Forests and Sustainable Development

While the assessment in the forestry chapter identifies remaining uncertainties about the magnitude of the mitigation benefits and costs, the technologies and knowledge required to implement mitigation activities exist today. Forestry can make a significant and sustained contribution to a global mitigation portfolio, while also meeting a wide range of social, economic and ecological objectives. Important co-benefits can be gained by considering forestry mitigation options as an element of broader land-management plans.

Plantations can contribute positively, for example, to employment, economic growth, exports, renewable energy supply and poverty alleviation. In some instances, plantations may also lead to negative social impacts such as loss of grazing land and source of traditional livelihoods. Agro-forestry can produce a wide range of economic, social and environmental benefits; probably wider than large-scale afforestation. Since ancillary benefits tend to be local rather than global, identifying and accounting for them can reduce or partially compensate the costs of the mitigation measures (high agreement, medium evidence) [9.7].

Technology research, development, deployment, diffusion and transfer

The deployment, diffusion and transfer of technologies such as improved forest-management systems, forest practices and processing technologies including bioenergy, are key to improving the economic and social viability of the different mitigation options. Governments could play a critical role in providing targeted financial and technical support, promoting the participation of communities, institutions and NGOs (high agreement, much evidence) [9.8].