| WORLD FORESTRY ORGANIZATION
Alliance for Peace and Prosperity on the Planet Harmony between humanity and the environment is the vision of the World Forestry Organization (WFO OMF). It is devoted to holistic forest resources restoration and management for sustainable development, peace and prosperity on the planet. The mission of the Organization is to promote sustainable forest management, conservation and development. At the same time contribute to poverty alleviation, forest related ecosystems and environmental services, with due consideration of climate change MAD challenge of mitigation, adaptation and development.
Apart from the fact that it will fill the gap in global arena for an international organization exclusively devoted to forests and forestry, the WFO OMF goal is to serve society as a transparent and independent global platform for international forest policy perspectives and a centre of excellence for knowledge networking and awareness raising about the role of trees and forests for human wellbeing and peaceful co-existence. It will undertake pilot projects, training and demonstration through a Forest Restoration Programme for Peace in rural, urban and peri-urban areas, including a campaign upfront for planting 3.5 billion trees worldwide. It will promote an alliance across continents, countries and communities with special reference to forest and trees for livelihoods, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and for addressing the vulnerability of poverty afflicted people.
Deforestation and degradation of forests and related resources lead to economic and ecological refugees, cultural erosion and social exclusion, which escalate into crime and crises, violence and war, often spilling across borders. Holistic approach to forest sector is warranted to assure peaceful progress on the planet. More so because nearly half of the world’s population subsist on less than two dollars a day, with over a billion and half forest-dependent people. Fuel from trees and forests are the source of energy for two billion people, with 80 percent of people in developing countries dependent on forest products, such as bush meat, fruits and herbs for their health and nutritional needs. But their resource base is diminishing, because 13 million hectares are deforested in developing countries annually. This accounts for up to 20 percent global green house emission triggering warnings of global warming.
Forests are habitats for about two thirds of all the earth’s species, but developing country deforestation is causing loss of about 100 species daily, declining biodiversity and rampant desertification, soil erosion and growing scarcity of fresh water, while over a billion people suffer from hunger and malnutrition. Hunger and anger can be addressed through food, fuel and fiber from forests and trees, over and above other goods and services such as water, wood and non-wood forest products for housing, gainful employment and sustained incomes. During the last three decades, many thematic issues have been deliberated upon and defined, such as at the Rio Summit, the Millennium Summit and in the conventions and declarations adopted by the international community. But these ideas are all too often applied piecemeal, as many different entities pursue their own paths, often parallel, sometimes even at odds with one another. Forestry agenda is fragmented because there is no cohesive organization dedicated to dealing with it concurrently. It is urgent to fill in this lacuna and hence the urgency for the World Forestry Organization to build bridges and alliances.
The WFO OMF will work towards reversing the tide of compartmentalized thinking and act with the aim to build synergies between ideas and action, between regions and nations, between organizations and institutions and across the boundaries of government, the market and civil society for dealing with over 30 percent of the land cover currently under forests and the space and scope for increasing and improving it through concerted action at international, regional, national and local levels. It will construct the global alliance without which sustainable forest management and development can not be ensured. Dedicated to the multiple dimensions of sustainable forest management, conservation and development, WFO OMF builds alliances and partnerships for the development and sharing of knowledge. It sidesteps protracted inter-governmental negotiation processes and the blockages provoked by turf battles WFO OMF informs global understanding of the inter-relationships between key economic, ecological, social, scientific, cultural and policy issues of sustainable forest management and forest restoration. It will forge a fuller awareness of issues and shared common cause based on synergies and complementarities among communities, countries, institutions and others concerned at all levels across the globe. It will serve as an alliance centre of excellence on core issues of forestry related poverty, environment and development, and as an integrative bridge between local authorities, governmental and intergovernmental agencies, academic and research institutions, and civil society, including NGOs, foundations and the private sector. Its main activities include promoting, complementing and undertaking action on ground as well as communications and awareness raising programs worldwide. It will design, develop and implement pilot projects and best practices models in critical forest sector areas.
A key priority is people’s participation, poverty eradication and sustainable livelihoods. The WFO OMF recognizes that poverty, disfranchisement and disparities are among the principle causes and consequences of conflict. As a proactive platform for advocacy, awareness-raising and concerted co-operation, it offers the holistic ‘creative development’ approach that is urgently required for fostering equitable development worldwide.
