The 25th IUFRO World Congress began this Monday, September 30, with a plenary session entitled “The role of forests, forest products, and forest services in a changing climate," at Teatro Positivo in Curitiba, Brazil. The objective of this session was to discuss and identify how forests and forest products throughout the production chain can help reduce the effects of climate change. The session was moderated by Gerald Steindlegger, consultant and former CEO of WWF Austria and ex-director of policy for the Program on Forests and Climate Change at WWF International, and the featured speaker was Werner Kurz, a researcher with the Canadian Forest Service. According to Kurz, today global warming is humanity’s biggest challenge. He stated that human activities have caused average global temperatures to rise significantly on the earth’s surface, and that the impact of climate change is already being felt the world over, as detailed in the last report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). "The world responded to this with the Paris Agreement, and countries committed to the goal of keeping global warming well below 2°C, but this goal will not be achieved without help from the land-related sector in general. The IPCC report published last year identified several ways to reduce the impact, and all have something in common: lowering fossil fuel emissions and enhancing carbon sinks on land," he said. Kurz also stressed that the main message of the report from the government panel is that each ton of greenhouse gas reduced, each year, and each degree really matter, and that the world still has many options. He mentioned that one of the activities available is reducing deforestation, while another opportunity is reforestation. Both can be implemented on a large scale, but he emphasized that for this to happen, local knowledge is essential. "Many studies have shown that with sustainable forest management, we can increase the stock of carbon and sustainable supply of timber, fiber, and energy. The report says we need systematic perspectives when analyzing mitigation, a broader vision. In other words, when we assess the mitigation options, we need to focus on balancing out the greenhouse effect, not just carbon stocks. There is a great threat of climate change and impacts in the forests, which can be sinks, but can also be sources of carbon. We do not know what the net effect of combining all this will be, but there is a symmetry of risks that results in processes like fires, for example. Warming is feeding the warming," Kurz warned. In this context, it will be up to scientists (as Kurz indicated) to quantify opportunities to mitigate climate change via forest carbon sinks, reforestation, and consumption of wood products, and we all need to recognize that the atmosphere belongs to all of humanity. As a result, many things need to be reassessed. "We, the consumers, have an impact on climate change with our choices. We thought that by planting a trillion trees we would resolve all our problems, but what is lacking is local knowledge. We need to change our behavior, our lifestyle. We will not use forest carbon sinks as an excuse not to reduce our use of fossil fuels today. If we keep the temperature increases below 2°C, we need to have net negative emissions before 2100. Dramatic changes will have to happen in order for this to turn out right. The more we delay, the worse the consequences will be," he added. Debate After Kurz’s lecture, representatives from various institutions came onstage to discuss the subject: Mike Wingfield, president of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO); Peter Salke, of the German Ministry of the Economy and Cooperation; Pablo Pacheco of WWF International; Thais Linhares Juvenal, from the forest division of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); José Carlos da Fonseca Junior, executive director of the Brazilian Tree Industry (Ibá); and Andrea Vásquez Fernández, a Peruvian researcher at the University of British Columbia. According to Peter Salke, there are countless alternatives for forest recovery, and this has become a movement with various initiatives building up. "We are impressed with the voluntary political desire that we have seen emerging. One of the goals is to reduce deforestation by 15% by 2030. To do so, we need to remediate the landscape. But a recent publication shows some dismal results in relation to the degradation of forest landscapes: we're seeing these numbers rise," he stressed. Next, Pablo Pacheco stated that avoiding deforestation is a difficult and complex path with multiple dimensions, because "profit is pursued." Because not everything can be controlled all the time, not to mention political changes in some countries, understanding the scenario and responding to a combination of factors is necessary. "We need incentives. This is one of the points that will help control deforestation, and we have to think about measures to be taken such as improving governance of the [forest production] chain, rights of