Integrating climate change issues into national forest programmes
Background
The crucial role of forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation is now widely recognized at international level. Climate change will have major implications on the sustainable management of forests. In most countries, adjustments to forest policies, legislation and institutions will be needed to facilitate effective and equitable mitigation and adaptation measures. With regard to mitigation, countries may wish to amend forest policies to give more weight to forests' carbon sinks and storage functions. Similarly, steps may be needed at forest policy level to promote appropriate adaptation responses. The impacts of climate change on the provision of forest goods and environmental services are becoming increasingly evident in many parts of the world. Climate change is expected to pose a major challenge for the livelihoods of forest dependent people as well as forest product dependent sectors of the economy.
In many countries, forest policies and climate related policies are the competencies of different sections of government and involve different groups of stakeholders and experts. The exchange of information across administrative or sectoral boundaries on issues surrounding forestry and climate change is often limited. As a consequence, in many countries climate change issues have not been fully addressed in national forest policies, forestry mitigation and adaptation needs at national level have not been thoroughly considered in national climate change strategies, and cross-sectoral dimensions of climate change impacts have not been fully appreciated.
It is important that the forest sector devise ways to address mitigation and adaptation challenges and opportunities in national forest policies. National forest programmes have been recognised by the international dialogue on forests as the framework to put international agreements into practice and as the platform for addressing issues related to sustainable forest management, including climate change.
The Forestry Department of FAO and the National Forest Programme Facility have initiated a joint effort to assist countries address emerging policy issues related to forests and climate change through integrating climate change considerations into national forest programmes.
Approach
The project consists of three phases:
1) National processes in Cambodia, Paraguay, South Africa and Tanzania
A preliminary analysis of the major challenges and opportunities climate change poses for the forest sector and the related policy issues has been undertaken in each of the four countries. The resulting document has served as background material for a national workshop held in each country to raise awareness, exchange information and gather stakeholder views on policy-relevant issues and possible responses regarding forests and climate change.
Cambodia | Paraguay | South Africa | Tanzania |
| - Background Paper - Workshop Report, 13-15 April 2010 |
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2) Development of guidelines for the integration of climate change considerations into national forest policies
The results of the workshops will be used in the second phase in which generic guidelines for the integration of climate change considerations into national forest policies through national forest programme processes will be developed. This will be done through a workshop to be held from September 20-21 at FAO HQ in Rome involving national and international forest policy and climate change experts, including a participant from each of the four national stakeholder workshops. After the draft of the guidelines are developed, the four participating countries will be invited to use the guidelines in a follow up meeting and to develop the concept and broad outlines of a project that could assist the country in carrying out a policy reform effort.
For more information on the expert workshop, please contact: Jesper.Tranberg@fao.org
3) Dissemination and use of the guidelines
The third phase of the project, which will start in late 2010 or in early 2011, will consist of translation and dissemination of the guidelines and the promotion of their use in additional countries. Funding permitting, FAO will provide assistance to other countries, wishing to use the guidelines and to initiate the process of analysis of the adequacy of forest sector policies, legislation and institutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation and the process of policy reform.
