The Rio+20 outcome document proposes the elaboration of a set of Sustainable Development Goals that will contribute to sustainably managing the world’s increasing resource use within the context of dwindling resource availability and prioritizes the eradication of poverty and hunger as a matter of urgency. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) believes that the introduction of animal welfare as an integral part of sustainable development is important, as global adherence to animal welfare principles will have significant positive impacts for poverty eradication and economic development, food security, public health, climate change and the preservation of biodiversity.

1111_574_WSPA Why animals matter in achieving The Future we Want.pdf

FSC proposes the inclusion of a Sustainable Development Goal on forests, focusing on “halting deforestation and forest degradation globally by 2020, and restoring 15% of currently degraded forest ecosystems. Ensuring sustainable management of forests by that date”. This SDG would support the Aichi Targets 5, 7 and 15 (Convention on Biological Diversity, 2010). And it would build upon the forest criterion of MDG 7 “Ensure Environmental Sustainability”.
Not having forests under the SDGs would give a wrong signal: that either the fate of forests is not essential for the wider sustainable development agenda, or that the problems with forests have been resolved. “The Millennium Development Goals Report 2012” by the UN shows that forest cover continues to decline rapidly in Africa and Latin America, while also in Asia the problem continues to exist, compensated at the moment mainly by impressive increase of forest cover in China (and to a lesser extent India and Vietnam). And this focus on forest cover (quantity) does not take into account trends in forest degradation (quality).

For the motivation for this SDG proposal, please see attached document

1111_936_FSC submission on SDG on Forests 04-10-13.pdf