The Second Report on the State of the World’s Forest Genetic Resources, submission by ICRAF.
ICRAF was established in 1978 to promote agroforestry research in developing countries. A Genetic Resources Unit was added in 1990 and the work on tree genetic resources (TGR) further strengthened with the establishment of the ICRAF genebank in 1997, which now hosts the world’s largest holdings of agroforestry tree genetic resources. ICRAF is an article 15 Centre under an MoU with FAO on behalf of the governing body of the International Treaty On Plant Genetic Resources For Food And Agriculture (ITPGRFA) with regard to ex situ collections of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture held in trust by ICRAF. ICRAF was part of the CGIAR Genebank Platform 2011-2021. Of the eleven CGIAR Genebanks, the ICRAF Genebank is the only one primarily conserving tree genetic resources. ICRAF led the global research programme “Tree Genetic Resources to bridge production gaps and promote resilience” 2017-2021, which was a flagship project under the CGIAR Research Programme (CRP) on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA). ICRAF merged in 2019 with CIFOR to become CIFOR-ICRAF while maintaining also separate legal entities. Trees and forest genetic resources, and biodiversity is one of CIFOR-ICRAFs research for impact themes 2020-2030.
To see the full FAO report, please read it here .
Tag: biodiversity
Becoming Nature Positive: Transitioning to a Safe and Just Future
As humanity sits at an existential crossroads, this book introduces the need to build a nature-positive future to secure the functioning and stability of Earth systems essential to the survival and wellbeing of present and future human generations as well as the rest of Earth’s amazing diversity of life.
Alongside the change in climate, a more silent but equally terrifying crisis is unfolding: the loss of nature and biodiversity. These twin crises are in fact interconnected. After decades of ignoring our impacts on the natural world, we are beginning to realise that nature conservation is a security issue for humanity, and an imperative for intersectional and intergenerational justice. For these reasons, we must embrace a transition from a nature-negative to a nature-positive society, one that ensures human development and addresses today’s inequality, while conserving, restoring and sustainably benefiting from nature’s resources and services. A Nature Positive future is one with more nature than today: more forests, more fish, more pollinators, more soil biodiversity, with benefits for the Planet and for us. In this book we define what becoming Nature Positive means from a variety of perspectives, what it takes to deliver it and why it is possible and, most importantly, necessary.
This book is essential reading for those concerned with conserving nature and securing a safe future for humanity in the face of climate breakdown, biodiversity loss, and ecological collapse. The future can be bright. The choice is ours.
Effectiveness of the global protected area network in representing species diversity
The Fifth World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa, announced in September 2003 that the global network of protected areas now covers 11.5% of the planet’s land surface1. This surpasses the 10% target proposed a decade earlier, at the Caracas Congress2, for 9 out of 14 major terrestrial biomes1. Such uniform targets based on percentage of area have become deeply embedded into national and international conservation planning3. Although politically expedient, the scientific basis and conservation value of these targets have been questioned4,5. In practice, however, little is known of how to set appropriate targets, or of the extent to which the current global protected area network fulfils its goal of protecting biodiversity. Here, we combine five global data sets on the distribution of species and protected areas to provide the first global gap analysis assessing the effectiveness of protected areas in representing species diversity. We show that the global network is far from complete, and demonstrate the inadequacy of uniform—that is, ‘one size fits all’—conservation targets.
Conservation and sustainable management of below-ground biodiversity in Indonesia in the context of the global CSM-BGBD project
On August 1, 2002, the Project Document was signed, marking the official start of the project “conservation and sustainable management of below-ground biodiversity” with the acronym CSM-BGBD. The project is generally referred to as the BGBD project, and has a lifespan of 5 years. The Project Objective is ‘to enhance awareness, knowledge and understanding of below-ground biological diversity important to sustainable agricultural production in tropical landscapes by the demonstration of methods for conservation and sustainable management’. Project Components include:1)Internationally accepted standard methods for characterization and evaluation of BGBD, including a set of indicators for BGBD loss.2)(a) Inventory and evaluation of BGBD in benchmark sites representing a range of globally significant ecosystems and land uses; and (b) developing a global information exchange network for BGBD. 3)Sustainable and replicable management practices for BGBD conservation identified and implemented in pilot demonstration sites in representative tropical forest landscapes in seven countries. 4)Recommendations of alternative land use practices and an advisory support system for policies that will enhance the conservation of BGBD. 5)Improved capacity of all relevant institutions and stakeholders to implement conservation management of BGBD in a sustainable and efficient manner.
