FAO Forestry www.fao.org/forestryFAO Forestry

Forests & Water in Action:

Elaine SpringgayForestry Officer (Forest & Water)

Asia-Pacific Forestry WeekClark, Philippines26 February 2016

Integrating science, policy and practice

FAO Forestry

Why Forests and Water?

• Forested watersheds and wetlands supply 75% of the world’s accessible fresh water for domestic, agricultural, industrial and ecological needs

• Approximately 80% of the global population live in areas where water resources are insecure

• Every US$1 invested in watershed protection can save anywhere from US$7.5 to nearly US$200 in water treatment

• Yet only 25% of the world’s forests have soil and water conservation as their main objective

FAO Forestry

At least one third of the world’s biggest cities

Cape Town

draw a significant portion of their drinking-water from protected forested areas

New York

Singapore

Jakarta Rio de Janeiro Bogotá

Madrid

Why Forests and Water?

FAO Forestry

Forests & Water Agenda

FAO Forestry

Partners

Practices & Economics

PolicyScience

INBAR

CIFOR

Weyerhaeuser

ICRAF

ICIMOD

IUCN

Forest Research Institute (IBLES) FAO

IUFRO

University Putra Malaysia

Universitat Politècnica de València

Chinese Academy of Forestry

Beijing Forestry University

University of LisbonFOREST EUROPE

FORIG

Kenya Forestry Research Institute

Forest Trends

Stockholm International Water Institute

PlanBleu

Government of Alberta, Canada

CSIR

FAO Forestry

From Discourse…

Main recommendations

• Improved understanding of forest-water interactions Climate change, scale, forest types

Communicating research

• Integrated landscape approach

• Collaborative partnerships

• Capacity building

• Monitoring systems

• Economic values for forest-water resources

• Inter-sectoral policies www.fao.org/docrep/017/i3129e/i3129e.pdf

FAO Forestry

Forests & Water Dialogue

Key Messages

1. The interaction between trees, forests and water deserves greater recognition at national, regional and international levels;

2. The Dialogue reaffirmed that there is a strong demand, need for, and willingness to participate in and contribute to a newly established network of partners;

3. There is a need for decision-makers to allocate greater resources for research on forest-water interactions and the translation of this research into policy action and practical implementation, including at the community level.

XIV World Forestry Congress, 9 September 2015

FAO Forestry

Forests & Water Action Plan

• Transition from discourse to action

• Tangible integration of science, policy and practice

• Collaboration and consolidation

• Project portfolio of US$16.5 million:

Research Projects to improve water

resources and livelihoods

• Network?

Launched at the International Forests and Water Dialogue –XIV World Forestry Congress, 9 September 2015

FAO Forestry

Practice

PolicyScienceImprove understanding • Inter-disciplinary research

activities• Knowledge sharing tools• Monitoring systems and

tools

Promote informed policy • Institutional

mechanisms• Capacity building

Integrated management• Incentive mechanisms• Collaboration with private

sector• Climate change

Forests are important for the water supply of humanity… – Kunming Expert Meeting (March 2014)

…To Action

FAO Forestry

Forests & Water Action Plan

1. Science: Increase international research on forest-water interactions, addressing knowledge gaps.

2. Policy: Support forest-water policies, governance institutions and mechanisms.

3. Practice: Integrate scientifically based understanding of forest-water interactions in the management of diverse landscapes.

4. Capacity Building & Communication: Build the capacity of network members and the international community at large to address gaps in forest-water science, policy and management.

Goals

FAO Forestry

Forest & Water in SDGs

FAO Forestry

• 6.4 By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity

• 6.6 By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes

• 15.1 By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands

Forests and water in the SDGs

Forest & Water in SDGs

FAO Forestry

• Inclusion of function in addition to physical attributes

Forest ecosystem: “It is a dynamic complex of plant, animal andmicro-organism communities and their abiotic environmentinteracting as a functional unit, where trees are a key componentof the system.” (CBD)

Redefine “forest”?

Forest & Water in Policy

FAO Forestry

Forests & Water at FAO 2016

• Coordination and implementation of Action Plan

• Forest-Water Monitoring Framework (September 2016)• Consolidation of indicators and field methods

• Improved FRA data on soil and water functions of forests• Include category in national statistics• Promote new method: Line-point transect forest cover and erosion

assessment method

1. Visual forest cover assessment

2. Forest canopy & Floor Cover Assessment

3. Line-point Transect Forest Cover Assessment

4. Forest Floor Cover Assessment

FAO Forestry

Forests & Water at FAO

www.fao.org/forestry/international-day-of-forests/en/

FAO Forestry

Thank you.