also important for achieving sustainable forest management.
This report examines ways to address the drivers of deforestation. However, there are many challenges to address, including short-term economic needs, political instability and weak governance. Also, the consumers of products associated with deforestation are often far removed from the damage they are causing. To achieve a transformation that is lasting, the policies in the areas of trade, finance, agriculture and environment need to be better coordinated. Also, the regulations need to realign private incentives, and the social protection systems need to address the livelihood vulnerabilities of those who depend on forest clearing.
Culture transformation to change the human relationship with nature so that nature and its ecosystem services are seen as an endowment rather than a resource is a cultural change that also requires a fundamental change of culture. Natural capital must be recognised as part of our wealth. The use of green finance instruments and third-party verified corporate sustainability commitments can align market incentives. Public engagement and education activities may be needed to secure domestic political support for the changes required to achieve the transformation of nature and its ecosystem services needed to address climate change.
As one of its priorities, the new European Commission will focus on reforming agricultural subsidies that contribute to the destruction of the rainforest as well as investing in rural education and health, promoting the circular economy model and sustainable commodities. The Commission has already agreed to monitor its progress through specific indicators, and it will now have to ensure that the necessary adjustments are made to the road plan to ensure that the expected gains for biodiversity and the climate are distributed fairly among the most disadvantaged populations.
Our forests and environment need to be protected for many ecological, economic and therefore also human reasons. We can achieve a clear understanding of nature’s law and an innovative, local and global future. We can ensure a sustainable environment for ourselves and for future generations by ensuring that our current choices support living ecosystems.
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Simon Hutagalung
Simon Hutagalung is a retired Indonesian Foreign Ministry diplomat and received his Master’s degree in Political Science and Comparative Politics from the City University of New York. He writes opinion pieces for Europeantimes and all opinions expressed in his article are his own.
