Climate Action 2014-2015

DEFORESTATION AND REDD+
THE FUTURE FOR
FORESTS AFTER
THE NEW YORK
DECLARATION
By Helen Clark, Administrator, United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP)
On the day of the UN Climate Summit in September 2014, we saw Forests take centre stage
as one of eight ‘action areas’, each representing a crucial pillar in the fight against climate
change. The Summit had the aim of galvanising action to reduce emissions, strengthening
climate resilience, and mobilising political will. In the forests sector, leaders of countries,
states, business, civil society and indigenous peoples have responded well, and now have the
task of maintaining the momentum towards a meaningful legal agreement in 2015.
As the world’s largest storehouse of
carbon after the oceans, forests are a
critical element of any strategy to address
global climate change. They also provide
a range of ecosystem services from
harbouring biodiversity to regulating
watersheds. Yet, despite these benefits,
more than thirteen million hectares of
forests are cleared annually, contributing
some 20 per cent of global greenhouse
gas emissions – or about 12 per cent
when forest growth is accounted for.
Current rates of deforestation and
forest degradation threaten economic
progress and human well-being. They are
undermining food security, clean water
availability, and the lives of the 1.6 billion
people who depend on the health of the
forests for their livelihoods.
In early 2014, I was asked by the Secretary-
General to facilitate the Forests action area
for the Climate Summit, and was pleased to
take on this challenge on behalf of UNDP
and our UN-REDD programme partners,
FAO and UNEP, and in partnership with
the World Bank. Over the course of this
year, with the help of many partners, we
co-ordinated a global, multi-sectoral team
of developing and developed countries,
governors, companies, indigenous peoples
and civil society organisations (CSOs) to
catalyse major announcements for the
Summit on reducing deforestation and
increasing forest restoration. This was truly
a team effort.
"Current rates of
deforestation and forest
degradation threaten
economic progress and
human well-being."
UNDP is pleased by the outcomes of
the Climate Summit and the attention
which it brought to bear on Forests.
It is now widely recognised that the
world cannot succeed in limiting climate
change to under 2°C above preindustrial
levels without effective action
to protect and restore forests.
The two major Forests events held
during the Summit brought together
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