Director-General QU Dongyu

International Day of Forests 2021

by Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General

19/03/2021

International Day of Forests 2021

Opening Remarks by FAO Director-General, Dr QU Dongyu

19 March 2021

As prepared 

Your Royal Highness, Princess Basma,

Excellencies,

Distinguished delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

  1. I am pleased to open the celebrations for the International Day of Forests 2021, which shines the spotlight on forest restoration as a path to recovery and well-being.
  2. I have three messages I would like to share with you today:
  3. The first message is that healthy forests mean healthy people.
  4. Forests provide us with fresh air, nutritious foods, clean water and space for recreation.
  5. More than 1 billion people depend on forest foods and 2.4 billion people use fuelwood or charcoal to cook their daily meals. Forests are also green pharmacies. In developing countries, up to 80% of all medicinal drugs are plant-based.
  6. When it comes to the well-being of people in the cities, it is estimated that trees provide megacities with benefits worth half a billion dollars or more every year, by reducing air pollution, cooling buildings and providing green spaces for recreation and learning.
  7. And there are touristic, cultural and even spiritual dimensions to these benefits.   
  8. My second message is that the area of forests continues to shrink. FAO’s most recent Global Forest Resources Assessment, tells us that each year, the world loses more than 10 million hectares of forest.
  9. This is affecting climate, biodiversity and people.
  10. Deforestation and land degradation cost more than 10% of annual global GDP in lost ecosystem services.
  11. The loss of forests also impacts people’s health. Nearly one in three outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases is directly linked to land-use change such as deforestation, and the risks of new pandemics will continue to increase if we continue with business as usual.
  12. My third message is that we can change this: We have the knowledge and the tools.
  13. Restoring forests – and managing them more sustainably – is a cost-effective option to provide multiple benefits for both people and the planet.
  14. Investments in forest restoration and promoting agro-forestry will contribute to economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by creating green jobs, generating livelihoods, greening cities and increasing food security.
  15. The Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative, led by the African Union, is one such example, supported by FAO.
  16. By 2030, it aims to restore 100 million hectares of land across Africa’s drylands, while sequestering 250 million tons of carbon and creating 10 million green jobs.
  17. Other countries are following suit. So far, more than 60 countries have committed to restore over 210 million hectares of degraded land.
  18. However, we need to step up the pace to turn pledges into action.
  19. Innovation will help us accelerate delivery and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
  20. This is why I have appointed the first Chief Scientist in FAO’s history and established an Office for Innovation, to facilitate the adoption of innovative approaches and the use of modern science and technologies including digital solutions.
  21. Innovations can take the form of new technologies such as the DELFINO plough currently used to speed-up land preparation in the Sahel.
  22. It can also be new approaches, such as supporting restoration investments and their returns through communal councils in Niger, which has opened restoration windows in the budgets of communes.
  23. And we need an innovation of the mind: looking beyond specific technical fields of work and embracing a holistic systemic approach and cross-sectoral cooperation to bring about solid Governance
  24. Taking advantage of big data will also make a difference.
  25. FAO is at the forefront of developing tools and providing access to satellite data and super computing power to strengthen evidence-based decision-making, supporting action on the ground and monitoring progress.
  26. We are presently leading the work of more than 200 experts in 86 organizations, setting up a system to monitor progress on actions taken as part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration that has just begun.
  27. Harnessing the power of shared knowledge and enabling concrete joint action!
  28. Forest restoration offers us solutions to build back better and achieve the future we want.
  29. Let’s all become part of the “Generation Restoration” and restore the planet for Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment and a Better Life.
  30. Thank you!