Sharjah24 - WAM: India has started a Country-Led Initiative (CLI) under the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) to limit the issue in an attempt to address the worrying rise in forest fires occurring globally.
As part of this Initiative, three days of deliberations and exchanges will begin at the Forest Research Institute at Dehradun, capital of Uttarakhand state on Thursday.
The guiding themes of the deliberations are forest fires and forest certification. The CLI includes a field trip to Indian forests by 80 delegates and experts participating from over 40 countries and 20 international organisations.
“The meeting will come out with an implementable framework and recommendations for management of forest fires leading towards sustainable forest management. These will be considered by the 19th session of the UNFF scheduled to be held at UN Headquarters in New York in May 2024,” India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, which is hosting the deliberations, said.
“The deliberations on the thematic areas of forest fires and forest certification will promote the sharing of good practices in these areas to support global actions in advancing the Global Forest Goals of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests (UNSPF),” the Ministry said in a press release.
The UNSPF was approved by the UN General Assembly for the period from 2017 to 2030. It serves as a global framework for actions at all levels to achieve the sustainable management of all types of forests, combat deforestation and forest degradation.
The Ministry estimates that about 100 million hectares, equal to three percent of the world’s total forest area, are affected by fires every year. “The situation is no different in India, and with changing climate, forest fires are becoming a regular phenomenon.”
India is leading the CLI as a founding member of the United Nations Forum on Forests.
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