Mr. Boris Gregu?ka, Chair of the 14th session of the UN Forum on Forests,Your Excellency Ambassador King, President of the UN Economic and Social Council,Distinguished Delegates,Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to deliver the following remarks to the fourteenth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests, on behalf of the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Liu Zhenmin. Let me begin by extending warm congratulations to the members of the UNFF14 Bureau on your election.
2019 marks the fourth anniversary of the transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals at its core, since its adoption by world leaders in 2015. This year also marks the second anniversary since the adoption of the landmark UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030, which set out an ambitious vision for forests, through its 6 Global Forest Goals and 26 associated targets.
Member States hold the key to converting these policy agendas into concrete action. Yet, the complexity of global development challenges is such that no single country or institution can address them alone. Thus, strengthening cooperation, coordination, coherence, synergies and political commitment, as identified so clearly in the mission of the Strategic Plan, is essential to realizing our shared vision for forests and people.
Excellencies,
Forests are among the world¡¯s most productive renewable natural resources, providing many paths to sustainable development. They serve as a key driver of economic growth by providing livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people, particularly in rural areas. They represent a safety net for those who are economically vulnerable, including the rural and urban poor in developing countries, providing vital goods and services ¨C such as freshwater, food, medicine, and shelter.The fourteenth session of the Forum will provide crucial input to the 2019 High-Level Political Forum, which will focus on ¡°Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality¡±. It will also review SDG 4 on quality education, SDG8 on decent work and economic growth, SDG 10 on reduced inequalities, SDG13 on climate action, SDG 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions, and SDG17 on partnerships for the Goals.
Forests are central to mitigating and adapting to climate change:
Over the past 25 years, the rate of net global deforestation has slowed by more than 50 percent. This is a credit to the efforts of the forest community to sustainably manage existing forests, while at the same time working to restore degraded forests and land and plant more trees to meet global demand for forest products and services. If this trend continues, we will soon be close to achieving zero net global deforestation, bringing us one step closer to the Strategic Plan¡¯s landmark target to expand global forest area by 3 per cent by 2030, an area of 120 million hectares.At the same time, many of the drivers of deforestation are rooted in wider social and economic issues, outside of the forest sector. These include development policies that favour land uses which produce higher and more rapid financial returns, such as agriculture, energy, mining and transportation. With the world¡¯s population projected to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050, meeting future demands for forest products and services will depend on cross-sectoral policies to secure sustainable forest management, while improving people's lives and building prosperity for a healthy planet.
Distinguished Delegates,
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs remains committed to supporting important policy-making bodies such as this Forum. We are honored to house the UN Forum on Forests Secretariat, which works to provide substantive support to the Forum through technical reports and analytical studies, and foster dialogue to enhance cooperation and coordination on forest issues.
Furthermore, a growing area of work of the Secretariat relates to helping countries develop national capacity:
In closing, I wish you fruitful and innovative discussions in the coming week. We look forward to continuing working together to enhance the vital contributions of forests to the 2030 Agenda, and to demonstrate how sustainable forest management is a core part of global sustainable development worldwide.
Thank you.
I am pleased to deliver the following remarks to the fourteenth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests, on behalf of the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Liu Zhenmin. Let me begin by extending warm congratulations to the members of the UNFF14 Bureau on your election.
2019 marks the fourth anniversary of the transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals at its core, since its adoption by world leaders in 2015. This year also marks the second anniversary since the adoption of the landmark UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030, which set out an ambitious vision for forests, through its 6 Global Forest Goals and 26 associated targets.
Member States hold the key to converting these policy agendas into concrete action. Yet, the complexity of global development challenges is such that no single country or institution can address them alone. Thus, strengthening cooperation, coordination, coherence, synergies and political commitment, as identified so clearly in the mission of the Strategic Plan, is essential to realizing our shared vision for forests and people.
Excellencies,
Forests are among the world¡¯s most productive renewable natural resources, providing many paths to sustainable development. They serve as a key driver of economic growth by providing livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people, particularly in rural areas. They represent a safety net for those who are economically vulnerable, including the rural and urban poor in developing countries, providing vital goods and services ¨C such as freshwater, food, medicine, and shelter.The fourteenth session of the Forum will provide crucial input to the 2019 High-Level Political Forum, which will focus on ¡°Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality¡±. It will also review SDG 4 on quality education, SDG8 on decent work and economic growth, SDG 10 on reduced inequalities, SDG13 on climate action, SDG 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions, and SDG17 on partnerships for the Goals.
Forests are central to mitigating and adapting to climate change:
- they act as carbon sinks ¨C absorbing nearly 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.
- they contribute substantially to the conservation of biodiversity; 17 percent of forests are located within legally-established protected areas. And,
- they help in eradicating poverty and hunger, as 40 percent of the extreme poor in rural areas live in forest and savannah areas, and it is estimated by FAO that 76 million tonnes of food comes from forests.
Over the past 25 years, the rate of net global deforestation has slowed by more than 50 percent. This is a credit to the efforts of the forest community to sustainably manage existing forests, while at the same time working to restore degraded forests and land and plant more trees to meet global demand for forest products and services. If this trend continues, we will soon be close to achieving zero net global deforestation, bringing us one step closer to the Strategic Plan¡¯s landmark target to expand global forest area by 3 per cent by 2030, an area of 120 million hectares.At the same time, many of the drivers of deforestation are rooted in wider social and economic issues, outside of the forest sector. These include development policies that favour land uses which produce higher and more rapid financial returns, such as agriculture, energy, mining and transportation. With the world¡¯s population projected to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050, meeting future demands for forest products and services will depend on cross-sectoral policies to secure sustainable forest management, while improving people's lives and building prosperity for a healthy planet.
Distinguished Delegates,
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs remains committed to supporting important policy-making bodies such as this Forum. We are honored to house the UN Forum on Forests Secretariat, which works to provide substantive support to the Forum through technical reports and analytical studies, and foster dialogue to enhance cooperation and coordination on forest issues.
Furthermore, a growing area of work of the Secretariat relates to helping countries develop national capacity:
- from mobilizing forest financing to developing national action plans, and
- from strengthening capacities for monitoring, assessment and reporting to developing forest related criteria and indicators for measuring progress in implementation.
In closing, I wish you fruitful and innovative discussions in the coming week. We look forward to continuing working together to enhance the vital contributions of forests to the 2030 Agenda, and to demonstrate how sustainable forest management is a core part of global sustainable development worldwide.
Thank you.
File date:
Monday, May 6, 2019