UN Forest Forum catalyzes commitment - IUCN
UN Forest Forum catalyzes commitment - IUCN
New York, USA, 4 February, 2011 (IUCN) – A new momentum from governments, ready to commit to restoring forests, was clearly on show at the 9th UN Forum on Forests (UNFF9), says IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).
“A highlight of UNFF9 was the announcement of the Rwandan government’s plans to restore the country’s degraded landscapes border-to-border,” says Stewart Maginnis, IUCN’s Director of Environment and Development. “These plans are bold and much needed and we urge other countries to recognize the potential of healthy forests and to commit to restoring their lands.”
“What
Rwanda announced is the biggest commitment a country can
make to giving nature a helping hand and reversing
deforestation and forest degradation,” says Julia
Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN Director General. “If other
countries are inspired by Rwanda and follow suit, then what
we could be witnessing is the beginning of the largest
restoration initiative the world has ever seen.”
The
aim of Rwanda’s Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative is
to achieve a country-wide reversal of the current
degradation of soil, water, land and forest resources by
2035. At UNFF9 the Government of Canada, the Global
Environmental Facility and IUCN expressed their support for
the Rwandan initiative and many other partners are expected
to join in.
“A key message from UNFF9 has been the
importance of forests for people, livelihoods and poverty
eradication. We need to grow forest partnerships with
communities, governments and the private sector to
effectively remove barriers to local control of forests and
maximize the value of forests for all,” says Carole Saint
Laurent IUCN’s Senior Forest Policy Advisor “And we must
also find ways to promote and reward local practices that
are good for the community, good for the country and,
ultimately, good for the planet.”
According to the UN
Food and Agriculture Organization, an estimated 13 million
hectares of the world’s forests are lost every year,
mainly as a result of converting forest land to other uses.
At least 1.6 billion people directly depend on forests for
their livelihoods, the majority of them poor inhabitants of
areas next to forests; while an estimated 60 million people,
mainly members of indigenous and local communities, live in
forests.
“UNFF9 has launched the International
Year of Forests with a bang, and will continue to be a vital
platform for educating the world about the value of forests
and for catalyzing commitment,” adds
Maginnis.