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One-fifth of the world’s population depends on forests for forest products, employment, supplementary income and livelihood support. For some 350 million people including about 175 million indigenous living inside or near dense forests, the forest is critical to survival. This is why several countries are using Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) to guide them in Sustainably Developing forestland.
In addition to directly depending on forest, millions of urban residents benefit from the resources that healthy forests provide, including food, energy and construction materials.
Since degradation, deforestation, agriculture and changes in land use have a major impact on greenhouse gas emissions in many developing countries, these countries will have to invest in projects that maintain resilient forests and landscapes.
Besides mitigating climate change, sustainable forest management helps create jobs and wealth. Moreover, as demand for forest products grows, there will be more gainful employment. Currently, the forest sector provides employment for 13.2 million people and contributes almost 1% to global GDP per year.
In Kazakhstan, residents count on forests for fuel, beekeeping, livestock grazing, recreation and food like berries and mushrooms. Forests also provide seasonal and permanent employment for many community members.
Unfortunately, certain areas in Kazakhstan are experiencing illegal logging and forest fires impeding community access to forests. In addition, Kazakhstan lacks local and national capacity for fire-fighting and risk management.
In response, the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility have contributed a total of $35 million to fund the Kazakhstan Forest Protection and Reforestation Project. This projects aims to put close to a million hectares under participatory environmental management.
Now the Kazakhstan government spends less on forest planting and new equipment and technology has significantly improved fire-fighting response time.
Our organization promotes sustainable development in Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries. Please contact us to see how you can help.
