A new report published during the COP 16 biodiversity conference in Colombia has highlighted the important role that forests can play in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework .
Launched by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFFS), the report emphasises the vital role of forest biodiversity and sustainable forest management in achieving the targets set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), which aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030,
Sustaining biodiversity
Entitled The Forest Factor: The Role of Protection, Restoration, and Sustainable Management of Forests for the Implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the report highlights that properly managing forests is essential for sustaining terrestrial biodiversity and protecting the planet, offering practical policy recommendations for stakeholders.
“This report delivers a clear message: conservation, restoration, and sustainable management and use is crucial for achieving the KMGBF targets,” commented Zhimin Wu, chairperson of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and Director of the Forestry Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
“This is a pivotal moment to connect biodiversity, climate change, hunger, and poverty as we journey from the 2024 UN Biodiversity Conference to the 2025 UN Climate Conference.”
Across the world, forests, which house up to 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity, are under threat, with species extinction rates now 1,000 times higher than historical norms.
Necessary actions
The findings underscore the necessity for restoring multi-functional landscapes, limiting monoculture plantations, and prioritising native species, adding that forests are integral to climate action, with their substantial economic value and the high costs associated with biodiversity loss due to deforestation and degradation.
A series of panels during the ‘Forest and Water Day’ at a COP 16 reinforced the role that healthy forests can play, noting ‘All forests matter – we should elevate the role of dryland forests, temperate and boreal forests for biodiversity, livelihood, food and water security and climate regulation’.
The report calls for equitable financial resources to support local conservation and sustainable development efforts and urges nations to translate KMGBF targets into actionable commitments within their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans. Read more here.
