Defend International is pleased to inform its members and supporters that the United Nations General Assembly adopted the historic United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2017-2030 on 27 April 2017.
The Plan features a set of six voluntary and universal Global Forest Goals to be reached by 2030:
- Reverse the loss of forest cover worldwide through SFM, including protection, restoration, afforestation and reforestation, and increase efforts to prevent forest degradation and contribute to the global effort of addressing climate change.
- Enhance forest-based economic, social and environmental benefits, including by improving the livelihoods of forest dependent people.
- Increase significantly the area of protected forests worldwide and other areas of sustainably managed forests, as well as the proportion of forest products from sustainably managed forests.
- Mobilize significantly increased, new and additional financial resources from all sources for the implementation of SFM and strengthen scientific and technical cooperation and partnerships.
- Promote governance frameworks to implement SFM, including through the UN Forest Instrument, and enhance the contribution of forests to the 2030 Agenda.
- Enhance cooperation, coordination, coherence and synergies on forest-related issues at all levels, including within the UN System and across CPF member organizations, as well as across sectors and relevant stakeholders.
One of the bold, groundbreaking aspects of the Strategic Plan is a target to expand the world’s forests by 3%, an area of 120 million hectares, by 2030.
It must be noted that the United Nations Forum on Forests will meet for its 12th session from 1 to 5 May 2017 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Discussions at UNFF12 will focus on technical issues related to sustainable forest management and strategies to promote implementation of the Strategic Plan. Learn more here.