On the way to solutions to save our tropical forests
08 June 2010, Biodiversity and Land Use, Alterra, Wageningen UR
In 2010, proclaimed the ‘International Year of Biodiversity’ by the United Nations, tropical forests are no less endangered than before. Though in some regions, forests are certainly recovering, deforestation and woodland degradation continue unchecked over large swathes of the world. Biodiversity continues to shrink worldwide – even though we now recognise biodiversity as vital not only for the environment itself but also for the future of humankind. Scientific knowledge about possible solutions is on the rise, however, and it is now increasingly clear what aspects need to be emphasised in the search for solutions.
The most recent insights on these solutions will be discussed at the upcoming conference ‘Conservation and Use of Biodiversity in Tropical Forests: Are We on the Right Track?’ to be held 16 June, in Reehorst, Ede
A much talked about solution is certification of forest management. These days, such certification is more than just a guarantee of responsibly produced wood, such as that sold by many home improvement stores. Progress is also being made in the development of broader certification systems for forests and woodlands. Some of these focus on climate requirements, such as
CO2 capture. Others certify biodiverse agroforestry systems, where not only is wood produced responsibly, but whole forest ecosystems are managed conscientiously, with farmers and residents living with and off the forest in a sustainable manner. In the United States ‘ecotourism certification’ is in use. Some of these systems explicitly target preservation of biodiversity. Others view biodiversity not as an objective in itself, but as a prerequisite for the forest to be able to fulfil other ‘services’.
An emphasis on ‘ecosystem services’ ensures that forests are not preserved as ‘museums’. Instead, forests are given a much more fundamental socio-economic function, meaning that their preservation is much less dependent on the whims of the politics and policies of the day.
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