90%
of Forest Day participants said that they thought the event "successful" or "very successful".
89%
of Forest Day participants felt that Forest Day was important in building personal and institutional capacity.
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"The contribution of forest day to the negotiations on REDD+ in the COP is clear – scope, MRV, field implementation, safeguards, certification and finance are all there."
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"I felt that this event is the high-point of the REDD+ calendar for the year"
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"I may have learned more in one day that I did in the rest of the year put together."
About 700 forestry experts, activists, policymakers, global leaders and climate change negotiators gathered on the sidelines of U.N. climate talks in Doha on December 2 for the sixth annual Forest Day to discuss how forests could be better harnessed to slow the pace of global warming and help communities adapt to the changing environment.
Under the banner of "Living Landscapes", which referred to the interconnections between forests and agriculture and their impacts on people and society, Forest Day 6 kicked off the first of two popular conferences on the sidelines of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's (UNFCCC) annual Conference of the Parties in 2012. Forest Day 6 was followed by Agriculture, Landscapes and Livelihoods Day 5 on December 3 at the same venue.
Please revisit this page in coming days for the latest photos, videos, stories and speeches from the conference.
Following is a press release that was issued at the end of the conference.
Peter Holmgren
Eduardo Rojas-Briales
Will Steffen
Ephraim Kamuntu
Wu Hongbo
Forest Day 6
Forest Day 6
Forest Day 6
Forest Day 6
Forest Day 6
Forest Day 6
Forest Day 6
Forest Day 6
Jan McAlpine
Tony Simons
Tony La Viña
Peter Holmgren
Bianca Jagger
Wu Hongbo
Gabrielle Kissinger
Martin Herold
Yannick Kuehl
"Come out of the forest" to save the trees
Forestry experts have called for a new approach to managing land and tackling climate change – challenging the ongoing debate that forests have to be sacrificed for the sake of rural development and food security.
"The honeymoon for REDD+ is over": consensus not yet reached in Doha on MRV, finance
Negotiators at the U.N. climate talks in Doha this past week did not reach consensus to move the REDD+ mechanism forward, said Tony La Viña, who facilitates the talks, adding this was the first time there has been no progress on the climate-forestry mitigation scheme.
Landscapes in the Earth System: How policymakers should consider forests at next year's U.N. climate talks
Forests have been front-and-centre at climate negotiations for several years. This year, at the COP18 meeting in Doha, Qatar, Forest Day 6 raised their profile even further, by focusing on the broader role of forests in landscapes as a whole and by connecting with the agriculture sector to deliver a more integrated approach to landscapes at COP19 next year.
Brave new world: the global trends changing the future of deforestation
Global trends will intensify the underlying causes of deforestation over the coming decades – unless all countries take responsibility to address them, said experts on the sidelines of the U.N. climate conference in Doha, Qatar.
Forest Day 6 was held in conjunction with Agriculture, Landscapes and Livelihoods Day 5 under the theme of 'Living Landscapes', which looked at the interconnections between forests and agriculture and their impacts on people and society.
“It is time to look at new ways of solving old problems…it is time for forestry to come out of the forest and contribute more broadly.”
Peter Holmgren, Director General of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).
“Everything you thought you knew about deforestation in the 20th century is no longer true…so we have to be alert to emerging drivers.”
Doug Boucher, Director of Climate Research and Analysis at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“Trees are really still our heroes in that they are working across our needs for water, our need for carbon and for the needs of local people. Moving towards landscapes will help us move towards sustainability.”
Mary Barton-Dock, Director of Climate Policy and Finance at the World Bank.
“No doubt if a government has to choose between [food and forests], then forests will always lose…so the challenge is to promote forest management in a way that goes hand in hand with feeding the population.”
Andreas Tveteraas, Senior Adviser to Norway's International Climate and Forest Initiative.
“The honeymoon period is over for REDD+, we are down to the nuts and bolts of the mechanism.”
Tony La Vina, REDD+ facilitator and negotiator for the Philippines.
