The chapter summarises the main findings from the SDG chapters (1–17) combined with the results from a workshop in 2018 to answer the following questions: How is Agenda 2030 likely to interact with forests and people? What are the possible synergies, trade-offs between goals and targets? What are the contextual conditions that shape the interactions between SDGs and targets and subsequent impacts on forests and people? Two broad groups of SDGs emerge. One includes SDGs that primarily focus on institutional, governance and social conditions. Those contribute to an enabling environment for inclusive forest management and conservation with associated livelihood benefits. A second group of SDGs affect land use directly and thus are expected to impact forests. Progress in the first group of SDGs results in synergistic interactions and positive outcomes for forests and peoples. Among the second group of SDGs, the potential for trade-offs is high, with important repercussions for forest and people. Understanding the potential for these trade-offs is essential in order to avoid implementation pathways that favour a small subset of these SDGs at the expense of the others.

The introductory chapter introduces the Agenda 2030 and its 17 SDGs and briefly presents the process that led to its adoption. It discusses the nature of the SDGs, recognising the great variation in the nature, scope and function of the SDGs and related targets, and drawing attention to the interlinkages among the goals and targets. Forests provide ecosystem services that are crucial for human welfare and for reaching the SDGs. The chapter gives a brief overview of the world’s forests and forests’ contributions to the SDGs. Forests are only mentioned in two SDGs (SDG 6 and SDG 15). However, due to the interrelated nature of the SDGs and targets, the implementation of the SDG agenda will inevitably influence forests and forest-related livelihoods and the possibilities to achieve the forest specific targets. Understanding the potential impacts of SDGs on forests, forest-related livelihoods and forest-based options to generate progress towards achieving the SDGs, as well as the related tradeoffs and synergies, is crucial for efforts undertaken to reach these goals. It is especially important for reducing potential negative impacts and to leverage opportunities to create synergies that will ultimately determine whether comprehensive progress towards the SDGs will be accomplished.

This chapter summarises the lessons learnt in the book, based on a reflection process amongst the editors and a joint workshop with the lead authors. The key messages are that 1) forests are a crucial base for sustainable development, and need to be fully considered in all related decision making, 2) the SDGs will impact forests and the people dependent on them in many ways, with the exact impact being highly dependant on the respective ecological and socio-economic context, 3) the SDGs include partially conflicting visions for forests and people, corresponding to distinct values and interests, involving the necessity to consider trade-offs and set priorities when implementing them, 4) there are fundamental values and principles that may guide sustainable development related to forests and people regardless of the context, including basic human rights but also forest-specific aspects and principles for how existing trade-offs can be managed, 5) that there is the necessity to continuously learn from, and adapt, the process of implementing the SDGs. The chapter concludes by addressing the urgency of creative and forward-looking human engagement at the forest–people interface, to make sure that sustainable development can benefit both forests and people.