UN-backed congress calls for new global political commitment to save forests

With 1.6 billion people worldwide relying on forests for their livelihoods and 12.4 million hectares of tropical forest being destroyed annually, a United Nations-backed international congress has called for a worldwide political commitment to reducing deforestation significantly over the next decades.

“By harmonizing the needs of people and the planet for forest services we can progress along the path of sustainable development," the XII World Forestry Congress said in a final statement yesterday at the end of an intensive weeklong debate in Quebec City, Canada, on the future of forests.

“Forests have enormous potential to make an invaluable contribution to the imperatives of this era: for environmental security, poverty alleviation, social justice, enhancement of human well being, equity for present and future generations," the statement added. “However, harmonization between people and the planet cannot be achieved by forest managers alone. Bridges must be built with other sectors."

The Congress, with the theme "Forests, Source of Life," was organized jointly by the Canadian Department of Natural Resources and Quebec's Ministry of Natural Resources in collaboration with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). More than 3,000 foresters, scientists, members of forest-based communities and others interested in forests from over 120 countries attended the meeting.

"For the first time, the World Forestry Congress has addressed what humans need from the forest, what the forest can provide sustainably and the harmonization between the two," said FAO Assistant Director-General M. Hosny El-Lakany, head of the agency’s Forestry Department.

An FAO global forest resources assessment completed in 2000 reveals an annual net reduction of 12.4 million hectares of forest in tropical developing countries over the previous decade. Worldwide, some 1.6 billion people rely on forests for their livelihoods.

The participants in the Congress pledged to work towards reducing deforestation significantly over the next decades, expanding or maintaining forest cover, enhancing forest restoration and strengthening the role of plantations in supplying wood products. The right of indigenous peoples, forest communities, forest workers and professionals were re-emphasized, and their role in decision-making related to forest management and utilization have been recognized, Mr. El-Lakany indicated.