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Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Kofi Annan: Forests destruction poses threat to climate change

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The world could miss out in the fight against climate change and achieving theĀ Sustainable Development GoalsĀ (SDGs) if the current scale of forest destruction continues, according to Kofi Annan, Chair of the Africa Progress Panel (APP).

Fisheries Transparency Initiative
Kofi Annan, chair of the Africa Progress Panel

Mr Annan warned against the destruction of forests, which provide clean air and water, and local communities with food, shelter and livelihoods, saying, ā€œEach day more forests are cleared, driven by multiple activities, from agriculture to infrastructure development, to the growing demand for wood and forest products, often made worse by illegal logging.ā€

In his keynote address at the ā€œForests for the Future ā€“ New Forests for Africaā€Ā conference in Accra, Ghana on 16 March, Kofi Annan said: ā€œSome of the worldā€™s most precious ecosystems, such as the Virunga National Park in the Congo Basin, are threatened by oil, gas and mineral exploration and exploitationā€.

 

Forests and climate change

Forests offer incredible impetus to the fight against climate change. ā€œForest restoration and reforestation in Africa can contribute to the global effort to tackle climate change and accelerate progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,ā€ said Mr Annan, adding that ā€œforest restoration of 350 million hectares could generate $170 billion per year in net benefits from watershed protection, improved crop yields and forest products.ā€

To realise these gains, he encouraged African governments to create the conducive environment to promote domestic and international investment in sustainable reforestation initiatives.

In its 2014 report,Ā ā€œGrain, Fish, Money: Financing Africaā€™s Green and Blue Revolutions,ā€ the APP argued that effective protection, management and mobilisation of Africaā€™s vast forest resources are needed to support transformative growth. The Panel estimated thatĀ Africa lost 12.4 billion Euros (US$ 17 billion)Ā to illegal exports of timber in 2011.

 

Transforming the forestry sector

KofiĀ Annan challenged Africaā€™s leadership on reforestation to go hand-in-hand with a massive transformation of its energy sector. ā€œTwo out of three Africans ā€“ over 600 million people ā€“ have no access to electricity. Cut off from the grid, rural populations across the continent often have no other choice than chopping trees to make charcoal for cooking,ā€ he stated, adding that ā€œthis is not just driving deforestation and climate change, but also puttingĀ peopleā€™s health at risk.ā€

He outlined three key steps to transforming Africaā€™s forestry sector:

  1. put an end to deforestation and protect the health of our remaining forests;
  2. recognise the huge potential of new forests and invest in sustainable reforestation of degraded lands; and,
  3. put Africa on a pathway towards a low-carbon energy future to end the clearing of forests for energy purposes.

The conference, which aims at large scale reforestation in Africa, is an initiative of the Dutch forestry consultation company, Form International; the sustainable forestry plantation company, Form Ghana; Nyenrode Business University; and in cooperation with The Forestry Commission, Ghana and the World Resources Institute.

By Stephen Yeboah (Research Fellow at the Africa Progress Panel)

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