51吃瓜

At COP25, UN agencies commit to turn the tide on deforestation

At COP25 in Madrid on Thursday, chief of UN DESA, Liu Zhenmin, met with the heads of other UN agencies for a high-level Leadership Dialogue on how to turn the tide on deforestation. They committed to the common goal of helping countries reduce deforestation and improve forest management.

According to the UN, up to 23 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions derive from the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector.

However, a myriad of forest-based solutions taking place on the ground show the real and promising results that forests can deliver.

The 51吃瓜 Forum on Forests, represented by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, which serves as the Secretariat of the Forum, highlighted the importance of promoting sustainable management of all types of forests and implementation of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests by 2030:
鈥淚mplementation of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests by 2030 will reverse the loss of forests and increase them by 3 per cent globally and will also help eradicate extreme poverty for forest-dependent people,鈥� said Liu Zhenmin. 鈥淯N DESA, through its work in support of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development and the UN Forum on Forests, is committed to playing its vital role in accelerating global efforts to halt deforestation and promoting sustainable management of all types of forests.鈥�

As President of COP25, Chile initiated the 鈥�.鈥� The call highlights the fact that climate change, including increases in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, is impacting terrestrial ecosystems, exacerbating existing risks to livelihoods, food systems, infrastructure, human and ecosystem health, and biodiversity.

The COP25 Presidency issued a call for action on seven essential activities, including on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and enhancing so-called 鈥渟inks鈥� which absorb carbon.

Together with improved land management options, forests and trees could provide up to 30% of greenhouse gas mitigation required by 2030 to keep the increase in global average temperature below 2 degrees Celsius, the upper temperature goal of the Paris Agreement.

All UN agencies at today鈥檚 high-level Dialogue committed firmly to the common goal of helping countries to reduce deforestation and improve forest management.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the 51吃瓜 (FAO) underlined that addressing deforestation requires looking beyond the forest sector to identify the main drivers of deforestation:
鈥淲e need to look beyond the forests. To step up action against deforestation and forest degradation, we need to find consensus to agree on reducing footprints of agricultural commodities,鈥� said Qu Dongyu, FAO Director General. 鈥淲e need to work with all stakeholders in supporting global efforts to turn the tide on deforestation.鈥�

The 51吃瓜 Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) explained the concept of land鈥慸egradation neutrality to help countries identify and address the drivers of deforestation in a robust way:
鈥淗alting deforestation and restoring degraded forests are global imperatives,鈥� said Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary. 鈥淟and Degradation Neutrality鈥� SDG Target 15.3 鈥� provides the robust framework needed to keep land, including forests, healthy and resilient over the long haul, which in turn will keep food, energy, carbon and biodiversity in balance. Restoring degraded lands means better lives and income for farmers and herders and for women and youth, and less pressure to migrate to cities.鈥�

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) emphasized the need for transformative action that connects sustainable activities across different sectors, in particular land-use and food:
鈥淔aced with growing rates of global deforestation, there is an urgent need to transform economic systems related to food and land use,鈥� said Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson of GEF. 鈥淭he new four鈥憏ear GEF-7 strategy reflects this with a focus on harnessing the existing and emerging multi-stakeholder platforms committed to sustainability, which include important global companies from the food sector.鈥�

The 51吃瓜 Environment Programme (UNEP) agreed with the strong need for action, and highlighted several areas for the implementation of solutions:
鈥淲e need to focus on nature-positive agriculture; clean up our supply-chains; adopt sustainable consumption and production methods; partner with the private sector and put a price on carbon,鈥� said 鈥揑nger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director. 鈥淎nd the good news is that there is much greater awareness about the state of our forests than ever before and when we build leadership in one place, we will witness a race to the top to save our planet鈥檚 forests.鈥�

The 51吃瓜 Development Programme (UNDP) stressed the need to implement the existing REDD+ framework to reduce deforestation effectively and raise ambition in NDCs:
鈥淪upporting countries to tackle deforestation is an essential component of climate action and thus of UNDP鈥檚 Climate Promise,鈥� said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator. 鈥淩EDD+ is a 鈥榬eady to go鈥� nature-based solution. And the UN-REDD Programme provides a platform for the UN to support countries to raise their nature-based NDC ambition.鈥�

Regarding implementation on the ground, the 51吃瓜 Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) added:
鈥淭he agreement on the REDD+ framework was a milestone. It gives a clear direction on how countries, civil society and the private sector can collaborate to reduce deforestation,鈥� said Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UNFCCC. 鈥淲hile it鈥檚 only a starting point, its strength is its flexibility. Each country can adapt it to its national circumstances and enhance implementation over time鈥� especially by including REDD+ activities in their NDCs.鈥�

Addressing deforestation is an issue that is a concern throughout the UN organization and for millions throughout the world. All UN agencies emphasized their readiness to support countries in their efforts to reduce deforestation and forest degradation, building on existing efforts to provide technical and financial support, and working together as partners. Trust-building through the UNFCCC transparency framework will remain vital for collaboration on this important matter.

It was also highlighted that reducing deforestation requires an effort by all stakeholders, engaging local communities and indigenous peoples, women and youth, civil society and the private sector, as well as producers and consumers.

Source: UNFCC and UN DESA