Wildlife boost in African forests certified for sustainable logging
Tropical forests stand out as being the most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystems. They provide essential ecosystem services, such as supplying wild meat for consumption by millions of forest dwellers, and they sequester carbon — some estimates suggest that tropical forests store 25% of global carbon and host 96% of the world’s tree species. Despite their ecological importance, tropical forests face severe threats as a result of human activities, including deforestation by small farmers, the conversion of forest to industrial agriculture and unregulated commercial logging. Writing in Nature, Zwerts et al., provide insights into the consequences of managing timber from tropical forests in a sustainable manner through a certification process.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) for the Financial Matching Grants under the Zambia for Agroforestry, Biodiversity and Climate (Z4ABC) project
The Zambia for Agroforestry, Biodiversity and Climate (Z4ABC) project, co-funded by the European Union, offers financial matching grants to support private sector entities engaged in sustainable value chains. This FAQ document clarifies eligibility criteria, financial and organizational requirements, and the application process. Grants range from £5,000 to £60,000 and are available exclusively to Zambian-owned entities with at least two years of operational history. Applicants must demonstrate financial accountability through audited statements and meet compliance documentation standards. While core value chains include mushrooms and caterpillars, the initiative encourages innovation across non-timber forest products. Activities must align with pilot sites in Eastern, Lusaka, and Muchinga provinces. Only one proposal per applicant is permitted, and informal groups must formalize their status to qualify. The document emphasizes transparency, accountability, and strategic alignment with Z4ABC’s restoration and climate resilience goals.
The determinants of dietary diversity and nutrition: ethnonutrition knowledge of local people in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania
Background
Diet and nutrition-related behaviours are embedded in cultural and environmental contexts: adoption of new knowledge depends on how easily it can be integrated into existing knowledge systems. As dietary diversity promotion becomes an increasingly common component of nutrition education, understanding local nutrition knowledge systems and local concepts about dietary diversity is essential to formulate efficient messages.
Methods
This paper draws on in-depth qualitative ethnographic research conducted in small-scale agricultural communities in Tanzania. Data were collected using interviews, focus group discussions and participant observation in the East Usambara Mountains, an area that is home primarily to the Shambaa and Bondei ethnic groups, but has a long history of ethnic diversity and ethnic intermixing.
Results
The data showed a high degree of consensus among participants who reported that dietary diversity is important because it maintains and enhances appetite across days, months and seasons. Local people reported that sufficient cash resources, agrobiodiversity, heterogeneity within the landscape, and livelihood diversity all supported their ability to consume a varied diet and achieve good nutritional status. Other variables affecting diet and dietary diversity included seasonality, household size, and gender.
Conclusions
The results suggest that dietary diversity was perceived as something all people, both rich and poor, could achieve. There was significant overlap between local and scientific understandings of dietary diversity, suggesting that novel information on the importance of dietary diversity promoted through education will likely be easily integrated into the existing knowledge systems.
Development planning in high-priority areas for biodiversity conservation and tourism development
The World Bank has supported Rwanda with financing from the PROGREEN initiative to improve sustainable management of the Congo-Nile Ridge (CNR) landscape. Despite past investments in parts of the CNR landscape, unsustainable land-use and management practices continue. These lead to, among other results, biodiversity loss, accelerated run-off and frequent floods. These, in turn, cause losses of lives, livelihoods, natural capital and infrastructure. Investments in addressing unsustainable land-use practices have often been fragmented, and have not led to permanent improvement in the situation. This is particularly true for biodiversity conservation planning.
Synthesis report can be accessed: here
Integrating sustainable hunting in biodiversity protection in Central Africa: hot spots, weak spots, and strong spots
Wild animals are a primary source of protein (bushmeat) for people living in or near tropical forests. Ideally, the effect of bushmeat harvests should be monitored closely by making regular estimates of offtake rate and size of stock available for exploitation. However, in practice, this is possible in very few situations because it requires both of these aspects to be readily measurable, and even in the best case, entails very considerable time and effort. As alternative, in this study, we use high-resolution, environmental favorability models for terrestrial mammals (N = 165) in Central Africa to map areas of high species richness (hot spots) and hunting susceptibility. Favorability models distinguish localities with environmental conditions that favor the species’ existence from those with detrimental characteristics for its presence. We develop an index for assessing Potential Hunting Sustainability (PHS) of each species based on their ecological characteristics (population density, habitat breadth, rarity and vulnerability), weighted according to restrictive and permissive assumptions of how species’ characteristics are combined. Species are classified into five main hunting sustainability classes using fuzzy logic. Using the accumulated favorability values of all species, and their PHS values, we finally identify weak spots, defined as high diversity regions of especial hunting vulnerability for wildlife, as well as strong spots, defined as high diversity areas of high hunting sustainability potential. Our study uses relatively simple models that employ easily obtainable data of a species’ ecological characteristics to assess the impacts of hunting in tropical regions. It provides information for management by charting the geography of where species are more or less likely to be at risk of extinction from hunting.
Measuring, monitoring and conserving biodiversity in managed tropical forests
Discusses methods for measuring and monitoring different components of biodiversity in tropical forests. Considers the conservation of biodiversity in tropical forests including the use of criteria and indicators, the zonation concept of management, the use of buffer zones, and extractive reserves. Prospects for future conservation and management are discussed.