|
|
|
The Challenge
By 2050, the gap between global supply and demand of forest products will rise significantly. This will add more pressure to Lower Mekong's forest resources.
|
|
The Opportunity
UN-REDD’s Sustainable Forest Trade in the Lower Mekong works to enhance capacities, systems/data, structures and commitments to legal and sustainable trade and investment in forest products across the region and in China.
| |
|
---
"There is no solution to the triple planetary crisis without forests. Through the Lower Mekong initiative, we are partnering with forest countries to protect and manage the region’s forest resources, to scale up forest solutions for climate, nature and people”
MARIO BOCCUCI
Head of the UN-REDD Secretariat
---
| | |
|
Greening the Supply and Demand
Mechanisms such as forest certification can support the transition towards more environmentally-friendly practices. Our initiative is ramping up forest certification uptake by supporting smallholder access and facilitating transitional entry through controlled sources, to meet the growing demand for legal and sustainable timber, influencing global timber value chains. On the other end, we're running an advocacy campaign targeting Chinese consumers to choose sustainably sourced forest products.
| |
Launched the Forest for Life campaign to reduce the demand for rosewood in China. With over 230 million reach, the campaign uses positive imagery and messaging to prompt a shift to eco-friendly behaviour among Chinese consumers. | |
Launched the Tropical Timber InfoHub and a Sustainable Tropical Timber Trade Network where buyers can find certified materials and producers from the region, in cooperation with FSC. | |
Advanced on the roadmap for forest certification schemes in Cambodia and Lao PDR, in cooperation with PEFC. | |
Engaged over 2,700 individuals in 20 networking and awareness-raising events and over 12 trainings to promote forest certification and enhance entry of smallholders and MSMEs into legal and sustainable forest products trade. | | |
|
|
Levelling the Playing Field for Smallholders
Despite being the main producers of timber in the region, many smallholders and micro-,small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) are excluded from legal and sustainable supply chains due to their informal status and lack of knowledge. The initiative’s capacity-building efforts aim to bridge this gap and enable smallholders’ integration into the value chains, accessing more lucrative markets while promoting sustainability.
| |
Launched enterprise incubation programmes in Thailand and Viet Nam to help entrepreneurs develop resilient businesses, and access finance and training. | |
Piloted a curriculum to enable smallholders to pursue different pathways for integration into certified timber supply chains. | |
Conducted 11 national and local trainings on forest certification in Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Thailand, benefitting about 300 participants | | |
|
|
Safeguarding Endangered Species
A hotspot of forest biodiversity, the Lower Mekong faces a rising threat to its endangered tree species. Among them, Rosewood, part of the CITES-listed genus in the region, teeters on the brink of depletion due to the soaring demand for exquisite rosewood furniture, both in China and throughout the region.
| |
Conducted a field inventory resulting in the publishing of a zero quota for rosewood export in Lao PDR. | |
Supported countries to better understand and access international trade tools to manage the trade of CITES-listed and endangered tree species. | | |
|
|
Communicating Change
One in two respondents surveyed across the Lower Mekong region and China are indifferent to the negative impacts of illegal logging and illegal forest trade. The multi-country survey also suggests that there is a disconnect between people’s knowledge of forest crime and people’s willingness to act against it. Behavioral change campaigns are key to shifting mindsets and behaviors towards adopting more sustainable practices to protect the region’s forests.
| |
Conducted a press conference and media junket on sustainable forest trade which capacitated over 20 journalists from regional media outlets to report on critical issues around illegal logging and illegal forest trade. | |
Published the KAP handbook that uses a combination of survey data, research and analysis to provide countries with a step-by-step guide to developing effective campaigns. A monitoring framework was further developed to track changes over time. | |
Held several country and regional dialogues resulting in bilateral cooperation and agreements to improve forest monitoring and data sharing among countries. In addition, over 25 articles, 15 videos, and 5 publications were produced, reaching key donors, business and civil society partners, and government stakeholders. | |
Developed six national behavioural change campaigns and a community of practice for journalists reporting on forest trade in order to shift mindsets and shape narratives that would promote the adoption of sustainable trade policies and practices. | | |
|
Tracking Financial Flows and Investments
Banks and financial institutions can play a major role in greening the value chain of forest products by offering financing and investment opportunities for sustainable forestry projects, promoting transparency and accountability in the forestry sector, and implementing due diligence processes to ensure their investments do not contribute to deforestation.
| |
Designed a regional finance forum for collaboration and capacity building between regional lenders. This forum targets underserved and lower-capacity banks in the Lower Mekong to increase their ability to discern between sustainable and unsustainable activities and to adopt criteria to identify sustainable alternatives. | |
Conducted an assessment of financial flows, policies, and guidelines on forest lending. This assessment analyses the financing activities of three key forest risk industries in the region, pulp and paper, timber and rubberwood, the policy environment in which they operate, and the policy measures taken by both the companies and their financiers to mitigate deforestation. | | |
|
|
Improving Data Monitoring
Assessing and improving information systems and datasets are important to track changes in forests, and monitor environmental and social outcomes in the forest sector. By making digital platforms and data more accessible, governments could also better understand the diverse ecosystem services provided by forests, leading to more informed decision-making.
| |
Launched a webpage compiling information on over 50 global and regional platforms, data and tools. The goal of the webpage is to help users to access digital resources that can help them to better understand or track social and environmental trends and outcomes in the forest sector. | |
Improved usage of the National Forest Monitoring Systems in countries such as Vietnam and Thailand to identify areas of forest degradation and prioritize interventions to address the underlying drivers. | |
|
The Lower Mekong region comprises five countries - Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam - each of which faces unique challenges when it comes to sustainable forest management.
-
Cambodia - The government is prioritizing action on sustainable forest management, certification, and providing regulatory and technical support to small and medium-scale private
-
Lao PDR - The government is strengthening investment in the plantations sector. Priority actions are being taken around ensuring legal and sustainable plantations, and facilitating smallholder entry.
-
Myanmar - Community Forest Enterprises are being trained to unlock their potential to supply legal timber to the domestic market. Priority actions include clarifying procedures and removing bottlenecks to achieving this potential.
-
Thailand - As a regional hub for trading forest products, Thai government agencies are undertaking ambitious initiatives to improve forest monitoring, certification, and sustainable forest management in order to support government targets to achieve 40% forest cover.
-
Viet Nam - Ensuring the legality and sustainability of forest products is one of the key priorities for Viet Nam in order to address new risk and challenges and further cement its role as a leading hub for sustainable forest trade.
| |
TRANSFORMATION TOWARDS A HUB FOR SUSTAINABLE FOREST TRADE | |
While the first phase of the initiative is ending this year, we look forward to growing the seeds we've planted to support the region to transition towards sustainable forest trade, focusing on forest-positive supply chains and jurisdictions. | | | | |
