Final report
International Day of Forests 2017
student debate: Forests and energy
Submitted to:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Submitted by:
Regional Community Forestry Training Center for
Asia and the Paciic (RECOFTC)
Bangkok, Thailand
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Report on the International Day of Forests 2017 student debate
On 21 March 2017, an interactive student debate was held on International Day of Forests (IDF) on the theme Forests and Energy. The debate followed a standardized debate format similar to previous years’ student debates organized by FAO-RAP, UNEP and RECOFTC.The event took place as follows:
When: 9am-1pm, 21 March 2017
Where: FAO-RAP, Bangkok, Thailand
Debate topic: Forests and energy (see Annex 1 for the specific debate resolution topics and agenda)
Who: 6 high school debate teams and 2 university debate teams from Bangkok (see list of participants, below)
The debate was conducted in English. The key messages and debate resolutions were in line with those on the official FAO IDF web page: www.fao.org/forestry/international-day-of-forests.
Three judges representing FAO-RAP, UNEP and RECOFTC took part in the debate: Kenichi Shono, FAO; Emelyne Cheney, UN Environment, and Caroline Liou, RECOFTC.
A videographer (Fat Mango) videoed the event and editing is currently underway. IDF t-shirts, trophies and a banner (selfie frame banner) were produced for the event. Lunch and refreshment were provided for all participants.
To broaden the reach of the debate key messages, RECOFTC highlighted the event on all our social media channels and e-newsletter (directly reaching more than 12,000 people).
Following a progress report submitted previously, a report (annex 2) and a video
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List of the debate team:
No School Team and resolution
HIGH SCHOOLS
1 Anglo Singapore International School Forests are the future of sustainable energy - NEGATIVE
2 Bangkok International Preparatory &
Secondary School Forests are the future of sustainable energy - AFFIRMATIVE
3 Panyarat High School Wood energy mitigates (lessens) impacts of climate change - AFFIRMATIVE
4 Mahidol University International
Demonstration School (MUIDS Salaya) Wood energy mitigates (lessens) impacts of climate change - NEGATIVE
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No School Team and resolution
6 Wells International School Wood energy helps to reduce rural poverty - AFFIRMATIVE
UNIVERSITIES
7 Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) Greater investment in sustainably managed forests is the key to increasing renewable energy sources - NEGATIVE
4 Annex 1
International Day of Forests 2017 Student Debate - Session plan
Tuesday, March 21, 2017, FAO RAP office
Tuesday, 21 March
Session/activities Duration Person in charge
0830 – 0900 Registration 30 min FAO team 0900 – 0920 Opening session
General welcome by Chairperson (Josil)
Welcome remarks by:
- Ms. Kundhavi Kadiresan, ADG of FAO RAP - Dr. David Ganz, ED of RECOFTC
- Mr Kenichi Shono, Forestry Officer, FAO
- Ms Caroline Liou, Communication Manager, RECOFTC
- Ms Emelyne Cheney, REDD+ Regional Technical Advisor, UN Environment
Debate teams introductions
1 min
0920 – 0930 Setting the scene - Background, structure of the debate 10 min Chairperson 0930 - 1000 Debating proposition: Forests are the future of sustainable energy
Negative team – Anglo Singapore International School
Affirmative team – Bangkok International Preparatory & Secondary School
20 min 10 min
Chairperson
1000 – 1030 Debating proposition: Wood energy mitigates (lessens) impacts of climate change
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Tuesday, 21 March
Session/activities Duration Person in charge
Negative team – Mahidol University International Demonstration School
Affirmative team – Panyarat High School
5 min
1030 – 1045 Refreshments 10 min Team 1045 – 1115 Debating proposition: Wood energy helps to reduce rural poverty
Affirmative team – Wells International School
Negative team – Garden International School
20 min
5 min
Chairperson
1115 – 1145 Debating proposition: Greater investment in sustainably managed forests is the key to increasing renewable energy sources
Negative team – Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)
Affirmative team – Thammasat University
20 min
5 min
Chairperson
1145 – 1155 Q&A 10 min Chairperson 1155 – 1205 Result a ou e e t a d judges’ feed a k 10 min Chairperson 1205 – 1215 Award presentation and photo session 10 min Chairperson 1210 – 1215 Closing session - Closing remarks by all judges
Group photo, followed by invitation to lunch
6 Annex 2
IDF 2017 Student Debate report
Forestry Debate on Forests and Energy
International Day of Forests 21 March 2017
In joining the global celebration of the annual International Day of Forests (IDF), the Food and Agriculture Organization Regional Office for Asia Pacific (FAO-RAP) and RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests with the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) organized the 2017 forestry debate under the theme Forests and Energy. The debate event, which has been organized annually for the past four years, took place on Tuesday, 21 March at the FAO RAP office with eight debate teams from high schools and universities from the Bangkok area in attendance.
