Special event
The role of forests in a post COVID-19 recovery: Re-imagining the future of forests
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many aspects of our lives, posing significant disruptions tohealth systems, livelihoods, global supply chains, and financial and commodity markets. It has also had serious impacts on the forest and trees sector. The UN Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) members and the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) have carried out comprehensive analyses to assess these impacts.
The forthcoming State of the World’s Forests report will lay out 'solution pathways' for managing, restoring and using forests and trees in ways that build more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable green economies in the context of a green recovery from the pandemic’s far-reaching impacts. Forests can help bring about improvements in secure livelihoods, enhance prevention of future pandemics, and contribute toward sustained economic growth in the longer term.
This special event seeks to answer the following key questions:
- How does COVID-19 impact forests and the forest sector, related food security, local provision of goods and services, livelihoods and sustainable rural economies?
- What lessons can be drawn from COVID-19’s impact on forests and related sectors to 'build back better' – and with increased resilience against future shocks?
- What interventions are required to enhance the forest sector’s contribution to overall post COVID-19 pandemic recovery and to building back better, while also addressing the climate and environmental crises and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
Objectives
- This event will present an opportunity to review the case for restoration of ecosystems, forest landscapes, increased protection of wildlife, and creation of employment opportunities as part of a post COVID-19 sustainable pathway, particularly in rural areas.
- It will provide a comprehensive assessment of policy responses for 'building back better' and mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 in relation to their actual or potential implications for: forests; the forest sector and forest-dependent communities; and attainment of forest-related SDGs.