indigenous communities, and many other factors. A variety of actors must participate in a joint effort with monitoring, evaluation, transparency, and disclosure of information. We must also provide alternatives for the people who live in the forests, think about life plans for these communities and address all these aspects," he pointed out. The third panelist was the FAO’s Thais Linhares Juvenal, who said that there are two key words in this discussion: synergy and compensation. She reminded the panel that the United Nations proposed 17 Sustainable Development Goals meant to stimulate development in an integrated manner. She added that forests can contribute to the solution, but "are not everything." "When we make choices, we need to know that they are a very important part of the process. We will only make good choices if we have good data and information, and it is the role of science to provide this data. We have challenges in terms of landscape, poverty, and food security. Climate change is urgent, but poverty and food security are fundamental. We need to have this dialog based on scientific data. If we don’t have this, we are not going to get anywhere. We need to pass this data on to the politicians, and we need to have dialog without imposing solutions. We should use data to find a balance between synergy and tradeoffs, and consequently reach our goals. Respect and balance are what we need," she stressed. José Carlos da Fonseca Junior, executive director of Ibá, stated that most countries are truly committed and in line with the UN’s 2030 objectives, and took the opportunity to highlight some sustainability data from his organization’s 2019 annual sustainability report. "If we consider sustainable forest management, certified forests increased 40% since 2000, and this has an impact on various objectives. There was also a 19.2% reduction in greenhouse gases since 2005 and a 63% drop in other emissions. In Brazil, we’ve had a 45% increase in the use of renewable energy, while this industry has reached growth of 82%. We also had a 68% increase in recycling, a significant decrease in the use of water per ton, etc. We have taken very clear measures and these are some of the results of numerous investments in research, technology, and innovation," he said. Another participant in the debate was the researcher Andrea Vásquez Fernández. She described her experience as a woman native to the Peruvian Andes and her work with native populations in the Amazon. She believes that alternatives must be found. "We will not have changes if the systems stay the same. We need to look at traditional native activities, because they have a relationship thousands of years old with the earth, with the animals, with the trees, with the water. We need to think about four aspects: respect, affection, reciprocity, and care. These four points must be addressed. We need to negotiate, but within science it is important to provide spaces for local people, natives, so that they can contribute and help put [plans] into action. They need to participate in this scenario," she said. To close the session, moderator Gerald Steindlegger invited IUFRO president Mike Wingfield to speak. In his view, despite the concern with global warming there is still time and opportunity to find ways to resolve the situation. "We are afraid that it may be too late, but something can still be done, and this session has made that very clear. We have many solutions and science available that are not being implemented. There is a lot of talk about quick fixes, but I have my doubts. We can’t only think about the ocean without thinking about other things. Science is facing a difficult time, and we as scientists know that. We have false messages and the famous fake news spreading all the time. We need to win people’s trust, listen to the native peoples, look for the ideas that come from them. We already know what to do, the problem is doing it. We need to act," he concluded. IUFRO 2019 The 25th IUFRO World Congress runs from September 29 to October 5 at the Expo Unimed event center in Curitiba, focusing on "Forestry Research and Cooperation for Sustainable Development.” This is the largest forest research event in the world, and this year it is being held in Latin America for the first time. It features plenary and sub-plenary sessions, as well as technical sessions and excursions and parallel events, all encompassing five strategic themes: Forests for People, Forests and Climate Change, Forests and Forest Products for a Greener Future, Biodiversity, Environmental Services, and Invasive Species, and Forests, Interaction with the Soil and Water. IUFRO 2019 is organized locally by Embrapa and the Brazilian Forest Service and internationally by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO). Learn more at http://iufro2019.com/ Acompanhe o Congresso pelas Redes Sociais Instagram: @iufro2019 Facebook Youtube.com/embrapa Fotos: iufro.fotop.com.br Mais informações sobre o tema Serviço de Atendimento ao Cidadão (SAC) www.embrapa.br/fale-conosco/sac