State of World?s Forest 2022

News: Recently, the State of the World’s Forests 2022 (SOFO 2022) was released by the United Nations Food and  Agriculture Organization (FAO).

About: 
• The report is published bi-annually and is widely regarded as one of the most important stock takes on  forest ecosystems.
• The 2022 edition of SOFO explores the potential of three forest pathways for achieving green recovery and  tackling multidimensional planetary crises, including climate change and biodiversity loss.
• Halting deforestation and maintaining forests
• Restoring degraded lands and expanding agroforestry
• Sustainably using forests and building green value chains

Highlights of Report: 

• Loss of Forests
• The 420 million hectares (mha) of forests have been lost between 1990 and 2020, due to deforestation, though forests cover 4.06 billion ha of the earth’s geographical area.
• Although the rate of deforestation was declining, 10 mha of forests were lost every year between 2015 and 2020.
• An estimated 289 mha of forests would be deforested between 2016 and 2050 in the tropics alone,  resulting in the emission of 169 GtCO2e if additional action is not taken.
• The greenhouse gas total is expressed in terms of billions of tonnes of global annual CO2 equivalent emissions (GtCO2e/year).

• Rise in infectious disease
• 15% of 250 emerging infectious diseases have been linked to forests.
• Example: Covid-19, Drug-resistant infections (Antimicrobials), Zika Virus, etc.
• 30% of new diseases, reported since 1960, can be attributed to deforestation and land-use-change.

• Rise in Poverty 
• The cost of global strategies to prevent pandemics based on reducing the illegal wildlife trade,  avoiding land-use change and increasing surveillance was estimated to be USD22 billion to USD31  billion.
• Approximately 124 million more people fell into extreme poverty after Covid-19 and this may have  longer-term impacts on wood-based fuel (such as firewood, charcoal) due to increase in woodbased fuel use in some countries during the pandemic.

• Consumption of Natural Resources
• The world population is projected to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050, which will increase competition for land, as the demand for food for this large population will rise by 35 to 56% by the 2050s.
• The annual global consumption of all natural resources combined is expected to more than double  from 92 billion tonnes in 2017 to 190 billion tonnes in 2060 due to increases in population size and affluence.

• GDP dependence on Forests
• It is estimated that more than half of world Gross Domestic Product (GDP) depends moderately or highly on ecosystem services, including those provided by forests.
• Ecosystem services make human life possible by, for example, providing nutritious food and clean water, regulating disease and climate, supporting the pollination of crops and soil formation, and  providing recreational, cultural and spiritual benefits. 

Recommendations given:
• Forest protection, such as stopping illegal wildlife trade and avoiding land-use change, can help prevent the  next pandemic, and the cost is a fraction of the damages that an actual pandemic would cause. Agroforestry  holds special potential for boosting biodiversity, food security and even crop production.
• A massive uptick in funding will require, specifically, a three-fold increase by 2030. Establishing and  maintaining forests, for example, may cost USD 203 billion every year by 2050.
• Supporting local producer organizations and protecting land tenure rights are also crucial for allowing  small communities and Indigenous groups to continue sustainably managing their forests. For this,  governments can give smallholders long-term rights to their tree products, which would help de-risk  agroforestry, as well as formalize the recognition of customary land rights.