Since its establishment in the year 2007, the Global Forest Expert Panels (GFEP) initiative of the Collaborative
Partnership on Forests (CPF) has been effectively linking scientific knowledge with political decision-making on
forests. GFEP responds directly to key forest-related policy questions by consolidating available scientific knowledge
and expertise on these questions at a global level. It provides decision-makers with the most relevant, objective and
accurate information, and thus makes an essential contribution to increasing the quality and effectiveness of international forest governance. This report entitled “Forest and Water on a Changing Planet: Vulnerability, Adaptation and Governance Opportunities” presents the outcomes of the sixth global scientific assessment undertaken in the framework of GFEP. All assessment reports are prepared by internationally recognised scientists from a variety of biophysical and social science disciplines. The publications are presented to stakeholders across relevant international policy fora. In this way, GFEP supports a more coherent policy dialogue about the role of forests in addressing the broader environmental, social and economic challenges reflected in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).´The current report reflects the importance of integrated action towards ensuring access to water for all and sustaining life on land. The provision of clean water is the most basic ecosystem service necessary for life on earth. Yet, growing demand for water caused by an increasing human population, combined with adverse effects of climate change, are creating unprecedented challenges for sustainable development. Forests influence water resources in multiple ways, and at multiple levels. Whereas the interplay between forests and climate is regularly considered in decision-making, that between water and forests remains under-represented. Today, the fact that the world has mobilised around the seventeen SDGs, all of which have a connection to water, provides a crucial argument for paying more attention to the forest-water link. While the international community agreed the SDG framework based on moral principles, science is essential for developing
the policies and practices required for achieving the related targets. Scientific reports like the one in hand are
important tools for supporting policymakers and stakeholders in their ambition to ensure sustainable development and to advance the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. orests, Trees and Water on a Changing Planet: A Contemporary Scientific Perspective; Climate-Forest-Water-People Relations: Seven System Delineations; Determinants of the Forest-Water Relationship; Forest Landscape Hydrology in a ‘New Normal’ Era of Climate and Land Use Change; Current and Future Perspectives on Forest-Water Goods and Services; Management Options for Dealing with Changing Forest-Water Relations; Governance Options for Addressing Changing Forest-Water Relations; Forest, Trees and Water on a Changing Planet: How Contemporary Science Can Inform Policy and Practice.
