Chair, reducing, halting and reversing tropical deforestation by 2030 is a priority for Norway. It is not only possible, but also necessary to achieve this, and to produce enough food, energy and welfare for a growing global population.
To succeed, we need leadership and innovative solutions from member states, the private sector, indigenous peoples and civil society. Important initiatives include the Food and Land Use Coalition and the New York Declaration on Forests.
To stop deforestation, companies need increased transparency and accountability in their supply chains.
We also need strong public policies: Regulations, enforcement and incentives. A large part of the solution lies in providing protected status or tenure rights to forests without formal land use category. We must continue to work with tropical forest governments to support indigenous peoples: Evidence shows that indigenous lands suffer less deforestation.
Stopping deforestation is key to limiting further climate change and biodiversity loss, also a huge global challenge in and of itself, and so to achieving the SDGs more generally. Forests are critical to life on earth, so we must take care of them. Thank you.