News
Session 3-4: Snapshot on Boreal forests’ contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals
16.03.2021
The round table «Snapshot on Boreal forests’ contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals» within the framework of the UNECE Regional Forum on Sustainable Development was held on March 15, 2021, Geneva, Switzerland.
The virtual meeting was organized in a video conference format, where participants discussed the role of boreal forests in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), approaches to multifunctional forest management, as well as opportunities to improve the sustainability of northern forests in the face of climate change. More than 200 participants registered for the round table. Interpretation services were provided in English and Russian.
The round table is an important stage of the work of the UNECE/ FAO Team of Specialists on Boreal Forests, formed at the initiative of Russia.
Focus on the questions:
Policy action 1: How do boreal forests contribute to the 2030 Agenda and SDGs? What are some of the main challenges to their sustainable management? How can we better understand and communicate the value of the boreal forest for global sustainability?
Policy action 2: How do you manage boreal forests to preserve their economic and environmental services?
Policy action 3: How could the resilience of the boreal forest biome to climate change be increased and vulnerability reduced?
As part of the discussion of the first strategic question, representative of the Northern Research Institute of Forestry (SevNIIILH) such as Senior Researcher, Aleksey Ilintsev added about the role of non-wood forest products (NWFPs) that provide boreal forests for achieving the SDGs. In a global context, NWFPs are an important source of livelihood that provide food security by shifting the seasonality of other food sources and play an important cultural, spiritual role and are closely linked to the recreational function of forests.
Deputy Director for Science of the SevNIIILH, Natalia Demidova, during the discussion of the second strategic question, added about the initiative of the SevNIIILH to create an Arctic Center for the study of boreal forests that are part of the Arctic land zone.
