26th Session of the Committee on Forestry (COFO26) and 8th World Forest Week Opening Statement
by Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
03/10/2022
26th Session of the Committee on Forestry (COFO26)
and
8th World Forest Week
Opening Statement
By
Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
3 October 2022
Rome
Salam alaikum!
Her Royal Highness,
Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. It is my pleasure and honour to deliver this opening statement, with this new look of FAO after three years of changes, together with my colleagues.
2. You are our first guests coming to this new Plenary Hall, and I appreciate that COFO is part of this historical turning point for FAO, together.
3. This Committee met for the first time 50 years ago in 1972, and today is a leading inter-governmental platform to discuss forestry matters in response to emerging global challenges.
4. I am honoured to welcome Her Royal Highness Princess Basma bint Ali of Jordan, FAO Goodwill Ambassador for the Near East and North Africa.
5. We met in Korea in May at the 15th World Forestry Congress, where Her Royal Highness added her knowledgeable voice to important discussions.
6. I was very appreciative of our meeting as that day was also Ramadan, and I was touched by her commitment to FAO.
7. As we gather here today, the impacts of the climate crisis and humanitarian emergencies are being felt more than ever around the world, hitting the most vulnerable the hardest.
8. I have just come back from the G20 Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, and I am pleased to see here today Her Excellency Siti Nurbaya Bakar, the Minister for Environment and Forestry of Indonesia.
9. I also had very successful meetings on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York last month, and met with the former Permanent Representative of the United States of America to FAO, Kip Tom, and the current Permanent Representative, Cindy McCain, who facilitated interaction with farmers on the ground and ensured a very successful visit to the country.
10. We are experiencing not only the effects of the pandemic, but also droughts, floods, fires and storms of increasing frequency and intensity, especially over the past two years, in all regions of the world.
11. We are all facing common challenges – as I always say: we are all living on a small planet and we cannot avoid facing the challenges together.
12. At the same time, we are facing the overlapping crises from the global pandemic, economic downturns, and price increases of food, feed, fuel and fertilizer.
13. I call them the four “Fs” – and the price increases affect both farmers and consumers.
14. Hunger continues to rise, reflecting growing inequalities – between men and women, and between the city and the countryside. I will not repeat all the data that is available to read.
15. Deforestation and land degradation, together with biodiversity loss, are devastating our ecosystems.
16. This must change and stop!
17. As set out in the Seoul Declaration, forests and trees must be considered a key part of the solution.
18. We only have 7 years to reach the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
19. We have the know-how, the tools, and the solutions.
20. Now, we need to implement, scale-up and accelerate action – and above all we need political will and a package of solutions.
21. We have a lot of silos, of individual solutions - now we need a holistic design, and a coherent and synergetic package of solutions.
22. Because forestry is not only about trees, grasslands, water or wetlands – it is about the ecosystem in which we live.
23. The COFO recommendations and discussions will enrich global processes, including the 3 Rio Conventions on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Combating Desertification, as well as the 2023 SDGs Summit we are preparing.
24. This week COFO will advance the global forest agenda on climate change, sustainable production and consumption, restoration, biodiversity, and finance,
25. And it will provide technical recommendations on emerging forestry and policy issues.
26. For the first time we are saying agriculture AND forestry, not agriculture including forestry.
27. Normally, we say that agriculture includes all the four pillars: crop, plant, animal, forestry and fishery, but this time we are discussing agriculture and forestry as a joint agenda item, which is an important step to identify and scale-up win-win solutions for food security and nutrition that protect forests, trees, grasslands and wetlands.
28. We need to work together and across sectors to strengthen coordinated policy responses on synergies and trade-offs among agriculture and forestry sectors.
29. During this session, you will also discuss the FAO report on the State of the World’s Forests 2022, which offers 3 concrete, interconnected solutions:
30. First, halting deforestation: as key to tackling the climate crisis by both cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 14%, and safeguarding more than half the Earth’s terrestrial biodiversity.
31. But we also need to look at other parts of the world, including Small Island Developing States (SIDS) where we have to address biodiversity in the sea and marine life – which are two aspects already dealt with by the recently held Committee on Fisheries (COFI).
32. At FAO, we need to integrate both biodiversity conservations as a one planet solution.
33. Second, planting trees to make the planet greener, restoring productive capacities, and improving ecosystem resilience.
34. We know that over the past 50 years since the Committee on Forestry was established many countries have made a lot of efforts.
35. In this regard, countries like China, India and countries in the Near East region, which suffered the effects of desertification and drought the most, made many efforts and planted lots of trees, grasslands and bushes.
36. This is something that we can learn from each other among Members.
37. 1.5 billion hectares of degraded land can be restored.
38. Increasing tree cover could raise economic sustainability, which is essential to boost food productivity to meet growing demands.
39. Third, using forests and trees sustainably and building green value chains.
40. Wood and bushes are very valuable renewable resources, and an important source of carbon-neutral and even carbon positive materials, and they are important water-saving solutions.
41. Restoring ecosystems starts first with planting bushes, grass and moss, and then trees.
42. Many parts of the world, including some areas in the United States of America, need reforestation starting with grassland due to a lack of water.
43. COFO, as a technical committee, not a political governing body, should come up with technical, science-based recommendations on how to restore ecosystems.
44. Wild-harvested forest foods improve food security and the nutrition of people living nearby and beyond, and they can create value for farmers and Indigenous Peoples, while protecting the environment.
45. Smallholders, local communities and Indigenous Peoples are nature’s stewards, owning or managing nearly 1 billion hectares of the world’s forest and farm land.
46. In that aspect, we support the Mountain Partnership hosted here at FAO.
47. The Indigenous Peoples’ working group is also hosted by FAO because they should be at the center of efforts towards sustainable agrifood systems, of which forests and trees are an integral part.
Dear Colleagues,
48. Since I arrived three years ago, I have tried to cross-integrate the work of all FAO units – we need to work in a holistic manner, together, and not in silos.
49. Today FAO is more dynamic, effective, innovative and impactful.
50. During the past three years we have taken action to bring FAO to the centre stage of international fora such as the G7, G20, UNGA and the World Economic Forum (WEF), among others.
51. The FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31, is underpinned by the FAO thematic strategies on climate change, and on science & innovation, as well as the strategies on biodiversity, and on private sector engagement.
52. FAO is committed to support Members in their efforts to protect, restore and sustainably manage the world’s forests and environment, especially the agro-environment.
53. We must continue to work together, including with key partners and all relevant stakeholders to transform our agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable,
54. For better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life for all, leaving no one behind.
55. I wish you a successful meeting.
56. Please keep safe and enjoy the lovely autumn in Rome.
57. Thank you.