Statement by representative of the Russian Federation Mr. Evgeny Varganov at the International Day of Forests Meeting
Excellencies, dear colleagues,
Happy International Day of Forests indeed! We are grateful to the UNFF Secretariat and others for organizing this event on a continuous basis to keep focus on forests which seem to be often less prominent on the international environmental agenda compared to other ecosystems and natural resources.
While it is important to address deforestation in order to ensure more sustainable consumption and production in general, it is good to acknowledge that forests are themselves sources of products. This is not only timber but also berries, mushrooms and herbs that are particularly important for indigenous peoples and local communities’ lifestyle and well-being. Therefore, broad public access to forests has cultural, recreational and practical benefits.
Unfortunately, we are observing the increasing frequency in the number and scale of wildfires, droughts and other natural disasters affecting forests. Many of them are clear implications of climate change. At the same time, preservation and cultivation of forests has great value for climate change mitigation and adaptation. This has been recognized again recently when countries representing over 90% of global forest cover committed to working collectively to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030, under the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use. Forests also became an integral element of major decisions at COP26, especially in the context of mitigation. We believe that Member States should grasp this opportunity to devote more political attention to addressing issues affecting these ecosystems and to utilize forest projects to enhance absorption of greenhouse gas emissions.
Thank you.
