SLU news

Forests - for recreation and well-being

Published: 23 March 2021
Person in forest

21 March was the International Forest Day, a day to emphasise the values forests give us, both for food, clothes, building material, recreational areas, well-being etc. But also to emphasise the negative impact humans have on forests. SLU Global got a chance to ask Harry Fischer, researcher at SLU, a few questions about his research within the forest area.

Please tell us a little about your research. 

I have several ongoing projects right now on the topic of forests and rural livelihoods. In rural areas of low-income countries, rural populations often depend significantly on forest resources for fuelwood, leaf fodder for animals, timber, and various marketable forest products. My research aims to understand what factors enable communities to manage local resources effectively in support of multiple objectives – including rural livelihoods as well as broader environmental goals such as carbon sequestration.

This year’s theme is “Forest restoration: a path to recovery and well-being”. How can forest research provide a way for better human health and well-being?

Forest restoration has the potential to advance rural well-being, but this depends greatly on how it is done and who is involved in the process. It can also have negative outcomes! In one of my projects, we have found that government-initiated tree plantation projects often result in conversion of land types that people rely upon, such as open grassland that is important for livestock grazing; people report that their livelihoods have been negatively impacted over time.

Elsewhere, however, we have observed examples where restoration has been done in collaboration with rural communities, where rural citizens have influence on plantation processes, including what species are planted and where they are planted on the landscape. In such examples, we have seen some positive outcomes for rural livelihoods as well as greater local investment in caring for these forests. This is a critical challenge of the present: how can we ensure that restoration and tree plantation activities happen in a way that works in collaboration with communities and also supports their interests?

How does SLU’s research contribute to forest restoration globally?

SLU has great potential to contribute to these interests, and there are a lot of great researchers at our university that are contributing to these processes. Unfortunately, we often continue to do so within our own disciplinary “bubbles”. There is a tendency for natural scientists to work with natural scientists and social scientists to work with social scientists. We need interdisciplinary collaboration to really solve this challenge! In such contexts, all parties need to have a meaningful say in defining the research questions and methodology.  

The International Forest Day is a way to raise awareness about the importance of all kinds of forests. How can we contribute to change the negative trends we see today with deforestation and biodiversity loss for example?

I do not think that simply building ‘awareness’ will solve these challenges. We need to bring multiple people together; governments, researchers, industry, local stakeholders, and many more to generate real, concrete policy proposals that can make progress. These proposals need to be anchored upon an ethical vision for balancing multiple human and environmental objectives. Perhaps most importantly, there is a need to incorporate the poor and marginal resource-dependent communities themselves – in these processes rather than simply assuming that we have a grasp of their needs and interests.

 

Facts:

SLU is involved in several forest research projects. In this interview we can read about the importance of forests for rural livelihoods, and also about forest restoration, in low-income countries.


Contact

SLU Global supports SLU's work for global development to contribute to Agenda 2030.

SLU Global
Vice-Chancellor's Office

Agricultural Sciences for Global Development
PO Box 7005, SE-750 07 Uppsala
Visiting address: Almas Allé 7
global@slu.se    www.slu.se/slu-global 
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