Forest area, in Siem Reap province in Cambodia, cleared for agriculture. Photo: Robin Biddulph
“Forest Day” will become “Landscape Day”
The importance of a holistic perspective of the Landscape is now acknowledged by CIFOR
The importance of a holistic perspective of the Landscape is now acknowledged by CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research). This year’s “Forest Day” is the last one, next year the event will be named “Landscape Day”. Peter Holmgren Director General of CIFOR writes about this today on the CIFOR blog, se quote below. Perhaps CIFOR were inspired by the web streaming of the “Landscape seminar” organized a month ago by Focali, SIANI, GMV and Naturskyddsföreningen. However this shift from Forests to Landscape yet again show the importance of a more cross sectorial perspective on e.g. forestry, agriculture and pastoral areas. The landscape perspective can be an important tool to help us work with and analyze geographical areas in a state of flux.
Peter Holmgren, Director General of CIFOR:
“On 2 December 2012, I shall have the honor of opening the sixth edition of Forest Day at the 18th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP18) in Doha. This will undoubtedly be another inspiring and well-attended event on the fate of forests and the future of forestry. Forest Day has been organized annually by CIFOR and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests since COP13 in Bali in 2007, coinciding with the highest attention to forests that the world has ever seen. Never before have so many heads of state engaged in forests and such generous international contributions been made to this end. I believe we can safely say that the attention to forests has been permanently raised over the past half-decade. We can be proud that Forest Day and all contributing partners have played a significant role in this.
Forest Day 6 will, however, be the last one that is organized during the UNFCCC COP. The mission to put forests on the climate change agenda is arguably completed. The mission to deliver sustainable, climate-smart and equitable growth in the green sectors has barely started. To succeed, we need holistic approaches and we need to tear down sector boundaries that obscure our view and limit the set of solutions. We are therefore looking forward to building on the Forest Day experience, joining forces with a wider range of partners in agriculture and rural development, and holding a Landscape Day at the UNFCCC COP next year.
(…)
I have said earlier that it is time for forestry to come out of the forest. Moving on from Forest Day to a Landscape Day is an excellent example of what needs to happen. There are no sharp boundaries between forests and the wider landscape. Not geographically, not economically, and not for sustainable development.”
Read the full blog text here
