Nuts for (Forest) Restoration

Liliana Annovazzi-Jakab
Chief, UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) with over 30 years’ experience in the United Nations, law firms and media industry. Lawyer with a focus on international law and proud mother of three.

Daniel Griswold
Associate Economic Affairs Officer at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) with an MBA and experience in environmental and climate policy, economics, finance and management from the UN, development agencies, investors and companies around the globe.

Forest restoration concerns us all. In addition to efforts by producers and industry, government policy, resources and action are essential to drive restoration at scale. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) works with countries, communities, producers and businesses to foster preparedness for the challenges to come.

Legend has it that Alexander the Great, so impressed by the ability of walnuts to nourish his ailing army, brought these nuts with him from Kyrgyzstan. The country’s ancient walnut forests remain an important source of food and livelihoods today. Yet nowadays, nut forests in Central Asia are facing challenges that Alexander the Great could not even imagine.

Across Central Asia and beyond, many of these forest landscapes have been cut or degraded in recent decades. This contributes to lower yields and quality of nuts, affecting local livelihoods and communities. It also represents a missed business opportunity.

Restoring these forests, replanting and caring for them reverses these negative trends and increases areas for trees to grow and thrive, while linking them to surrounding landscapes and land use. In return, tree nut yields and quality are improved —in and around forest. This includes nut plantations, which benefit from nearby healthy forests with more biodiverse habitats for pollinators, improved erosion protection and enhanced water capture. This build-up is critical in the long term. Restored forests are more diverse and sustain and enhance these and other benefits over time. Harvest areas may also increase.

Efforts to restore these forest mosaics and landscapes may also include expanded plantation cover in areas that have been deforested. Collectively, the benefits of restoration can enhance the resilience of tree nut forests, plantations and supply chains. Given the importance of forests for societies and the environment, there is broad political support for restoring forests and forest landscapes, including through tree plantations, but despite promising political commitments, a massive forest finance gap remains globally.

Restoring forests concerns us all. And, from individual harvesters to large multinational companies, the business sector is a core player because joint public-private cooperation can deliver a systemic solution. For example, large companies can mobilize resources for forest restoration in areas where they produce and source nuts. Meanwhile, government policy, resources and action are essential to drive restoration at scale, complementing and supporting efforts by producers and industry. This can help reach locations outside the geographic scope of business-led initiatives. All public and private efforts should also aim at including and benefiting small and vulnerable entities and individuals.

And there is good reason for businesses to engage in forest restoration. It is linked to the dual challenge facing nut value chains.

First, climate change exacerbates threats to nut yields and quality. Producers face a particularly severe situation, as they bear high up-front costs of required changes in productive models.

Second, the sustainability and climate impact of production and supply chains may be increasingly regulated, which would affect business performance. Global efforts to align economies with the Paris Climate Agreement to halt global warming and adapt to a changing climate, while aligning financial flows with these objectives, means that market access and supply chains may be affected by policy action and regulation. Conservation of biodiversity is receiving similar attention.

For example, the proposed European Commission regulation on deforestation-free products may have wide-reaching impacts, should, one day, its scope continue to expand to more products. The impact to businesses could depend on the source of nuts (plantation-grown vs. forest-harvested) as well as the ability to fulfill regulatory reporting requirements. The firm-level impacts of this and other emerging policies and regulations will depend on the business model and country.

Therefore, the tree nut sector must anticipate and adapt to emerging policy and regulatory action in parallel to efforts to adapt to climate change. Impacts on supply and demand, and their ripple effects, mean that producers and processors might face more complex markets in the future. Business and productive models will need to keep pace to survive and thrive.

Small-scale harvesters, producers and other enterprises are among the most vulnerable to these challenges. Failure to ensure a smooth, fair transition in response to the dual challenge may exacerbate social inequality and efforts to build dynamic, resilient supply chains and markets.

Yet, business cannot solve these challenges alone. National governments play a key role in supporting the sector in this transition, while businesses of all sizes need to make their voices heard. Proactive long-term public plans and policies can help minimize disruptions and impacts to national markets, while protecting vulnerable livelihoods. Conversely, in markets where long-term planning and policy signals are insufficient or uncertain, risks and costs will increase as needed action is delayed.

Therefore, UNECE helps link forest restoration policy and action with sustainable supply chains to deliver on climate action and circular green growth. While it takes years to grow a forest, we at UNECE know that we must act now and sustain our efforts with our partners to deliver results tomorrow.

UNECE works with countries, communities, producers and businesses to foster preparedness for the challenges to come. Despite many uncertainties, we can plan, plant and harvest the fruits (and nuts!) of our work in the short, medium and long term.

“Nuts for restoration” is one of the most cherished projects of the UNECE Forestry and Timber Section, and we hope that it will attract the attention it deserves. “Nuts for restoration” opens new pathways and opportunities while delivering on a new approach. Linking the creation of vibrant forest landscapes with inclusive, sustainable business opportunities is our way of making a difference. We hope that the international nut and dried fruit community and industry will join us in these efforts.