– As delivered –
Remarks by H.E. Mr. Volkan Bozkir, President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly
26 April 2021
Madam Chair,
Excellencies,
It is a pleasure to join you at the High-Level Round Table of the 16th session of the UN Forum on Forests.
This discussion is particularly timely. The world is facing wide-ranging global crises that are intrinsically linked to the health and sustainability of our natural environment.
COVID-19, a zoonotic disease, has brought home the risks associated with our encroachment on the natural world.
Species extinction rates are around 100 to 1000 times higher than the baseline rate.
And global warming has seen average temperatures rising by 1.18 degrees Celsius, with 2016 and 2020 tied as the warmest years on record.
Clearly our world is telling us that there is a problem in our relationship with nature. Unfortunately, as a society, we tend to focus on the symptoms and not the underlying conditions, and we have ignored the Earth’s messages for far too long. Hopefully, we can help change that.
Colleagues, your Excellencies, one of the clearest and easiest steps we can take is to protect our forests. Healthy and sustainably managed forests regulate rainfall patterns and help mitigate the impacts of climate change by acting as carbon sinks, absorbing about 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually. They purify our air and water; supply us with food, medicine, and shelter; and are home to incredible biodiversity.
Protecting these resources would seem like an obvious solution.
We have before us three COP-level summits related to the Rio Convention. These dialogues will present us with opportunities to speak directly to policymakers and to help mobilize action.
Because while there has long been a need to act, the opportunity to act is now. We have incredible resources pouring into relief and recovery from COVID-19. If we approach this recovery the right way, we can build back better, ensuring that the Sustainable Development Goals and other related global agendas serve as a blueprint for a more resilient world.
As President of the General Assembly I am pleased to say that we are supporting these efforts by building political momentum through a series of high-level meetings and events.
Following on the successful High-Level Meeting on the Water Related Goals and Targets of the SDGs in March, I will convene a high-level dialogue on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought on Thursday, May 20, 2021.
It is hoped that the dialogue will focus on recovery from the global pandemic and highlight how this can be used to help tackle desertification, land degradation and drought. There will be strong push around the need to use this momentous recovery effort to create jobs and shovel-ready projects that support land restoration, regenerative agriculture, renewable energy and energy efficiency, as well as investments in sustainable land management.
In addition, the High-Level Dialogue will help build on past commitments and help maintain momentum on the road to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, COP15. Finally, we hope to encourage Member States to adopt and implement Land Degradation Neutrality targets and National Drought plans, in line with the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction, the Nationally Determined Contributions of the Paris Agreement, and future commitments under the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.
Excellencies, dear colleagues, 2021 will be a milestone year for the three Rio Conventions on Desertification, Biodiversity and Climate Change. All three of these important issues are linked, and actions taken to address them must be coordinated to ensure that we maximize the impact of our interventions.
As we move from the Decade to Fight Desertification into a new Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, let us take this opportunity to renew our commitment to creating a future that is more equitable, where all people benefit from living in harmony with nature.
Thank you and I wish you all the best with your endeavours today.
