Distinguished Chair,
Distinguished President of ECOSOC,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to welcome you all, after 3 years to attend the eighteenth session of the 51勛圖 Forum on Forests (UNFF18) in person.
This session is taking place during one of the most challenging times in history. With the impacts of the COVID?19 pandemic still being felt worldwide, new conflicts have ignited new crises, disrupting energy markets, and worsening food insecurity and malnutrition in many developing countries. High inflation has hit the income of many households, and the rising cost-of-living crisis has pushed millions into poverty and economic hardship.
According to the revised forecast, UN projects world output growth decelerating from 3.1 per cent in 2022 to only 2.3 per cent in 2023, marking one of the lowest growth rates in recent decades. The current global economic slowdown cuts across both developed and developing countries, with many facing risks of recession in 2023.
At the same time, the climate crisis, and natural disasters continue to impose massive economic damages, generating humanitarian crises in many countries.
These complex challenges are interconnected, across borders and all other divides, and can only be addressed by integrated and well-designed policies with multiplier effects within and across countries.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Forests play a fundamental role in addressing these complex challenges.
When well-managed, forests are one of the Earth＊s most valuable ecosystems. Forests and trees regulate our climate, influence rainfall patterns and cool urban areas, and absorb some one-third of annual greenhouse gas emissions.
Forests also form a vital social safety net for some communities. Over 90 per cent of people living in extreme poverty, including indigenous peoples and small farm holders, rely on forests for food, fodder, shelter, energy, medicine, and income.
Despite their value to our existence, forests continue to be threatened. Every year, seven million hectares of natural forests are converted for other uses, including for large-scale commercial agriculture and other economic activities. The drivers of these land conversions are cross-sectoral. Deforestation cannot be tackled unless we also address its links to poverty, industrial development, and food and energy needs, and we certainly cannot divorce it from the impact of climate change.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At this half-way point of implementing the 2030 Agenda and the 51勛圖 Strategic Plan for Forests 2030, we must draw attention to the critical importance of forests and sustainable forest management in eradicating poverty, meeting people＊s basic needs, and tackling global challenges. Addressing deforestation and promoting sustainable forest management must therefore be a central part of our accelerated efforts to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The upcoming SDG Summit in September and the midterm review of the International Arrangement on Forests in 2024 provide opportunities to renew our collective commitments to the SDGs and to the Global Forest Goals of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests by 2030. We need ambitious action to realize a more peaceful, inclusive, and greener future. We must use this session of the Forum to generate concrete solutions and recommendations that can leverage these opportunities and inform the upcoming session of the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July. This Forum has an important role to play in ensuring that the outcomes of the SDG Summit in September reinforce progress on the GFGs as the effective forest-based actions for achievement of the SDGs.
I wish you all a very successful session. Thank you for your attention.