The WFO OMF offers all the actors a much needed new space for collaboration with the world community, NGOs and the business sector, an inclusive platform for the sharing of knowledge and the forging of common solutions. While keeping in view the scientific, social, cultural, economic and environmental dimensions of the forest sector involving inter-institutional and inter-disciplinary approaches for building alliances and fostering synergies, the following issues and related activities are adumbrated among areas of priority concern for the WFO OMF: Agro-Forestry and sustainable forest management, Bio-diversity and food security, Climate and carbon assimilation, Ecosystems services and credible certification systems, Effective international aid and development cooperation, Ethical trade, appropriate technology and investment, Forest governance and law enforcement, Fragile ecosystem (deserts and drylands, mangroves and mountains, rainforests and nature reserves), Green economy and energy, Human habitat, happiness and wellbeing, Poverty, disparities and sustainable livelihoods, Research and development for afforestation and reforestation, wasteland reclamation, water harvesting, improved agriculture and rural development, Traditional knowledge and cultural diversity, Trees, forests and people interface, and Water, land and soil.
Among the present paradigms and activities being focused upon by the WFO OMF are:
Provide and organize advisory assistance, studies and awareness-raising workshops and brain storming sessions on social, cultural, environmental and economic issues with special reference to forest, trees, biodiversity, environment and climate change and related international co-operation and millennium development goals; Pilot testing, training and demonstration devoted to developing and disseminating appropriate technologies for cost-effective and holistic forest restoration, tree planting, and forest resources management; Recognition of rights and role of forest dwellers, forest fringe villagers, indigenous and local communities; Collaborate and help to promote globally and locally important forestry and agro-forestry heritage systems and traditional knowledge;
5. Valorising, conserving and mainstreaming in markets products from trees and forests, including aromatic and medicinal plants, bamboo and rattan, bush meat, fuel wood, handicrafts, natural silk and wool, wood fibre and wooden furniture; and Undertake planning, execution, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and review of forest policies, programmes and projects, inter-alia, devoted to:
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7. Trees, forests and people nexus.
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9. Forestry, agro-forestry and rural development
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11. Holistic management of forests and fragile ecosystems.
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13. Climate change mitigation and adaptation through forest restoration
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15. Ecosystems services and equitable benefit sharing
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17. Mountains, mangroves, deserts and dry lands.
18. Watershed management, water harvesting and renewable energy
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20. Public-private-people partnerships and alliances.
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22. Poverty eradication and sustainable livelihoods
World Forestry Organization will concentrate on its creativity for building alliances and partnerships and developing and delivering forestry programmes and projects aimed at addressing the inter-related issues of poverty and environmental degradation, principally in Africa South of Sahara, Asia & the Pacific, Latin America & the Caribbean, and Mediterranean regions. However, it will also work in other arenas and areas of the world, keeping track of forest products trade and markets, forest law and governance, forest certification, and payments for forest-based ecosystems services and benefit-sharing, globally and locally. .
The World Forestry Organization is a membership based non-profit international organization. Membership is open to committed individuals and institutions, including governmental and non-governmental, academic and scientific, public and private, multilateral and multinational, local, national, regional and interregional. The WFO OMF has been promoted by the Geneva-based World Organization for Peace OMPP WOFP with a branch dedicated to WFO OMF at Rome, Italy. Its official languages are English, French, Italian and Spanish. It values universality, accountability and transparency. It is an action-oriented multi-pronged platform for cross-country alliance and a bridge-builder among the diversity of forest-sector stakeholders. It promotes and undertakes global thinking and local action, shares information and knowledge, strengthens advocacy and builds public awareness of the inter¬-related environmental, economic, social, cultural and political dimensions of sustainable forest management, conservation and development, including global warming and climate change.
THE FUTURE IS OUR BIGGEST RESPONSIBILITY
With Faith in the UNITY OF NATIONS
THE ROAD WAY TOWARDS LASTING PEACE IS TO PARTICIPATE IN PEACEFUL
DIALOGUE AND THIS PROGRAMME
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