15th World Forestry Congress “Building a Green, Healthy and Resilient Future with Forests” Opening Statement
by Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
02/05/2022
15th World Forestry Congress
“Building a Green, Healthy and Resilient Future with Forests”
Opening Statement
By
Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
Seoul, Korea
2 May 2022
Your Excellency, President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea,
Your Royal Highness Princess Basma Bint Ali,
The Honourable Minister Choi Byeong-am of the Korea Forest Service,
Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Colleagues,
1. I wish to convey my appreciation to President Moon Jae-in and the Government of the Republic of Korea for hosting the 15th World Forestry Congress, co-organized with FAO under the theme “Building a Green, Healthy and Resilient Future with Forests”.
2. This Congress is convening in the Asia-Pacific region again since it was held in Indonesia 43 years ago.
3. It is also the first time ever – since its inception in 1926 – that the World Forestry Congress is held in a hybrid format, allowing thousands of people to participate from all corners of the world.
4. The 15th World Forestry Congress is the biggest global forum to enhance knowledge and experience, as well as collaboration, among leaders, policy-makers, experts and foresters, linking forestry to other sectors and to key partners from the globe.
5. The Congress comes after a series of global fora, following on the UN Food Systems Summit that highlighted how agrifood systems contribute to achieving all the Sustainable Development Goals,
6. And after COP26 in Glasgow that emphasized the importance of forests and land use for accelerating climate action.
7. Forests are our key partners for achieving the objectives of the 2030 Agenda (combating desertification achieving food security and improving livelihoods, etc.); the Global Forest Goals, the Paris Agreement, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, among others.
8. This is an important message to be carried to the important global meetings of the Rio Conventions and other global fora where decisions will be made on the future of the planet and its people, to ensure that forests are an integral part of the solution to current and future challenges.
9. In this regard, I wish to thank Her Royal Highness, Princess Basma Bint Ali of Jordan and FAO Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Near East and North Africa, who is with us today as a champion for forests, advocating for the sustainable future of our forests.
10. The World Forestry Congress truly puts “forests without boundaries” into practice by hand in hand as it brings together governments, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, research organizations and academia, civil society organizations, and the private sector, including small businesses on the ground.
11. The Republic of Korea is recognized for taking successful and bold actions to safeguard its natural resources, to benefit sustainable development and improve the livelihoods of people.
12. This Congress comes at a time humanity faces multiple, interconnected and often overlapping challenges (climate crisis, pandemic and soaring food prices), which are hitting the poorest the hardest as they face greater exposure to the negative impacts.
13. Today, more than 800 million people still suffer from hunger, and 3 billion cannot afford a healthy diet.
14. Forests can play a key role in restoring ecosystems with the aim of a better life for all.
15. FAO has identified 3 inter-related pathways for forests and trees to support economic and environmental recovery:
• One, by halting deforestation and maintaining forests;
• Two, by restoring degraded lands and expanding agroforestry; and
• Three, by sustainably using forests and building green value chains.
16. Forests remove and store carbon from the atmosphere – that means that the forest sector must be an integral part of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.
17. We need to end the unsustainable consumption and production patterns that jeopardize our forests.
18. We must turn the tide on deforestation.
19. We must work to restore 1.5 billion hectares of degraded lands and forests, and increase tree cover to boost agricultural productivity on another 1 billion hectares.
20. We must better conserve, manage and sustainably use forest biodiversity.
21. And we must transform agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable,
22. And above all we must promote a model where forests support agriculture, and agriculture supports forests.
23. Together, agriculture and forests can also play a fundamental role in the development of new renewable materials and products, as well as innovative approaches to landscape and value chains, benefitting both people and the planet.
Dear Colleagues,
24. Forests benefit us all by offering important ecosystem services and economic opportunities – the forest sector alone provides direct employment to an estimated 33 million people globally.
25. The vast majority of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity is found in forests; forests provide food, medicine, wood, fuel and recreation; and they are a source of physical and spiritual health.
26. Together, we can unleash the potential of forests and trees through a triple approach on conservation, restoration and sustainable use of forests,
27. To ensure better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all, – leaving no one behind.
28. To achieve this vision, we need to share data, innovation, best practices, and technologies.
29. We must boost investment and ensure appropriate financial resources and instruments.
30. Small and medium-scale producers make up 80 to 90% of enterprises in the forest sector and can contribute significantly to a resilient economy, yet they receive less than 2% of global climate finance.
31. We need bold and ambitious actions, just as we saw with the Global Forest Finance Pledge at the last UN Climate Conference.
32. There is no time to lose, we must act now in an efficient, effective and coherent manner.
33. Let us build a green, healthy and resilient future with forests, for all - live in a city with forests and in a village surrounded by forests!
34. Thank you.