Recognizing the role that forests play in everything from mitigating climate change to providing wood, medicines and livelihoods for people worldwide, the United Nations kicked off on 2 February a year-long celebration to raise awareness of the value of this important resource.
In his speech at the launch ceremony, Sha Zukang, the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, noted that political interest in forests has been rising, and stressed that that interest should be translated into action. “We have to make sure that the billions of dollars pledged towards forests and climate change financing is actually released and applied to sustainable forest management,” Mr. Sha said.
Video: http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2011/02/mr-sha-zukang-forests-2011.html (5:59 minutes)
Full coverage: http://www.un.org/en/events/iyof2011/videos.shtml
