XIV World Congress (WFC)

“Social protection for building resilience of dependent people”

What is the role of social protection in promoting and protecting the livelihood of forest-dependent people?

Existing evidence suggests three main roles for social protection to support forest-dependent people.

•Firstly, providing poor people dependent on and with access to social protection can strengthen resilience, allowing them to better manage the social and economic risks and environmental threats. •Secondly, through direct income support, social protection can help alleviate extreme poverty, overcome food insecurity and increase productivity by stimulating local economy. •Lastly, social protection schemes can also be used to directly increase the adoption of sustainable practices.

IALC Dr. Michael Frings 1 There is a two way relationship between social protection and forestry that needs to be further explored to provide insights and evidence to policies and programmes aiming at forestry-based livelihood protection and promotion.

Forests play an important role in the livelihoods and food security of forest dependent people, as by providing access to food, and income they help manage risks and reduce vulnerabilities, thus serving a socially protective function. On the other hand, social protection interventions can reduce poverty and increase resilience of forest dependent people, while fostering sustainable management of forests and natural resources. The objectives of this online discussion that contributes to the preparation of a report for the side event are to: •· Gain a better understanding of the potential synergies and conflicts between social protection and forestry; •· Identify major social protection instruments that can promote a sustainable forestry development; •· Share knowledge and experience on how to better coordinate and harmonize social protection and forest policies.

IALC Dr. Michael Frings 2 So let us start to consider the following questions:

1. What are the impacts of forest policy and programs on risks and vulnerability?

- Deficient in the coherence between environmental protection and economical benefit

- Non limited ownership of the ground, so huge areas are owned by few owners (Missing cooperative association programs)

- No clear laws to compensate forest management (i. e.: If you cut one , you must plant ten new ones)

- Conflicts of interest between „Benefit in a short time“ and „Benefit for generations“ (If I am hungry today, I can not wait until the tree of my grandpa is fully grown)

IALC Dr. Michael Frings 3 2. What are the major sources of vulnerability for forest dependent people?

- Non or very small protection and control by the governments, except countries in the northern climates like Canada and the Scandinavian Area

- „Receive a lot of money today, but don´t think about tomorrow“

- Social pressure in the form of daily needs (food, medical care, money for tools and mechanical equipment)

- A very high level of criminal „Mafia Practices“ in the timber market

- Governmental acts and taxes, which are far away from any logical coordination with the environmental and landscape protection

- Different interests in the use of the same squaremeter (forest?, ?, ?, urban life?, industry?, mining?)

IALC Dr. Michael Frings 4 What are the limitations of forest management policies and programmes in addressing them and how would these be best addressed by social protection?

- Taking into account all the challenges (hunger, , et cetera) there is no space for a limitation of forest management policies and programmes Possible solutions to be best adressed: - „The FAO Family Farming Project“ could be completed by a „ Project“ (5000 M² for Food- and Feedproduction, 5000 M² Forest) - Families, who operate forestry should be tax-exempted, because they „produce oxygen, store CO2, reduce soil erosion and evapotranspiration“ - Or the benefit of CO2 Certificates should be payed to those families in form of investments by the governments - The education and training must start in the Kindergartens or elementary schools. The children, who have to protect our planet, must be trained very sensitively in environmental protection

IALC Dr. Michael Frings 5 3. Which countries have social protection instruments and programmes that:

- target forest-dependent people?

-are implemented with the aim of promoting sustainable forestry among the poor?

-- are integrated with sustainable forest management programmes?

This answer has to be provided by FAO. I think it is the only organization which is able to schedule a worldwide impression of good and bad examples

If not, it is time to begin!

IALC Dr. Michael Frings 6 4. What key factors influence the creation of synergies or conflicts between social protection and sustainable forestry?

Let us start with an economic scenario:

A five year old child starts to plant three trees every day . One is a fast growing tree, one relatively fast growing, and one is a slowly growing tree. The distance between each tree is five meters, so there is space enough to plant additional vegetables. The child takes care and waters the plants, and harvests the weed to use it as feed for the chickens. The kid collects the organic fertilizer from the animals and mixes it with the soil of the field.

After one year (365 days x 3) 1095 trees are planted. When the child turns 18 years old 19.710 trees are planted. BUT: The child has to harvest and to sell 33% (the quick growing ones), because of the costs for his / her University Studies.

In 18 years this child reduced hunger, stored CO2, produced oxygen, et cetera

IALC Dr. Michael Frings 7 After 30 years, now a father or a mother, he or she harvests the relatively fast growing trees to pay a good education for his or her children By the way, these kids start the same process at the age of 5.

Another 30 years later, grandpa and grandma are now 65 years old, they harvest their 60 year old slow growing trees to finance their pension.

Can you imagine what happens, if 1.000 children do this? Or 1 Million? Or 100 Million? Worldwide?

Coming back to the question: a) Synergies - The parents have to hand over the land to the children today! - Every sqm a government requires for urban life, must be substituted as loss of land by 100 sqm for forest and agriculture. If the government does not have enough land, it must lease the land in other countries. (Burj Khalifa in Dubai has 526.760 sqm of available surface) b) Conflicts - Responsible statemen are not able to understand this solution

IALC Dr. Michael Frings 8 What complementarities can be utilized to optimize the effects of social protection on forestry management?

- The focus has to be directed towards a forestry that includes agricultural management

- All projects have to be managed in accordance with the UNESCO MAD Programm

- If the involved families feel protected by the government and they are able to pay the daily needs, big industrial companies have no chance to „soak in“ the benefit from their land

IALC Dr. Michael Frings 9 5. What aspects of the global climate-change agenda present opportunities for harmonizing social protection and sustainable forestry policies?

- Families, who operate forestry are tax-exempted, because they „produce oxygen, store CO2, reduce soil erosion and evapotranspiration“

This is local and global healthcare on site. Everywhere!

- Or the benefit of CO2 Certificates is payed to those families in form of investments by the governments

Use this money to realize the example on page Nr. 7

IALC Dr. Michael Frings 10 What are the key mechanisms for fostering coordination of and coherence between social protection and forestry policies?

- An excellent education in environmental protection (It is helpful to be able to use a smartphone. It is good to be able to read the books of Mr. Shakespeare)

Both are not able to reduce hunger!!!

- The value of forestry products has to be rated just as the most expensive mining product

If this becomes a law, recycling gets another value!

IALC Dr. Michael Frings 11 Forestry policies must become the key mechanism of social protection!!!

Only if the last CEO at Wall Street understands that he only lives because he is protected by a tree, maybe we will be pretty close to reach the goal!!!

Thank you! Shukran! Merci! Gracias! Danke schön!

IALC Dr. Michael Frings 12 Dr. Michael Frings is an agri- and horticulture engineer with 36 years professional experience as acriculture and landscape consultant on site.

His international professional career started in 1977 in Germany 1980 in France 1989 in Togo 1993 in Ecuador, Columbia and the Dominicanian Republic 1995 in Malysia, Taiwan and Hongkong Since 2001 on Tenerife Island Actual involved in projects in Saudi-Arabia and Niger

His private goal is to reduce hunger by a sustainable landscape manegement.

IALC Dr. Michael Frings 13