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TEXT 9. BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND NATURE CONSERVATION: AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY
Forests cover about one quarter of the world's land area outside Greenland and Antarctica, and are generally categorized into three groups:
1) tropical forest,
2) temperate forests, and
3) boreal forests
Tropical forests constitute half of the world's forest cover, while temperate and boreal forests together comprise the other half.
Not only are forests home to up to ninety percent of all terrestrial species, but they also serve the important functions of producing oxygen for the planet and of acting as "sinks" for greenhouse gases. Thus, forests are essential for the maintenance of all forms of life. However, forests also function in an economic capacity, which can create a major threat to their existence. In recent years, the demand for forest products has grown rapidly. Production of paper products has caused one of the greatest increases in the use of wood - up five times from its level in 1950. The majority of paper consumption takes places in the industrialized Northern countries, while developing countries use about half of the wood cut worldwide for fulfilling basic needs.
Deforestation occurs for many reasons, including both economic gain and necessity. Tropical forests are especially affected by clearing done for agricultural purposes, such as planting crops or grazing cattle. Driven by the basic human need for food, many peasant farmers chop down a small area of trees and burn the trunks in a process called "slash and burn agriculture." More intensive, modern agriculture also occurs on a larger scale, deforesting up to several miles at a time. In addition, rain forests are replaced by large cattle pastures to grow beef for the world market. Another common form of deforestation is commercial logging, where trees are cut for sale as timber or pulp either by selectively cutting the economically valuable trees or by clear-cutting all trees in an area. Commercial logging cannot only damage those individual trees cut down but also the forest overall through the use of heavy machinery, such as bulldozers, road graders, and log skidders, to remove cut trees and build roads. Urbanization, mining and oil exploitation, and fire can also lead to forest depletion.
Unfortunately, deforestation has profound effects on the global environment. For one thing, loss of forests increases the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other trace gases in the atmosphere. The plants and soil of tropical forests hold between 460 and 575 billion metric tons of carbon worldwide. Hence, when a forest is cut and burned, the carbon that was stored in the tree trunks joins with oxygen and is released into the atmosphere as CO2. Deforestation also contributes to global warming by reducing the evaporative cooling that takes place from both soil and plant life. Forest plants and animals can become endangered or extinct due to loss of habitat as well. Moreover, many of the over 200 million indigenous people in the world live in tropical and boreal forests and are particularly affected by environmental harm due to their special relationship with the land, which is often the core of their culture. Thus, deforestation can force forest-dwelling peoples from their traditional homelands and deprive them of their livelihood.
Recognizing the necessity to preserve and protect tropical rain forests, the first International Tropical Timber Agreement was adopted on November 18, 1983, establishing the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) in an effort to achieve sustainable exploitation and maintain the ecological equilibrium of forests. On January 24, 1994, a replacement International Tropical Timber Agreement was adopted in Geneva, recognizing the need to promote and apply comparable and appropriate guidelines and criteria for the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of timber-producing forests.
While the vast majority of the Agreement is devoted to defining the structures and functions of the ITTO, it also encourages members to develop national policies aimed at sustainable utilization and conservation of timber producing forests and at maintaining the ecological balance in the regions concerned. Members are further encouraged to support and develop industrial tropical timber reforestation and forest management activities as well as rehabilitation of degraded forest land, with due regard for the interests of local communities dependent on forest resources. (Art. 1.)
The first global consensus on forests developed in 1992 with the Non-Legally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of All Types of Forests (Statement of Forest Principles). It was adopted at the Rio Conference on Environment and Development. The Statement's guiding objective is to contribute to the management, conservation and sustainable development of forests and to provide for their multiple and complementary functions and uses.
While the Statement recognizes that states have the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental policies, it also notes that states have the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other states or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. It further promotes a balance between environment and development, advocating the sustainable management of forest resources and forest lands to meet the social, economic, ecological, cultural and spiritual needs of present and future generations. The Statement calls for integrated and comprehensive environmental protection through scientific research, forest inventories and assessments, the international exchange of information, and the promotion of opportunities for active participation by interested persons. Moreover, members are encouraged to facilitate open and free international trade in forest products by incorporating environmental costs and benefits into market forces and mechanisms and reducing or removing any unilateral measures designed to restrict or ban international trade.
In order to give a higher political profile to the issue and to provide for continued policy development, the UN Forum on Forests was subsequently created in October 2000. By 2005, the UNFF will consider such issues as the parameters of a mandate for developing a legal framework covering all types of forests and the appropriate financial and technology transfer support to enable implementation of sustainable forest management.