The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres on Wednesday called on people and governments everywhere to step up efforts to protect forests and support forest communities, under increasing threat from unsustainable use of forest resources and wildlife trafficking.
“In doing so, we will contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for people, planet and prosperity”, Secretary-General António Guterres said in a message commemorating World Wildlife Day.
Guterres highlighted the benefits of forests, home to about 80 percent of all terrestrial wild species. “They help regulate the climate and support the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people”, he said.
In addition, forests resources support, in one way or another, about 90 per cent of the world’s poorest people, a fact especially true for indigenous communities that live in or near them. “They provide livelihoods and cultural identity”, the UN chief continued.
However, unsustainable exploitation of forests harms these communities and contributes to biodiversity loss and climate disruption, he added.
Every year, the world loses about 4.7 million hectares of forests, an area larger than Denmark, due to unsustainable agriculture, timber trafficking, organized crime, and illegal trade in wild animal species. The latter also raises the risk of zoonotic diseases, such as Ebola and Covid-19, Guterres said.
“So, on this year’s World Wildlife Day, I urge governments, businesses and people everywhere to scale up efforts to conserve forests and forest species, and to support and listen to the voices of forest communities”, he said.
This year, the World Wildlife Day is being marked with the theme of ‘Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet,’ underscoring the central role of forests, forest species and ecosystems in sustaining the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people globally. The Day also recognises the importance of forest-based livelihoods and promotes forest and forest wildlife management practices that accommodate both human wellbeing and long-term conservation of forests.