Category Archives: Future We Want

Highlights from the UN Forum on Forests — #UNFF10 — in Istanbul

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Most people don’t live in, or even near, a forest. While it is true that 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods, for most people, forests are out of sight, out of mind.

And yet if people had to pay for what forests provide,  for wood, paper, clean water, clean air, biodiversity, it would amount to a pretty penny, and this is at the heart of the discussions now taking place at the United Nations Forum on Forests in Istanbul, Turkey.

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Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, put it this way at the opening of the Forum: “We must all see and understand that if the process we call growth and development continues in this way, will not have a liveable world.” Citing a Native American saying, he added, “when all the trees are cut, all animals are hunted, all waters are polluted and the air becomes unbreathable you will understand that money is something that you cannot eat.”

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, says the Forum is meeting “at a critical time”.  He said the vital issues forests influenced – from livelihoods to biodiversity and climate change – had been highlighted in the outcome of Rio+20 and would be considered during negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda.

Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo
Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo
Forum Chair Mario Ruales Carranza (Ecuador)
Forum Chair Mario Ruales Carranza (Ecuador)

International Forest Short Film Festival – Winners

The Forests Secretariat partnered with the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival to honor creative efforts of filmmakers who visually capture how forests inspire, shelter, nurture and contribute to our lives. This year’s Film Festival is for short films of five minutes or less. The winners of the Film Festival include Rowan Pybus of South Africa, Paul Rosolie of the United States, Elio Alonso Vasquez Miranda of Peru, Sébastien Pins of Belgium, and Dan Childs and Nick Werber of the United Kingdom. More information on the winners can be found here.
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Special items from the UN News Centre:

Earth Hour

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For the fifth time the United Nations and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon are taking part in Earth Hour by turning off the lights at its offices around the world on Saturday, 23 March, for one hour, in a symbolic gesture to support action on climate change and to demonstrate its commitment to reducing its own carbon footprint.

For example, in New York, the UN is now buying all its electricity for the iconic Secretariat Building from renewable energy sources. This marks a major milestone in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the New York campus.

The switch to renewables, currently 100 per cent wind energy, has been done by purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates, a tradable certificate issued when electricity is generated and delivered to the grid from a qualifying renewable energy source.

Overall, the US$1.9 billion renovation of the Secretariat building aims to reduce energy (electricity and steam) consumption by 50 per cent and carbon emissions by 45 per cent.

Similar strides are being taken around the UN System in places like Dakar, Nairobi and Rome.

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Everyone has a role to play. Governments need to provide the political will, businesses can contribute solutions, and civil society, especially young people, can mobilise global action.  Together, let’s do our part and shed light on common sense answers for a cleaner, greener world. — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Here are just a few ways the UN is calling on governments and business are mobilizing action.

How can you take part? Here are some ideas.