The 6 United Nations Global Forest Objectives
Forests cover 30% of the earth's land surface, or around 4 billion hectares. What's more, nearly 1,6 billion people worldwide (25% of the world's population) depend on forests for their livelihoods (means of survival, employment, income).
Since 1992, forests have played an important role in public policy and international programs. While the focus has often been on deforestation and forest degradation, issues that must continue to be highlighted, there is increasing talk of world where "forests are managed sustainably, contribute to sustainable development and provide economic, social, environmental and cultural benefits for present and future generations" (Manoel Sobral Filho, Director of the United Nations Forum on Forests).
Forests are the world's most productive terrestrial ecosystems. They provide wood and non-wood products (food, fiber, fodder, etc), as well as a whole range of ecosystem services: soil and land conservation, water and air quality, biodiversity preservation, climate change mitigation and adaptation, natural disaster reduction (floods, storms, etc), erosion and landslide control .
In view of the vital contributions forests make to people, the planet and prosperity, the United Nations has agreed a plan to significantly improve the outlook for the world's forests, with the aim of expanding the world's forests by a further 120 million hectares by 2030, more than double the size of France (3% worldwide).
This plan includes 6 voluntary and universal Global Forest Objectives (GFOs) to be achieved by 2030, aimed at contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's), the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
The following infographic presents these 6 OFM objectives, which you can find throughout our forestry projects in France, in particular our method for valuing forest Ecosystem.
For more information, see :
- un.org/fr/desa
- un.org/esa/forests/documents/un-strategic-plan-for-forests-2030/index.html