Report prepared by Luke highlights global megatrends’ impact on forest-sector employment and supports FAO in its global work
Full and productive employment and decent work are crucial for human well-being, inclusive economic growth, and socially sustainable development. Globally, employment in most rural areas is mainly provided in agriculture and forestry, but over the past years there has been an overall decline in forest-related employment. However, global megatrends are renewing traditional forest sector employment and can provide new forms of employment opportunities.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development places inclusive economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work at the centre of the development vision. Rural employment plays crucial role in it. We have produced a report for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) that examines the impact of megatrends on employment in the forest sector and assesses current challenges and opportunities for decent work. The report “Assessment of Emerging Employment and Decent Work Opportunities and Challenges in the Forest Sector” supports FAO in its mission to promote sustainable development and decent work in the forest sector.
For Luke the report is important as it aligns with our mission to create value and solutions through research by addressing global challenges. Our researchers worked in close collaboration with FAO experts to produce the report.
Forest sector faces opportunities and decent work challenges
“Forests have provided livelihoods and contributed economic growth for millennia and will remain important for billions of people, especially rural communities” says Qiang Ma, Forestry Officer of FAO’s Forestry Division and technical lead of the study at FAO. “Decent work in the forest sector is crucial to upscale the contribution of forestry to a bioeconomy for sustainable food and agriculture.”
The report makes a number of policy recommendations, including the need to mainstream decent work throughout forest-related value chains and industries. Ensuring social protection for forest sector workers is challenging due to the high levels of self-employment, temporary and seasonal work, subcontracting, and the pervasiveness of the informal economy. The report also calls for an enabling environment for the development of forest-based activities and entrepreneurship, streamlining of conflicting policies and elimination of policies that undermine sustainable forest management.
Better understanding of the forest sector performance in tackling inequalities
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Forest Solutions Group has used the report to aid assessing its member organisations' performance on decent work as part of its work to ensure a transition to net-zero and nature positive that’s just and doesn’t increase inequalities.
“For us, the value of the report was to have a more detailed understanding of decent work opportunities in the forest sector. It’s important for us to make sure that we can properly assess what’s the current state of the sector and discuss with our members where they do see themselves in the future and what future jobs will look like. The report was an inspiration for our interview guide," says Bernard de Galembert, director of the WBCSD's Forest Solutions Group.
