16-06-2015 - Editorial

This double issue of Unasylva aims to tease out the complex
interrelationship between forests, trees and disasters, and to examine the ways in which forests and trees can best be managed both to resist shocks and to protect from shocks.
The issue, published to coincide with the World Conference on
Disaster Risk Reduction (Sendai, 14–18 March 2015), could not be
more timely. As I write, peace talks are faltering in South Sudan, and a High Level Conference on Ebola, „From Emergency to Recovery”, has just been held in Brussels, involving the United Nations, the European Union, the Economic Community of West African States, and Presidents of affected countries.
Trees and forests grow slowly, and often appear as relatively stable features of our lives and landscapes. In contrast, disasters and crises strike swiftly and unexpectedly. They may not only decimate forest areas when they hit, but also wreak long-lasting environmental damage. Not all of the crises covered in this issue are recent, but the impact of all of them continues to be felt today.
Forests and trees, however, can act as natural buffers against
disasters and shocks. They have a powerful role to play in protecting against disasters and in reducing their impact. Indeed, the long-term perspective implicit in sustainable forest management is also a valuable approach to planning for disaster risk reduction.
The articles in this issue cover a range of disasters and crises.
Most refer to natural disasters, although some deal with humaninduced disasters and other complex crises, all of which are closely interlinked with forests and the environment.
In her opening article, Wahlström, Special Representative to the UN Secretary-General on Disaster Risk Reduction, notably provides insight into the fundamental role of forests in addressing the underlying causes of disasters, including climate change, and the importance of recognizing this in the international agenda.
Durst, in his article on recovery efforts in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan, which struck in 2013, looks at how forests can contribute both to short-term relief efforts, such as through the use of lumber from fallen coconut trees in rebuilding, and to long-term recovery and prevention of future disasters, through the strengthening of protective coastal vegetation. In a complementary article, Latham, Cumani and Bloise demonstrate the usefulness of remote sensing and geospatial systems for assessing the damage after the typhoon and planning accordingly. Marquis, in his article on building back better in Pakistan after the 2005 earthquake, and Fankap and Daphnis, in their account of post-earthquake reconstruction in Haiti after 2010, all showcase the watershed approach as an integrated means of ensuring long-term environmental and social resilience. Schmidt, in turn, highlights
Austria’s successful use of forests as a protective measure against
natural hazards such as floods and landslides.
Fires are a serious threat, both to forests themselves and beyond.
Morgan and Leonard look at the devastation wrought by bushfires in Australia, and the need for long-term planning to avoid worse disasters in the future. As shown by Zibtsev, Goldammer, Robinson and Borsuk, fires in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine are an even greater concern, where the 1986 explosion of a nuclear reactor has left a legacy that includes an inadequately managed radioactive forest with a fire risk that could easily result in a dangerous level of radioactive contamination, even beyond the immediate vicinity.
Thulstrup and Henry, writing on South Sudan, and Oshiek, writing on Darfur in the Sudan, examine a different type of human-induced crises. There is often a vicious circle in which strains on natural resources can contribute to conflict, and conflict can lead to further pressure on natural resources, as witnessed in these areas. An important measure for dealing with the depletion of trees for woodfuel, which is often linked to the displacement of large numbers of people, is the introduction of fuel-efficient stoves, as demonstrated by both of these articles.
The current public health emergency triggered by Ebola virus disease is probably the most complex example of the interlinkages between forests and crises dealt with in this issue. Annette, Poirson, Otto, de Balogh and Boulet look at how the disease is part of a complex web involving human, animal and ecosystem health.
An excellent model for dealing with disasters is that of the United States Forest Service’s Incident Command System (ICS).
Dague and Hirami describe its genesis and evolution, including its relevance today for a broad range of emergency situations, well beyond the forest fires for which it was initially designed.
Burgeon, Hofer, van Lierop and Wabbes close the issue with an overview of FAO’s work on resilience, as one of the Organization’s five Strategic Objectives, and the importance of forests in this work. As they observe, forests’ crucial role in disaster prevention and sustainable development must not be overlooked.