‘New FAO guidelines can improve food security’

Voluntary Guidelines on National Forest Monitoring is to help policy-makers boost the contribution of forests to sustainable energy and food security. Th is is even as it will also support countries in collecting, compiling and analyzing data on forest resources to enable them to adopt evidence-based policies and practices, which will help them to achieve sustainable management of forest resources in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. It states that the guidelines aim to fi ll this gap off ering principles and methodology on how to collect more and better data on trends and outlook in the forestry sector and on related issues such as the demand for food, energy and wood fi bre as well as employment and rural development issues. Th e organisation stated also that it is aimed at also helping countries develop strong National Forest Monitoring Systems, which are key to measure progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To fulfi l their pledges under the Paris Climate Agreement and Agenda 2030 countries are expected to collect more detailed forestry data. Th is not only includes information on the size and growth or decline of their forests, but also key aspects of sustainable forest management, such as the role of forests in the conservation of biodiversity, reducing impacts of climate change and provision of other ecosystem services. “Th e demand for reliable, up-to-date and more diverse forestry data and stronger analytical capacities at a national level has grown considerably in recent years,” said Eva Muller, Director of FAO’s Forestry Policies and Resources Division. “Understanding forest resources and how they change is key to address climate change and make progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.”