Swiss
conservation efforts, which have helped the country recover
from an intense period of deforestation more than a century
ago, can also serve as a model for other governments, according
to officials.
"We
think that the example of Switzerland could be useful for
other countries," said Philippe Roch, director of the
Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape.
Central
governments own about 77 percent of the world's forests,
which Swiss environment officials say helps drive deforestation.
They would like to use the conference to push for greater
decentralization and local involvement in environmental
affairs.
"When
local populations are given greater decision-making powers
and access to income from the use of the forest, they are
generally more motivated to conserve and manage the resource
more carefully," SAEFL said in a statement.
Doris
Capistrano of the Indonesia-based Center for International
Forestry Research said decentralization is already taking
place "in more than 60 countries, and in many cases
this has led to good results."
Indonesia
is co-hosting the conference.
Switzerland's
international stewardship on the issue of forests comes
amid cutbacks in the country's environment spending, however.
Swissinfo reported that the agency is losing almost a fifth
of its budget as part of government cutbacks agreed to in
November (Swissinfo/NZZ Online, April 27).
Published
in UN wire. Copyright, National Journal Group, Year.
