Rio Conventions Pavilion TV, CBD COP11 (11/10/2012) – Meine van Noordwijk PhD, Principal Scientist and Chief Scientific Advisor at the World Agroforestry Centre, discusses the relationship between trees and communities and how his organisation is trying to make the CBD more effective.
Van Noordwijk explains the emotional importance of trees for communities and the natural affection for trees felt by most people.
Van Noorwijk argues that the modern concept of a ‘forest’ as largely excluding people is an artificial one and that the relations between forests and local communities need reforming. He references Indonesia, where the trees are “walking out the forests”: the number of trees inside the forests is decreasing as the number outside increases.
Van Noordwijk describes the work of the World Agroforestry Centre, where he is Principal Scientist, working to build and share knowledge on forests and agroforestry. He sees their priority as assisting in the implementation of policy rather than lobbying for particular policies.
Van Noordwijk gives his take on how the CBD could be more effective, arguing that is needs to better link science with policy. He asserts that good targets, objectives and programmes abound in the CBD but implementation is where it is lacking. He argues that the science and policy needs to be connected with practitioners in the field.