Restoring forests holds the key to a sustainable future

PRESERVING the world forests will generate new jobs and mitigate climate change.

Revitalizing degraded forest is critical for meeting the United Nations target of increasing global forest area by 3 per cent, in time for the 2030 deadline. Doing so would also help countries create new jobs, prevent soil erosion, protect watersheds, mitigate climate change and safeguard biodiversity.

It is estimated that two billion hectares of degraded land worldwide could potentially be restored.

The sustainable management of the world’s forests took center stage last week at the UN Forum on Forests at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Forests cover 31 per cent of the Earth’s land area, contain over 80 per cent of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity and store more carbon than the entire atmosphere.

“Forests are one of Earth’s most valuable ecosystems,” said Li Junhua, Under Secretary-General for UN Economic and Social Affairs, at the opening session of the forum. “They also form a vital social and safety net

Source: UN from some communities that rely on forests for food and income.”

More than 1.6 billion people depend on forests for subsistence, livelihood, employment and income. Some two billion people, roughly one third of the world’s population—and two thirds of households in Africa—still depend on wood fuel for cooking and heating. Woodlands play a critical role in tackling poverty, providing decent work, and promoting gender equality, all essential for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Lachezara Stoeva, resident of the UN Economic and Social Council, told the forum Forests and trees provide clean air and water and sustain people regardless of where they live. Zoonotic diseases account for 75 per cent of all emerging infectious diseases, and they usually occur when natural landscapes, such as forests are cleared. Restoring forests and planting trees are an essential part of

Key consumer trends emerging from food and beverage sector

KUALA LUMPUR―Tetra Pak, a world-leading processing and packaging solutions company, released key findings and insights from its full report, Trendipedia 2023. The annual global report monitors changes in consumer behavior, identifying and analyzing interesting consumer trends and opportunities for businesses in the food and beverage industry to take advantage of.

“The world is always evolving, and we continue to be faced with emerging new trends. At Tetra Pak, we believe innovation is the answer, and through a collaborative approach, we gather customers, industry partners and experts, to tackle the most challenging issues in our industry,” said John Jose, marketing director of Tetra Pak Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia.

“We remain committed in playing our part to develop breakthrough solutions that will help shape a more sustainable tomorrow for people on our planet. The Trendipedia report holds many insights that can help our customers improve any dimension of their business and drive performance,” he said.

In the post-pandemic times, many have seen macro-level changes resulting in supply chain disruptions, pricing increases from inflation and labor shortages that have caused businesses to scale back services. This has caused consumers to rethink and change their ways.

“These days, consumers are setting new priorities and standards regarding where and when they use their money impacting their spending habits. As a result, companies need to be more creative in attracting consumers to choose their products today,” said Billie Ing, Global Head of Trends and Foresight at Ipsos Strategy3.

According to the latest report, the main trends in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia are ‘Flexi-shopping,’ ‘In Control,’ and ‘Eatertainment.’ an integrated “one health” approach for people, species and the planet.

Flexi-shopping refers to consumers that are living with a flexible mindset, cutting back where needed but treating themselves occasionally, especially where there are perceived additional benefits around health or sustainability.

“Despite rising inflation, Southeast Asian consumers say that health benefits and natural ingredients are more important factors than price, in determining if the food or beverage is of good value. Here, the ready-to-drink (RTD) category provides consumers with a convenient, accessible, and affordable way to drink beverages. This category continues to be popular due to its convenience and health-conscious varieties, supporting consumers with healthfocused lifestyles,” said Jose.

The In Control trend refers to how consumers are using the way they eat and drink to bring a feeling of control to their lives. The choice of whether to indulge or moderate their consumption can help people take their physical health into their own hands. In recent times, consumers have been embracing plant-based options in their diet to support a healthy living, and this trend shows no sign of slowing down.

On Eatertainment, some are looking to be entertained as they dare to try new flavors, recipes and trends from cyberspace. The food community is filled with Gen Zs, gamified, and creative consumers, empowered by social media. In Singapore, 54 percent of millennials and 53 percent of Gen Z experienced virtual gaming and played immersive openworld video games2.

“Forests offer solutions,” Forum chair Zéphyrin Maniratanga said, encouraging greater engagement of forest communities in all related processes in climate action in fighting against desertification, land degradation and climate change.

Deforestation

One of the main causes of deforestation in Bolivia, for one, is the expansion of mechanized agriculture. Every year, the world continues to lose 10 million hectares of forests, an area roughly the size of the Republic of Korea. The world’s forests are at risk from illegal or unsustainable logging, forest fires, pollution, disease, pests, fragmentation, and the impacts of climate change, including severe storms and other weather events.

In the reforestation site of Merea, Chad, children are planting acacia seedlings for the future. In the past 50 years, Lake Chad Basin shrank from 25,000 square kilometers to 2,000 square kms. UN news

FAO commodity price index increased in April

ROME―The benchmark index of international food commodity prices rose in April for the first time in a year, amid increases in world quotations for sugar, meat and rice, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported last week.

The FAO food price index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, averaged 127.2 points in April 2023, up 0.6 percent from March.

At that level, the index was 19.7 percent below its level in April 2022, but still 5.2 percent higher than in April 2021.

The FAO sugar price index rose 17.6 percent from March, reaching its highest level since October 2011, due to reduced productions expectations and outcomes in India, China, Thailand and the European Union caused by dry weather conditions as well as to a slow start of the sugarcane crop harvest in Brazil, along with higher international crude oil prices, which can increase demand for sugarcane -based ethanol.

The FAO meat price index rose 1.3 percent during the month, driven primarily by higher pig meat quotations, followed by poultry prices, which increased amid Asian import demand and production curbs spurred by animal health issues. International bovine meat prices also increased due to a decline in cattle supplies for slaughter, especially in the United States of America.FAO News