The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) the International Model Forest Network (IMFN) Secretariat have extended their collaboration to 2024 to promote innovative approaches to sustainable forest management at the landscape level.
The Memorandum of Understanding, first signed in 2016, provided a framework for cooperation with the overall goal of landscape level application of sustainable forest management (SFM), strengthened natural resource governance, sharing of lessons learned and translation of these into integrated national policy frameworks.
The renewed arrangement includes the former elements but also encompasses emerging opportunities for collaboration on forests and water and landscape restoration, including linking to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
“There is great potential for using model forests as pilots to scale up innovative solutions to sustainable forest management, and to disseminate valuable lessons learned from the wealth of experiences available from the different model forests around the world,”
– FAO Forestry Officer Kenichi Shono.
Since 2016, there have been a number of achievements under the MOU including advocacy in support of a landscape approach, forest policy and collaboration. The partnership with FAO has also resulted in the inclusion of two Model Forests in the Forest and Landscape Restoration Mechanism (FLRM) program and FAO’s Forests and Water Program work with Model Forests in Asia.
For more information:
FAO Press Release (2020)
Carood Watershed Model Forest Partners With FAO To Restore Its Landscape (2018)
FAO and the IMFN Join Forces in Applying Landscape Level Sustainable Forest Management (2016)
