Forests as Pillars of Social and Economic Resilience – Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards summarizing key facts, figures, and concepts from the lecture on forests’ roles in social and economic resilience.

Global Forest Expert Panel (GFEP)

A group of 14 forest scientists from 10 countries (plus 8 supporting experts) that produced the 2025 report on forests’ social and economic resilience.

Forest land coverage

Forests occupy roughly 31 % of Earth’s land surface.

People living near forests

About 4.2 billion people—95 % of everyone outside cities—reside within 5 km of a forest.

Directly forest-supported population

Approximately 1.6 billion people rely on forests for their day-to-day livelihoods.

Social-ecological resilience

The capacity of interconnected human and natural systems to absorb disturbances and adapt while maintaining essential functions.

Cultural services of forests

Support for traditions, rituals, and community cohesion that strengthens social resilience.

Equity restoration through forest access

Secure forest rights help correct social imbalances by giving marginalized groups resources and decision-making power.

Forest-related small-scale food systems

Local production that supplies nutritious foods, income, biodiversity conservation, and cultural vitality.

Global forest production value (2022)

Estimated to exceed USD 1.5 trillion.

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs)

Goods such as fruits, nuts, resins, and mushrooms used by 3.5–5.8 billion people worldwide.

Pine nuts & forest mushrooms trade (2022)

International sales worth about USD 1.8 billion.

Annual wood harvest (2022)

Roughly 4 billion m³ of wood—2.04 billion m³ roundwood and 1.97 billion m³ fuelwood.

Forest sector employment

Around 33 million jobs, or 1 % of global employment.

Indigenous peoples and forests

Some 350 million Indigenous people depend almost entirely on forests for subsistence.

Ecosystem services share in rural livelihoods

Non-marketed goods and services provide 47–89 % of income for poor rural and forest-dwelling households.

Mangrove coastal protection

Mangrove forests dissipate wave energy, lowering flood damage and disaster response costs.

Urban trees and the heat island effect

City trees cool streets and buildings, reducing energy demand during heat waves.

Forest therapy

Spending time in forests to lower stress and improve mental health.

Forests and disease regulation

Healthy forest ecosystems help control vector-borne diseases, supporting public health.

Global forest area decline (1990-2015)

Shrank from 4.28 billion ha (31.85 %) to 3.99 billion ha (30.85 %).

Planted forest expansion (1990-2015)

Increased from 167.5 million ha to 277.9 million ha—rising from 4.06 % to 6.95 % of total forest area.

Drivers of forest pressure

Climate change, invasive species, wildfires, logging, fragmentation, over-extraction, and land conversion to agriculture or housing.

Timber-centric policy impacts

Policies focused on maximizing timber yield can fuel social conflict, rural poverty, and forest degradation.

Transformative change in forest management

Systemic shifts that prioritize collective action, equity, and environmental sustainability to halt forest decline.

Resilience-enhancing response options

Measures such as integrated fire management, community-based agroforestry, adaptive collaborative forest management, and securing Indigenous land rights.