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helps to reduce rural poverty and (4) Greater investment in sustainably managed forests is the key to increasing renewable energy sources.
During the opening session, Ms Kadiresan welcomed the participants and guests and applauded many returning participants for their eagerness to learn and participate in the event. She conveyed on behalf of the organization her appreciation to the organizers for continuing to arrange this learning platform. In
her spee h, she u derli ed the appropriate ess of this year’s the e as the de ate topi , I am very
i terested i the the e of today’s de ate as climate change is a critical challenge affecting all regions and countries but hitting hardest those already living in poverty and food insecurity. I am also highly encouraged to see so many young people coming here today to discuss these important matters seriously. Finally, I strongly hope that the debate will e fruitful a d that today’s e e t ill o tri ute to building greater awareness among students and the general public on the importance of forests and energy.
RECOFTC’s Dr Ga z in his remarks also emphasized how the topic is as relevant to policy makers as to students who were trying to learn and debate on various angles of argument, Ultimately what you are going to be debating today is no different than what the politicians debate on a day to day basis. This is as good a learning experience for you as it is for us to learn from you how you debate this particular
issue.
To inspire participants, he shared examples from his past experiences on biomass energy use in other countries and how sustainable use of biomass could be greatly beneficial to sustain livelihoods and influential in mitigating impacts of climate change. There are clearly a lot of opportunities for forests and wood to help minimize the impact of climate change on the communities and countries in Southeast Asia. I hope this helps to inspire more thinking and more innovations throughout the regio .
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committed going into the debates as could be seen from the wide ranges of information brought out during the debate and their readiness to respond to counter questions. At the end, participants and attending guests expressed their appreciation for this exciting learning event and how much all of them have learned and felt inspired from listening to the debates.
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Highlights of debate sessions
Debate 1 – Resolution: Forests are the future of sustainable energy
Affirmative Team: Bangkok International Preparatory & Secondary School Negative Team: Anglo Singapore International School
Debate 2 – Resolution: Wood energy mitigates (lessens) impacts of climate change
Affirmative team: Panyarat High School
Negative team: Mahidol University International Demonstration School
Affirmative Team Negative Team
- Evidence from a wood energy based project in the United Kingdom shows the potential of wood to generate electricity equivalent to the power consumption of 31,000 houses
- While forests can serve as a carbon sink, alternative energy sources do not absorb carbon in the atmosphere.
- Through sustainable forest management that incorporates silviculture and innovative techniques, forest ecosystem services can be maintained along with the extraction of forest sources for energy. The emergence of energy efficient wood burning stoves also provide an outlet to reduce toxic gas from wood burning in the atmosphere
- By accounting for the carbon absorbed during a lifetime of a tree, we must recognize that the carbon emitted when a tree is burned leads to a
- In many countries including Nigeria, 95.6% of people use wood as their main source of energy; however, they do not know how to effectively convert energy from this resource without releasing toxic gas such as carbon monoxide. The release of greenhouse gases increases global temperature, which places more people at risk to climate variability and change
- When people collect wood for energy from forests, reforestation of the land cover is not guaranteed. There is no existing international organization that strongly monitors and enforces rules and regulations to prevent illegal logging
- An alternative source to fuelwood is renewable energy, which includes wind and solar. In the long run, these alternative sources are much cheaper than using biomass to support livelihood needs
- The extraction of forest resources fragments a
Affirmative Team Negative Team
- Forest was named as a producer and absorber of carbon emissions in the Paris Agreement in 2016, thus they play a vital role in our society to fuel homes and to also provide clean air
- By having biomass as a prime energy source, societies can create carbon neutral economies and educate people on how to manage the forest for sustainable energy consumption
- There are a number of fast growing forest species such as bamboo that have a short regeneration period with some growing 1.5 feet per day
- With sustainable management of the land, we can solve nature using nature.
