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Over the last two decades of the 20th century,
rapid deforestation has taken its toll -
some 15 million hectares of forests are lost annually, largely in the
tropics. It is also clear that the structural integrity of much of the forest
cover that remains has deteriorated. The facts are startling. Forests have
virtually disappeared in 25 countries; 18 have lost more than 95% of their
forests and another 11 have lost 90%. The highest current estimate of the world’s
remaining forested areas is about 3.6 billion hectares from an originally
forested area of more than 6.0 billion hectares. Primary forests have undergone
the greatest transition. About 14 million hectares of tropical forests have been lost each year
since 1980 as a
result of changes in land-use from forest to agriculture. Forest decline
threatens the genetic diversity of the worlds plants and animals. The
World Conservation Union recently calculated that about 12.5% of the
worlds 270,000 species of plants, and about 75% of the worlds
mammals are threatened by forest decline. In developing countries alone, some US$ 45 billion
per year are lost through poor forest management. A study carried out in
1995 suggests that the direct causes for decline in forest quality in Europe are
drought, heat, pests, and a legacy of silvicultural errors. A 1997 EC-UN/ECE
study classified more than half of Europes forests as
damaged. The decline is relentless. We suspect it could change the
very character of the planet and of the human enterprise within a few years
unless we make some choices.
One approach to this problem lies in the intrinsic understanding of the true nature of the values of forests. As people often do not realize the multiple uses of forests, its proper utilization is often overlooked. With these in mind, the United Nations university, in collaboration with the World Commission of forests and Sustainable Development would conveneThe Values of Forests - International Conference on Forests and Sustainable Development on 12 and 13 October 2000 at the UNU Centre, Tokyo, Japan. The objective of this conference is to highlight the multiple values of forests in promoting sustainable development. Various fora have already looked into the problems that the Earth’s forests face, but there is still a need to find ways of bringing the discussion forward towards action based solutions. Highlighting the different values of forests in order to determine the needed areas for future research, and gaps in forest management policy that needs to be developed, can do this. With this in mind, this conference would bring together experts from various fields relating to Forestry. This conference would particularly highlight the inherent values of Forests in various forms including historical, cultural, ecological and economic aspects. Senior officials and eminent scholars would attend the conference from academia, international organizations, governments and civil society. It is intended that through the discussions within a conference setting, doable paths of actions can be set and worked upon by the various actors. |