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In southern Chile as elsewhere, ancient forests are at risk from illegal logging.
© FAO/Max Valencia

Sustainable forest management

Protecting nature’s legacy for a greener future

Halting deforestation has the potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 11 percent annually, safeguarding much of the Earth’s terrestrial biodiversity and providing critical ecosystem services.

Ecosystems at risk of deforestation and degradation, such as peatlands, mangroves, old-growth forests and marshes, contain at least 260 gigatonnes of “irrecoverable carbon”. Unless additional measures are taken, an estimated 289 million hectares of tropical forests will be lost between 2016 and 2050, resulting in 169 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent released into the atmosphere.

But forests are not only an essential carbon sink: they also help rural communities adapt to the impacts of climate change, including through the provision of livelihoods for more than 1.6 billion people. Protected, sustainably managed and restored forests provide a host of biodiversity benefits and other ecosystem services. Halting deforestation and increasing forest cover are therefore cost-effective solutions to mitigate climate change.

NFMS webpage Read more on forest monitoring

National Forest Monitoring Systems

FAO has supported more than 50 countries in developing National Forest Monitoring Systems (NFMS) to collect relevant and reliable information about forests. NFMS typically produce data that allow the measurement, reporting and verification of forest carbon fluxes, information that is crucial to participate in the REDD+ programme (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries).

Forests and Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous Peoples and the forests in their ancestral territories have an irreplaceable role to play in climate action. In the forests of Latin America and the Caribbean alone, their territories contain 14 percent of the carbon stored in tropical forests worldwide.

Historically, where Indigenous Peoples have been present, forests have suffered much less deforestation and degradation than elsewhere, but that is changing rapidly.

In 2015, together with Caucus of Indigenous representatives from the seven sociocultural regions of the world, FAO established a roadmap for working with Indigenous Peoples. The aim is to promote the recognition of their food and knowledge systems as game changers for sustainability.

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A community of just a few hundred, the Paumari people live along the river Tapauá in Brazil.
© FAO/Adriano Gambarini/OPAN
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At COP26, held in Glasgow in 2021, 141 governments committed to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 through the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use.

More than USD 20 billion was pledged to achieve this goal, including USD 1.7 billion from 2021 to 2025 to advance the forest tenure rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

These goals were reinforced through the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership, launched at COP27 to ensure commitments made in Glasgow to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 are achieved. This voluntary partnership of 26 countries is fully in line with FAO’s work on forestry and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests.

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