Why in the News?
India participated in the 20th session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF20) held at the UN Headquarters, New York, reaffirming its commitment to the United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests (UNSPF) 2017–2030.
About United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF):
- UNFF was established in 2000 by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
- It aims to promote sustainable forest management and global forest policy coordination.
- It holds annual sessions at UN Headquarters:
- Technical discussions in odd years
- Policy-level dialogues in even years
- It has universal membership — includes all UN Member States and relevant forest-related agencies.
- India is a founding member and plays an active role in shaping forest policies.
- The UN Strategic Plan for Forests (UNSPF) is the guiding framework for achieving global forest goals by 2030.
- The 19th UNFF Declaration secured high-level political commitment for forest conservation.
Key Highlights of UNFF20:
- India reaffirmed its commitment to Voluntary National Contributions (VNCs) under the UNSPF (2017–2030).
- It reported an increase in forest and tree cover to 25.17% of its geographical area.
- National efforts included the Aravalli Green Wall, a 7.86% rise in mangrove cover, 1.55 lakh hectares afforested under the Green India Mission, and 1.4 billion seedlings planted under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign.
- India invited countries to join the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) for big cat conservation.
- It urged support for outcomes of the Country-Led Initiative (CLI) on forest fire management held in Dehradun (2023).
- In a high-level panel, India presented findings on carbon sequestration, water services, biodiversity, and tools like System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA) and Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA).
- It stressed the need to mainstream ecosystem valuation in forest policy.
| [UPSC 2021] With reference to the ‘New York Declaration on Forests’, which of the following statements are correct?
1. It was first endorsed at the United Nations Climate Summit in 2014. 2. It endorses a global timeline to end the loss of forests. 3. It is a legally binding international declaration. 4. It is endorsed by governments, big companies, and indigenous communities. 5. India was one of the signatories at its inception. Select the correct answer using the code given below: Options: (a) 1, 2, and 4* (b) 1, 3, and 5 (c) 3 and 4 (d) 2 and 5 |
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