India Showcases Forest Conservation Efforts at UN Forum on Forests
By CCN News | Published: May 12, 2024
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India actively participated in the 19th Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) held at the UN Headquarters in New York from May 6th to 10th, 2024.
The delegation from India highlighted the country's significant strides in forest conservation and sustainable forest management, which have led to a consistent increase in forest cover over the past fifteen years. Globally, India ranks third in net gain in average annual forest area between 2010 and 2020.
India emphasized its robust commitment to biodiversity and wildlife conservation, underscoring the expansion of its network of protected areas to include over a thousand wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, tiger reserves, biosphere reserves, and other critical wildlife habitats. Celebrations marking 50 years of Project Tiger and 30 years of Project Elephant underscored India’s dedication to species conservation and habitat protection. Additionally, India highlighted its leadership in establishing the International Big Cat Alliance, aimed at the conservation of the world's seven big cat species through global collaborative efforts.
India also introduced the 'Green Credit Program', designed to incentivize entities to undertake tree plantation and restore degraded forest lands, thereby bolstering climate action initiatives.
Previously, in October 2023, India hosted the Country Led Initiative under UNFF in Dehradun, bringing together representatives from 40 countries and 20 international organizations to discuss forest fire management and forest certification. Recommendations from this initiative were presented by India during UNFF 19.
At the UNFF 19, the Ministry also organized a side event on 'Principles and Strategies for Landscape Integrated Fire Management through Collaborative Governance', in partnership with the Agency for Integrated Rural Fire Management, Portugal, the Korea Forest Service, and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO).
The culmination of UNFF 19 resulted in a declaration urging urgent and accelerated actions to halt deforestation, forest degradation, and land degradation, emphasizing the implementation of the United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests and the achievement of Global Forest Goals.
The Indian delegation was led by Shri Jitendra Kumar, Director General of Forests and Special Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India.
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