Global Environment Outlook 3 (GEO 3)

9 5

FORESTS

Forest fires in Australia, Brazil, Ethiopia, Indonesia (photo left), the eastern Mediterranean, Mexico and western United States have raised concern about wildfires, catalysed national policy responses and mobilized initiatives for fire prevention and suppression Source: UNEP, Paulus Suwito, Topham Picturepoint

wildfires, catalysed national policy responses and mobilized regional and international initiatives for fire prevention, early warning, detection and suppression. The links between fires and land use policies and practices are now better understood (FAO 2001a). Extreme weather events are another threat. The storms that struck Europe in December 1999 caused massive damage to forests and to trees outside forests. The total damage in Europe represented six months of the region’s normal harvest while, in some countries, the equivalent of several years’ harvest was blown down. Changes in forest management, such as increased reliance on natural regeneration, have been proposed in many countries to reduce the potential risk of storm damage in the future (FAO 2001a). Forest governance Forest governance systems are evolving rapidly, together with the respective roles and responsibilities of government, the private sector, indigenous communities and civil society. The concept of sustainable forest management — and efforts to achieve it — continued to gain momentum around the world during the past decade. Broader approaches to

parts of the world there is a strong tendency towards ‘paper parks’ whose existence is largely theoretical and not reflected by substantive and durable conservation reserves on the ground (Vancly and others 2001). Furthermore, those sites that do exist are under increasing pressure from competing land uses. The depletion of forest-based wildlife as a result of the commercial harvesting and trade of bushmeat is of growing concern. This has reached crisis dimensions in parts of tropical Africa, where many species of primates and antelopes, among others, are threatened (FAO 2001a). This difficult problem is being addressed at the local or national level by various stakeholders, as well as at the international level by CITES. Forest damage Large areas of forest around the world caught fire in 1997 and 1998, when intense El Niño-related drought conditions prevailed. Another serious spate of fires occurred in 1999-2000. The forest fires of the past five years in Australia, Brazil, Ethiopia, Indonesia, the eastern Mediterranean, Mexico and western United States have raised public awareness and concern about