Video Message
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Colleagues and friends,
It is an honour to join you in observing the International Day of Forests.
With less than five years remaining to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the urgency to accelerate progress has never been greater.
At the same time, the world faces unprecedented global challenges, from climate change and biodiversity loss to economic uncertainty and rising geopolitical tensions.
In this context, strengthened partnerships and effective multilateral cooperation have never been more critical.
Forests are central to this effort.
Forests sustain livelihoods and employment for millions of people, particularly in rural communities. They support food systems, protect water resources and help stabilize the climate. They provide renewable materials and energy that can support more sustainable and resilient economies.
Forests are, therefore, far more than just environmental assets, they are the essential foundations for sustainable development.
Yet their full value is still too often overlooked in economic decision-making.
Many of the benefits forests provide are not adequately reflected in conventional economic system¡ªfrom water security and soil protection to climate regulation. As a result, forests remain undervalued.
To accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, we must recognize forests as invaluable natural capital, ensuring their value is reflected in development plans and guides our investment decisions.
Forests contribute directly or indirectly to many of the SDGs, including poverty eradication, food security, sustainable economic growth, climate action and the protection of life on land.
Through the United Nations Forum on Forests and the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2017¨C2030, Member States have established an important global framework for advancing sustainable forest management and strengthening international cooperation.
As we work to build more resilient and sustainable economies, forests must be recognized as central pillars of sustainable development.
On this International Day of Forests, let us reaffirm our shared commitment to protecting and sustainably managing forests for the benefit of people, resilient economies and our planet.
Thank you.