Tropentag 2023, September 20 - 22, Berlin, Germany "Competing pathways for equitable food systems transformation: trade-offs and synergies."

Narratives, interests, and actors in forestry-SDG interactions: A systematic literature-based discourse analysis

Dresden University of Technology , International and Tropical Forestry, Germany

Abstract

Forests support life on Earth through vital ecosystem services that are crucial for human well-being and sustainable development. Accordingly, forestry and forest landscapes are pivotal to achieving Agenda 2030 and the associated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the same time, implementing the SDGs is affecting forest quantity and quality. This holds particularly true for the Global South, facing high deforestation and forest degradation rates, often driven by forest conversion to agriculture. Enormous challenges and opportunities come with this interdependency and careful management is required to safeguard future sustainable development. The purpose of this study is to scrutinize discourses on forest-SDG interactions through an actor-centered perspective. As such, the study aims to critically shed light on SDG trade-offs and synergies in forest landscapes, the relevant actors’ interests and narratives, and the conflicts among them. The analysis consists of two parts: (1) the mapping of thematic blocks shaping the forest-SDG discourse along with the associated trade-offs and synergies therein; (2) the identification of the corresponding actors, their interests, and narratives. Methodologically, the study deploys a systematic review of literature that addresses forest-SDG interactions from three angles: (1) the practical development politics discourse, (2) the corporate sector discourse, and (3) the scientific discourse, including the three major subcategories in nature, society, and technic. The results of the study will be presented at the conference with the overall objective to enrich the scientific and public discourse, as well as the practical decision-making process on SDG trade-offs and synergies in forest landscapes in the Global South.

Keywords: Forest, forest governance, forest landscape, interaction, SDGs, sustainable development goals, synergy, trade-off

Contact Address: Dominic Ahrens, Dresden University of Technology , International and Tropical Forestry, Pienner straße 7, 01737 Tharandt, Germany, e-mail: dominic.ahrenstu-dresden.de