- Energy sources must coexist with nature and not live off of nature. There is a big time gap between the extraction of forest resources and the reforestation of the forest
- Constant and unregulated use of wood energy leads to biodiversity loss and increased emission of global warming gases in the atmosphere
- The use of forest for energy exacerbates food insecurity because farmers move away from food crops to crops for biofuel, which is usually carried out in a monoculture setting that robs soil of its nutrients
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carbon neutral environment.
natural ecosystem, leading to biodiversity loss and ecological decline.
Debate 3 – Resolution: Wood energy helps to reduce rural poverty
Affirmative Team: Wells International School Negative Team: Garden International School
Affirmative Team Negative Team
- Compared to renewable energy sources and fossil fuels, wood energy is relatively inexpensive with low transportation cost and a high energy conversion rate
- Wood energy is an engine for development because it is labour intensive, enhances self-sufficiency and produces more equitable living conditions. The labour intensive work of generating wood energy is beneficial for developing countries since it can increase employment, which results in greater economic growth and higher living conditions for rural populations
- Wood energy still is presented as negative for the environment but the positive aspects of poverty reduction must also be taken into account when considering the importance of wood energy for developing populations.
- The long-term effects of using wood for fuel are severe on the social and environmental
dimensions of a society. On average, a tree takes 10 to 15 years to mature and uses a lot of water to sustain its growth. Thus, it puts tremendous strain on the environment.
- On the other hand, electric lighting extends the working day of rural households, allows children to study for a longer period of time, and
refrigerates vital medicine for village clinics
- The hours spent collecting wood can be invested on education, especially for women who are the main collectors of fuel wood. By having more time to study, women can be better educated and more knowledgeable on reproductive health as well as sustainable forest management to overcome poverty.
Debate 4 – Resolution: Greater investment in sustainably managed forests is the key to increasing renewable energy sources
Affirmative Team: Thammasat University
Negative Team: Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)
Affirmative Team Negative Team
- When we invest in forest, we also invest on energy and a source of life for species. If there is a way to properly use the forest in a sustainable manner, we should take advantage of that opportunity
- The construction of alternative energy sources such as dams for hydroelectricity requires cutting down a potentially forested area to build the infrastructure
- Many of the renewable energy projects require government subsidies. Thus, there is great
- Biomass energy is inefficient as few tree species can regenerate at a quick rate to meet the demands of fueling the global population. With an increase in mono-cropping practices at a larger scale for wood energy, more inputs such as water are needed to produce and process the energy source
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uncertainty in using renewable energy when subsidies run out. Through sustainable forest management, however, the supply of wood energy is certain.
energy because it alleviates the negative implications of commoditizing valuable natural resources
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Award presentation
Debate 1 – Resolution: Forests are the future of sustainable energy
Debate 2 – Resolution: Wood energy mitigates (lessens) impacts of climate change
First place team: Anglo Singapore International School
First place team: Mahidol University International Demonstration School
Second place team: Bangkok International Preparatory & Secondary School
Second place team: Panyarat High School
First place individual debater: Sorawis Itthithavorn (Anglo Singapore International School)
First place individual debater: Tanchanok Sotajinda (Panyarat High School)
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reduce rural poverty sustainably managed forests is the key to
increasing renewable energy sources
First place team: Wells International School First place team: Thammasat University
Second place team: Garden International School Second place team: Asian Institute of Technology
(AIT)
First place individual debater: Anu Thapa (Garden International School)
