International skovdag: 46 organisationer kritiserer FN’s fokus på bioenergi

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Thomas Jazrawi

Tirsdag d. 21. marts er international dag for skov. 

I år har FN's Fødevare- og Landbrugsorganisation (FAO) valgt at sætte fokus på bioenergi. Det vækker kritik hos 46 organisationer, der mener, at fejring af skov ikke bør foregå ved at brænde den. 

Greening the wood energy

Her lidt fra FAO's pressemeddelelse på mærkedagen: 

Greening the wood energy sector holds a vast potential for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and improving rural livelihoods, FAO said today on the occasion of the UN's International Day of Forests.

Up to seven percent of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans come from the production and use of fuelwood and charcoal. This happens largely due to unsustainable forest management and inefficient charcoal manufacture and fuelwood combustion, according to a new FAO report, published today.

Referring to this year's theme "Forests and Energy", FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva noted that "for more than two billion people worldwide, wood fuel means a cooked meal, boiled water for safe drinking, and a warm dwelling."

46 organisationer: Fejr ikke skov ved at brænde den af 

De 46 organisationer, der bl.a. rummer Birdlife, FERN og flere grupper i netværket Friends of the Earth, herunder danske NOAH, har sendt et åbent brev til FAO. 

Det foregår under overskriften "Celebrating forests by burning them is the worng way". Her er præsentation fra FERN's hjemmeside: 

The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has chosen to use the International Day of Forests 2017 to promote the use of wood for energy, calling forests “nature’s power house”.

Forests are precious ecosystems and well worth of celebrating, but the chosen theme of the day is unfortunate as growing demand for wood based bioenergy has serious negative impacts on environment, local communities, people’s health, the climate and, of course, our forests.

In an open letter to the FAO, 46 NGOs explain the risks of increasing use of wood for energy and urge the FAO to stop the misleading presentation of all woody biomass as ‘carbon neutral’ and ‘sustainable’, and refocus its energies on promoting the conservation of biodiverse forest ecosystems.

Det åbne brev og FAO's fulde pressemeddelelse kan findes i nedenstående links.