Asian Forest, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development

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Asian Forest, Biodiversity and Sustainable
Development

• by
• Percy E. Sajise
• Regional Director
• IPGRI-APO
• Serdang, Malaysia
• Email P.Sajise_at_cgiar.org

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Outline

• Asian Forest Status and Concerns
• Policy Platforms for Forest Conservation and
  Management
• Sustainable Development
• Forest Biodiversity and Sustainable Development
• Does Biodiversity Always Directly Relate to
  Sustainable Development
• Patterns of Biodiversity Utilization
• Conclusion

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Several Countries in Asia are Mega Centers of
Biodiversity Example- India- 2-4 global area
7-8 of recorded species of the world Indonesia
1.3 of global area 17 unique species
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Total Forest Area in Asia Almost the Same 15
Years Ago Concern Rapid Decrease in Area of
Primary Forest
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Deforestation Continue to Increase In Asia Net
Loss Offset by Increased Afforestation in China
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Increase in Areas Designated for Conservation of
Biological Diversity and for Protective Purpose
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Table 2. Trends in Carbon Stocks in forest
biomass, 1990-2005
Regions Carbon in Living Biomass (Gt) Carbon in Living Biomass (Gt) Carbon in Living Biomass (Gt)
Regions 1990 2000 2005
East Asia 7.2 8.4 9.1
South and Southeast Asia 32.3 25.5 21.8
Total Asia 41.1 35.6 32.6
Total Africa 65.8 62.2 60.8
Total South American 97.7 94.2 91.5
Source FAO, Global Forest Resources
Assessment, 2005
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Forests in Asia Largely Remain in Public Hands
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Wood Removal in Asian Forests has Decreased Over
the last 15 Years but NWFPs have Increased
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Productive Function Significant decrease in
forest areas Designated as production
forest. Slowly being replaced by
plantation Forest Concern Stability of
production of Plantation Forest as generally
monocultures
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Protective Function

• Increased forest areas designated as protection
  forests- increased awareness
• of forest role in soil and water conservation
• Forest plantations designated as protection
  forests increasing in India, China, Thailand and
  Vietnam

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Socio-Economic Functions

• Value of total wood removals decreased for Asia
  due to lower values reported from Japan,
  Indonesia and Malaysia.
• Significant increase in the value of NWFPs in the
  form of food, exudates, ornamental plants
  bushmeat and other products.

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Policy Platforms in Forest Conservation and
Management

• Agenda 21 and Forest Principles
• Provided the platforms in directing countries to
  increase efforts to maintain and increase forest
  cover and productivity
• Non binding but enhanced formulation of national
  forestry programs

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Convention on Biological Diversity

• Biodiversity is sovereign rights of countries
• Places obligations to countries or Contracting
  Parties for formulating programs for biodiversity
  conservation and sustainable use.
• Article 8a and 8f specifically required
  Contracting Parties to promote protection and
  rehabilitation of ecosystems
• COP6 adopted a forest biodiversity action-based
  work program which Contracting Parties have to
  report compliance and progress in their Annual
  Reports
• Legally binding

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Framework Convention on Climate Change and
Forests (FCCC)

• Clearly elaborated as the Kyoto Protocol in 1997
• Objective is to stabilize concentration of
  greenhouse gases where forests are seen as a
  major element
• Afforestation, reforestation and improved forest
  conservation and management seen to offset
  emission targets and has to be promoted

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Convention to Combat Desertification and Forests

• Legally binding
• Objective is to combat desertification and to
  mitigate effects of drought in an integrated
  manner
• Adoption of national action programmes to address
  underlying causes of desertification, drought and
  deforestation

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Trade Related Agreements

• International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA)-
  foster cooperation in trade and utilization of
  tropical timber with emphasis on sustainability.
  ITTO broke new grounds by formulating and
  publishing the first set of Criteria and
  Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management.
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered
  Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES)- Provides
  a forum and generate a list of species requiring
  various controls in trade to balance trade and
  conservation concerns.

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International Processes

• Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) and the
  Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF)- forum
  to discuss varying issues on forest and forest
  management.
• United Nations Forum on Forests- to develop a
  legal framework on all forests
• A significant output is on Criteria and
  Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management.

