Bonn, 28 January
2020 – A unique global
initiative to promote peace through land
restoration was signed today by the United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
(UNCCD) and the Korea Forest Service
(KFS).
Conflicts over natural resources are
among key peace and security challenges of the
21st century. With the right approach,
cooperation in the management of natural
resources can offer countries recovering from
violent conflict an opportunity to achieve
stability and trust while re-building
livelihoods and economies. To meet this need,
the new Peace Forest Initiative (PFI) will
promote cooperation between countries to
rehabilitate degraded land and forest in fragile
and post-conflict locations while promoting
peace and confidence.
Today Mr. Ibrahim
Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD and Mr.
Chong-Ho Park, Minister of KFS, Republic of
Korea, signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) to establish the framework for the new
initiative.
Bridging the goals of
peace-building and land restoration, KFS and
UNCCD have joined forces to realize the common
sustainable development targets, including Land
Degradation Neutrality (LDN). LDN is a universal
goal to tackle land degradation in the context
of the sustainable development at global,
regional and national levels. It is also an
accelerator for the achievement of multiple
Sustainable Development Goals. Restoration,
rehabilitation and sustainable management of
forests play a vital role in the achievement of
LDN and create a number economic gains, such as
increased production of non-timber products,
food security and health, reduced soil erosion,
disaster risk reduction, improved watershed
management and carbon sequestration.
“The
Peace Forest Initiative, welcomed by the last
Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD, is an
innovative way to link peace and security with
Land Degradation Neutrality. The Initiative will
help address some of the most challenging
situations of transboundary management of shared
natural resources while promoting peace and
cooperation. UNCCD is excited to join forces
with The Republic of Korea and other key
partners to launch this promising new endeavor,"
said Mr. Thiaw.
“We have now embarked
on our journey. The PFI is an effective tool to
promote cooperation on the restoration of
degraded land and forest in conflict-affected
areas. Republic of Korea is committed to making
this endeavour a great success. Together with
UNCCD and other partners, we will continue to
work together for peace and prosperity,” said
Mr. Chong-Ho Park.
Launched on 10
September 2019 during the 14th Conference of the
Parties to the UNCCD in New Delhi, India, the
PFI will function as a practical platform to
facilitate collaboration on sustainable land and
forest management in diverse environments. In
addition to the needs assessment, the platform
will provide guidance on sharing resource wealth
and management; ensuring transparency of
resource contracts, payments and the potential
social and environmental impacts of the
activities; management of land tenure and other
resource rights; engaging stakeholders and civil
society in decision-making and maintaining
positive transboundary dynamics that draw on
national and local capacity for resolving
disputes and grievances.
The UNCCD
Secretariat welcomes the expression of interest
from countries willing to work together to make
the Peace Forest Initiative a reality and
contribute to LDN implementation through
partnership building for peace and
security.
About Peace Forest
Initiative and Land Degradation
Neutrality
Land Degradation
Neutrality (LDN) is a unique approach that
balances the expected loss of productive land
with the recovery of degraded areas. Today, over
120 countries with various economic and
geographical conditions are successfully
integrating voluntary LDN targets into their
planning systems.
UNCCD is the custodian
agency for LDN. The UNCCD Parties have
recognized LDN as a strong vehicle for driving
the implementation of the Convention and adopted
it as a key goal.
The growing demand for
natural resources – in particular to productive
land and water – combined with environmental
degradation and climate change, serves to
intensify competition between countries and
communities over resource access, ownership and
use. Natural resources are set to become key
drivers in a growing number of disputes, with
significant consequences for international,
regional and national peace and security.
However, integrating management of environmental
resources with peacebuilding activities can
provide the pathway to lasting security and
sustainable poverty reduction. Understanding
risks and opportunities associated with access
to natural resources can help decision makers
manage natural resources in ways that create
jobs, sustain livelihoods and contribute to
economic growth without creating new grievances
or significant environmental
degradation.
In post-conflict situations,
assigning priority to the management of natural
resources and the environment can be
challenging. In many cases, the drive for rapid
reconstruction comes at the expense of
transparency, equitable sharing of resource
wealth and the sustainable management of natural
resources. When countries emerging from conflict
postpone decisions on natural resource
management until stability is restored, the
impact on long-term sustainability can be
disastrous, undermining the fragile foundations
of peace. Wise management of shared natural
resources in cross-border situations can create
platforms for dialogue, confidence building, and
cooperation between divided groups to avoid new
grievances and environmental
degradation.
The PFI aims to forge a
broad partnership engaging diverse stakeholders,
including governments, civil society
organizations, local communities, donors,
technical experts and international
organizations. The UNCCD secretariat will
collaborate with partners including UN agencies,
institutions and think tanks to deliver the
objectives of the new initiative. PFI concept
can be found here https://www.unccd.int/sites/default/files/sessions/documents/2019-09/ICCD_COP%2814%29_MISC.1-1915411E_0.pdf | |
|
| |
|
The UNCCD is an
international agreement on good land
stewardship. It helps people, communities and
countries to create wealth, grow economies and
secure enough food and water and energy by
ensuring that land users have an enabling
environment for sustainable land management.
Through partnerships, Convention’s 197 Parties
set up robust systems to manage drought promptly
and effectively. Good land stewardship based on
sound policy and science helps integrate and
accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable
Development Goals, builds resilience to climate
change and prevents biodiversity
loss. | | |
Copyright ©
*|2016|* *|UNCCD|*, All rights
reserved.
You are receiving this email
because you are part of the UNCCD Secretariat
mailing list
Our mailing address
is:
United
Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification
UNCCD
Platz der Vereinten
Nationen, Bonn, Germany Bonn 53113
Germany Add
us to your address book
Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2020
2:03 PM
Subject: Press Release: UNCCD is
ready to welcome countries to the new Peace Forest
Initiative
| | |
