Forestry
Congress Ends With Calls For Deforestation Control
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The
XII World Forestry Congress ended Sunday in Quebec
City with participants urging political commitment
around the world to reduce deforestation, to protect
indigenous peoples and forest communities and to
enhance forest restoration.
The
congress was organized by the Food and Agriculture
Organization and the Canadian government.
"Forests have enormous potential to make an
invaluable contribution to the imperatives of this
era:
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for environmental security, poverty alleviation, social
justice, enhancement of human well-being, equity for present
and future generations," a final statement from the
congress said. "However, harmonization between people
and the planet cannot be achieved by forest managers alone.
Bridges must be built with other sectors," it added.
More
than 3,000 participants from 120 countries attended the
conference, which had as its theme "Forests, Source
of Life."
According
to the FAO, around 1.6 billion people rely on forests for
their livelihoods. Despite their importance, around 12.4
million hectares of forests are destroyed annually in tropical
developing countries, the FAO says (FAO release, Sept. 29).
Copyright, UN Wire, Year 2003 . http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/