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Sustainable Development

• A complex, multi-dimensional, time-determined and
  highly contextual state or condition adhering to
  the basic principle that the natural resource
  base must be utilized in a manner that its
  ability to provide current and future goods and
  services useful to human society is not
  impaired.
• It is a type of development which is
  economically viable, environmentally appropriate
  and socially acceptable.

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Figure 1. Conceptual model of the relationship
between biodiversity and sustainable development
Technological
Natural Resources
Sustainable Development

• Ecosystem(s)
• Community
• Species
• Genetic

Socio-economic cultural
Biodiversity
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Conservation Strategy for In Situ Conservation of
Forest Diversity

• Strategy in the form of a Guideline Represents
  the Technology
• Natural Resource Base- represents the
  requirements of the site, the reproductive
  patterns of the species, the diversity factors to
  maintain and others
• Socio-cultural- policy, incentives and capacity

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Biodiversity as a Critical Element of Sustainable
Development

• Biodiversity was transformed from an esoteric
  ecological term to a global concern because of
• Greater recognition for what human society can
  derive from it in the face of rapidly increasing
  population and
• Dwindling natural resources as well as ecosystem
  destruction
• Globally enshrined in the CBD

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Cardamon in Midmontane Forest in Sri Lanka
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• Global biodiversity has greatly shrunk
• 90 of world food supply come from
• 20 species of plants
• 14 species of domesticated animals
• However, it does not mean that the so-called
  lesser species are not important

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• Beneficial biological agents such as pollinators
  US 40B per year
• Biological nitrogen fixation agents US 50B per
  year
• All in all, agents of biodiversity services
  account for US 100-200B per year in the U.S.
  alone!

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Relationship

• Durian flowers pollinated by bats at 1-2 am
• What is the pollinator at this time? Bats
• Where do bats live? In limestone caves
• What is the material used for making cement? Lime
  from limestone
• What happens if construction demands more cement?
  More bat caves will be destroyed
• What will happen next? No more bat pollinators,
  NO MORE DURIAN FRUITS

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• Biodiversity also plays an important role in
  ensuring that the targets of the Millennium
  Development Goals (MDG) for Sustainable
  Development set by the UN are successfully
  achieved

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• Figure 2. Examples of the Critical Role of
  Biodiversity and sustainable Ecosystem Management
  under WEHAB Priority Areas

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Does Biodiversity Always Relate to Sustainable
Development?

• Types of biodiversity
• Natural honed by the process of natural
  selection and co-adaptation
• Human-managed true mainly for agrobiodiversity
  can be good or non-sustainable biodiversity

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• Biodiversity is not just about the number of
  species or adding more species. It is good
  biodiversity if
• It is a functional diversity governed by
  homeostatic and well-ordered relationships among
  component species at all levels genetic,
  species, communities, ecosystems, etc
• It is managed by traditional knowledge or
  knowledge systems based on these positive
  relationships
• It is biodiversity of a natural resource base
  which is positively interacting with technology
  and the socio-cultural elements of the ecosystem

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• Biodiversity interpreted as simply increasing the
  numbers and kinds of species of living organisms
  does not always lead to Sustainable Development
• The case of Eucalyptus in Thailand and other
  Southeast Asian countries

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Patterns of Biodiversity Utilization

• Crop and Animal Improvement through conventional
  breeding and others such as use of root stocks
• Biotechnology or genetic engineering- needs a
  strong risk assessment biosafety regulation

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Conclusion

• Asian forests over the last 15 years have
  experienced positive and negative changes
• Forest management has shifted from purely
  production to multiple use management
• It has also shifted to more sustainable
  management objectives

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Conclusion

• Sustainable orientation anchored on the
  multifunctional role of forests at all levels
  local, national, regional and global
• It is recognized as a major ecosystem which hosts
  biodiversity or the web of life
• Basic relationships between different elements of
  sustainable development where biodiversity is a
  major component needs to be better understood to
  attain the goal of sustainable development

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Biodiversity is the Life Insurance of Life
Itself Mc Neil and Shei (2002)
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• Thank you..
• Terima Kasih