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FAO Liaison Office with the United Nations in New York

International Day of Forests, Trusteeship Council, "Forests and Innovation", Panel Session

Guangzhou Qu, Director, FAO Liaison Office in New York

21/03/2024

  1. It is my pleasure to be here today, as FAO is Chair of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and has had forests in our mandate since our inception in 1945.   
  2. Forests are critical to human and ecosystem health. They are the source of food and nutrition for nearly 1 billion people and 50,000 plant species with healing properties. 
  3. However, with 10 million hectares lost annually to deforestation, 35 million hectares damaged by insect pests and diseases and approximately 70 million hectares affected by fires, we need new and innovative solutions to address global forestry challenges.  
  4. Science, Technology, and Innovation are at the core of FAO’s Strategic Framework. If we are to effectively transform our agrifood systems to achieve Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment and a Better Life, we need to prioritize our forests. 
  5. Allow me to highlight four reasons why innovation is key to advancing towards achievement of the Global Forest Goals, as well as the broader 2030 Agenda: 
  6. Firstly, innovation and technology have transformed countries’ ability to monitor and report on their forests. Reliable data supports informed decision making. 
  7. Secondly, technological innovations can empower Indigenous Peoples through mapping, securing customary land and enabling access to climate finance. 
  8. Thirdly, new technological innovations are needed to halt deforestation and forest degradation and restore degraded ecosystems. 
  9. Fourth, research and science are pushing the boundaries of what we can do with wood and other forest products. 
  10. Increasing the sustainable use of bio-based products to replace fossil-fuel based products will be essential to meet many of the SDGs, including SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production), SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 15 (Life on land).  
  11. FAO has proudly been a pioneer in the forestry space using technology and innovation as catalysts. I will now speak briefly about just a few of the innovative tools and resources FAO has developed to support the efforts of member countries and other stakeholders: 
  12. The open-source Open Foris platform was developed by FAO over a decade ago to improve data monitoring and reporting on forests and has enabled over 200,000 users from 196 countries to contribute to improved forest data. 
  13. Open FORIS is now used in 90% of the forest submissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 
  14. Partnerships are an important part of innovation, which is why FAO and Google have signed a new multi-year Memorandum of Understanding to continue our work to catalyze technological innovation in support of FAO’s strategic framework, and the Sustainable Development Goals, building on collaboration since 2015. 
  15. Today, FAO is also launching the Ground Application jointly developed by FAO and Google. It is an open-source mobile application in the Open Foris suite to empower Indigenous People and smallholders to monitor their actions on the ground.  
  16. This will help accelerate local actions such as restoration, registering local forestry or agricultural activities, and demarcating customary lands.   
  17. AIM4Forests is a new initiative born from a partnership with the United Kingdom that aims to reduce deforestation and restore forests. This five-year programme will utilize technical innovation from AI and machine learning to remote sensing and space data to address data gaps and support countries in their national forest monitoring. 
  18. Here in New York, we often discuss the importance of integrated solutions to address complex global challenges.  We must look to forest solutions to fight hunger, reduce poverty, and address the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. 
  19. In the context of the SDG Summit last September, the Collaborative Partnership of Forests issued a call to action. To reiterate, We must:
    • Continue to develop and disseminate robust and transparent forest data and scientific knowledge for evidence-based decision making; 
    • Improve accessibility to the latest research results, data and tools; 
    • And support the scaling up of existing solutions. 
  20. As we progress towards 2030, we must strengthen efforts to support the use and access of innovation and technology at regional and country levels to fully unlock the contributions of forests to the sustainable development goals. 
  21. I thank you.