An estimated 1.2 billion people rely upon forests for their livelihood. There is
ID: 160148 • Letter: A
Question
An estimated 1.2 billion people rely upon forests for their livelihood. There is a link between poverty and forest usage (see http://www.profor.info/node/3) and a worldwide interest in how forests can impact climate change (see websites on REDD, Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation, such as http://www.un-redd.org/).There are a lot of players in this issue, including North vs South, indigenous peoples, climate change advocates, and those concerned about endangered species and habitat preservation.
represent the President of Russia to answer following
a. Should there be an international voice in sustainable forest management that regulates trade in forest products or should it only be left to the state where the forest is located?
b. What should such an international forest convention look like? What are the goals? What activities and products should be covered?
c. Who will pay the countries and communities in which the forests are located to help manage them properly? How much is reasonable?
d. How can forest dwelling communities (human and otherwise) be protected?
e. Forests play a key role in strategies to prevent climate change. Yet the developing countries in which forests are located have not been responsible for the dramatic increases in greenhouse gases. How can the world ensure the survival of vast tropical forests which can help mitigate climate change without placing the burden on the developing countries.
f. What role should habitat conservation for endangered species play in a Global Forest Convention?
Explanation / Answer
a) The land use is very important before we discuss this. The world average land use pattern is as follows.
Crop land- 11%, Pasture-26%, Forest- 31%, Other use-32%
where as Russia stands at crop land-8%, Pasture-5%, Forest-44%, Other use-44%
So, Russia is good interms of forest land above world avergare. Japan is highest of forest land having 67%.
As per the many other statistics, there shall be international forum for trade in forest products, as they are being victims in the name of economic development. It can be left to state but with some guidelines.
b) The goals of international forest conservation shall be to preserve forest and forest produce, preserve tribes and people in forests and their culture, ban in endangered plants and animals.
c) The states themselves take responsibility but they bind to international forums. The payment shall be paid by states only.
d) Local commernmunity development, self evelopment, educating tribe commuinities and providing them rights over their forest land and forming tribal communities among them. Local self government plays good roles and are efficient.
e) The developed countries are the first hand probelm creaters of green house gases and global warming. The developing countries are less emitters and they need economic development but not at the cost of emission reduction. To balance this, The developed countries shall support Technology and Money for developing countries to go for renewable energy , in long term developed countries also slowly reduce their traditional energy generation from coal and fossil fuels.
f) Any way the CITES (convention on international trade in endangered species in wild ) is playing a key role, we need to have wide awareness in endangered species , their disappearance makes loss to habitat etc. The criminal actions shall be strong from states if any illegal actions are taking place. Also the States are major particiapnts and shall realise and frame laws accordingly.
-----------------------------------------------
Please rate me the feedback.