Forests harbour a large proportion of the Earth’s terrestrial biodiversity, which continues to be lost at an alarming rate. Deforestation is the single most important driver of forest biodiversity loss with 10 million ha of forest converted every year to other land uses, primarily for agriculture. Up to 30 percent of tree species are now threatened with extinction. As a consequence of overexploitation, wildlife populations have also been depleted across vast areas of forest, threatening the survival of many species. Protected areas, which are considered the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation, cover 18 percent of the world’s forests while a much larger 30 percent are designated primarily for the production of timber and non-wood forest products. These and other forests managed for various productive benefits play a critical role in biodiversity conservation and also provide essential ecosystem services, such as securing water supplies, providing recreational space, underpinning human well-being, ameliorating local climate and mitigating climate change. Therefore, the sustainable management of all forests is crucial for biodiversity conservation, and nations have committed to biodiversity mainstreaming under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Mainstreaming biodiversity in forestry requires prioritizing forest policies, plans, programmes, projects and investments that have a positive impact on biodiversity at the ecosystem, species and genetic levels. In practical terms, this involves the integration of biodiversity concerns into everyday forest management practice, as well as in long-term forest management plans, at various scales. It is a search for optimal outcomes across social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. This study is a collaboration between FAO and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), lead centre of the CGIAR research programme on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA). This report is a compilation of country case studies as supplementary material to the main publicaiton, which reviews progress and outlines the technical and policy tools available for countries and stakeholders, as well as the steps needed, to effectively mainstream biodiversity in forestry.

Forests harbour a large proportion of the Earth’s terrestrial biodiversity, which continues to be lost at an alarming rate. Deforestation is the single most important driver of forest biodiversity loss with 10 million ha of forest converted every year to other land uses, primarily for agriculture. Up to 30 percent of tree species are now threatened with extinction. As a consequence of overexploitation, wildlife populations have also been depleted across vast areas of forest, threatening the survival of many species. Protected areas, which are considered the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation, cover 18 percent of the world’s forests while a much larger 30 percent are designated primarily for the production of timber and non-wood forest products. These and other forests managed for various productive benefits play a critical role in biodiversity conservation and also provide essential ecosystem services, such as securing water supplies, providing recreational space, underpinning human well-being, ameliorating local climate and mitigating climate change. Therefore, the sustainable management of all forests is crucial for biodiversity conservation, and nations have committed to biodiversity mainstreaming under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Mainstreaming biodiversity in forestry requires prioritizing forest policies, plans, programmes, projects and investments that have a positive impact on biodiversity at the ecosystem, species and genetic levels. In practical terms, this involves the integration of biodiversity concerns into everyday forest management practice, as well as in long-term forest management plans, at various scales. It is a search for optimal outcomes across social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. This study is a collaboration between FAO and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), lead centre of the CGIAR research programme on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA). Illustrated by eight country case-studies, the report reviews progress and outlines the technical and policy tools available for countries and stakeholders, as well as the steps needed, to effectively mainstream biodiversity in forestry.

Drawing on experiences and insights from 16 megadiverse countries, this report examines how biodiversity is being mainstreamed in four key areas.

Forestry plays a minor but important role in the livelihoods of vulnerable population in Mongolia. The country has developed a Participatory Sustainable Forest Management (PSFM), integrating livestock raising with forestry. The project was designed to strengthen the PSFM process, thereby improving livelihoods and the ecological status of forests. The project reviewed the current forestry guidelines at both national and local government levels and forestry planning guidelines for Soum and Aimag levels were approved by the provincial Government promoting the participatory forest management (PFM). There were also advances to improve the policy and legal framework at national level, but lengthy policymaking process and need for increased inter-ministerial policy dialogues, among other issues, have challenged the full achievement of this outcome.

As the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011–2020 comes to a close and countries prepare to adopt a post-2020 global biodiversity framework, this edition of The State of the World’s Forests (SOFO) examines the contributions of forests, and of the people who use and manage them, to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Forests cover just over 30 percent of the global land area, yet they provide habitat for the vast majority of the terrestrial plant and animal species known to science. Unfortunately, forests and the biodiversity they contain continue to be under threat from actions to convert the land to agriculture or unsustainable levels of exploitation, much of it illegal. The State of the World’s Forests 2020 assesses progress to date in meeting global targets and goals related to forest biodiversity and examines the effectiveness of policies, actions and approaches, in terms of both conservation and sustainable development outcomes. A series of case studies provide examples of innovative practices that combine conservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity to create balanced solutions for both people and the planet.

In collaboration with its partners, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) leads the integration, in a structured, holistic and coherent manner, of actions for the conservation, sustainable use, management and restoration of biological diversity across agricultural sectors at national, regional and international levels. Against this background, FAO has developed a series of instruments and tools related to biodiversity for food and agriculture (BFA) that can contribute to the implementation of the FAO Global Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity across Agricultural Sectors, Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030, and in alignment with the mitigation and adaptation agenda of the UNFCCC. In line with its programming and operationalization mandate to address regional priorities, the FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (REU) via the Regional Initiative n°3 on Managing natural resources sustainably and preserving biodiversity in a changing climate, developed the Regional Action plan for biodiversity mainstreaming across agricultural sectors in 17 programming countries of Europe and Central Asia. During 2022–2023, it aims at addressing the priority regional challenges.

This report concisely introduces FAO’s work on biodiversity mainstreaming, including the regional consultations on the subject that took place in 2018 and 2019. It particularly focuses on the Regional Dialogue on Biodiversity Mainstreaming across Agricultural Sectors in Asia and the Pacific, held in Bangkok, Thailand, in July 2019. It outlines the main topics addressed in its opening, plenary, thematic and closing sessions; and highlights the most relevant regional needs, priorities, and recommendations identified by the meeting participants.

This report introduces FAO’s work on biodiversity mainstreaming, including the regional consultation process that took place in 2018 and 2019. It particularly focuses on presenting the outcomes of the Regional Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Biodiversity Mainstreaming across Agricultural Sectors in the African Region, held in Kigali, Rwanda, in November 2019. This report presents the main topics addressed in its opening, plenary, and closing sessions; and highlights the most relevant regional needs, priorities, and recommendations identified by the meeting participants.

The report concisely introduces FAO’s work on biodiversity mainstreaming, including the regional consultations on the subject that took place in 2018 and 2019. It particularly focuses on the Regional Dialogue on Biodiversity Mainstreaming across Agricultural Sectors in the Near East and North Africa, held in Amman, Jordan, in November 2019. It outlines the main topics addressed in its opening, plenary, and closing sessions; and highlights the most relevant regional needs, priorities, and recommendations identified by the meeting participants.

This Environmental Performance Review of Mexico provides an independent assessment of Mexico's progress in achieving its domestic and international environmental commitments, together with policy-relevant recommendations.