In news- Glasgow declaration on land and land-use was announced at the 26th Conference of Parties (CoP) held at Glasgow, Scotland.
About the declaration-
- It is the first major outcome of CoP26.
- It aims to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.
- It will cover forests estimated to be over 33.7 million square kilometres.
- It will be supported by a pledge to provide £8.75bn ($12bn) of public finance from 12 countries, including the UK, from 2021-2025.
- This will support activities in developing countries, including restoring degraded land, tackling wildfires and supporting the rights of indigenous communities.
- At least £5.3 billion ($7.2 billion) of newly-mobilised private sector funding will also be available.
- Chief executives from more than 30 financial institutions with over $8.7 trillion of global assets including Aviva, Schroders and Axa-will also commit to eliminate investment in activities linked to deforestation.
- The UK will be committing £1.5 billion over five years to support the forests pledge, including £350 million for tropical forests in Indonesia and £200 million for the LEAF Coalition.
- Over 100 countries including the US, Russia, China and Brazil signed the Declaration.
- However, India, Argentina, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and South Africa are the G20 countries that did not sign the declaration.
- According to India, the declaration interlinks trade to climate change and forest issues and as trade falls under the WTO, it should not be brought under climate change declarations and wanted the word “trade” to be removed.
New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF)-
- It was endorsed at the United Nations Climate Summit in September 2014.
- It is a voluntary political declaration with over 200 endorsers – including countries, subnational governments, companies, indigenous groups, and NGOs – with ambitious targets to end forest loss.
- It pledges to halve the rate of deforestation by 2020, to end it by 2030, and to restore hundreds of millions of acres of degraded land.
- NYDF was revised in October, 2021 and the goals under this include:
- Halting natural forest loss by 2030
- Restoring 350 million hectares of degraded landscapes and forestlands
- Improving governance
- Increasing forest finance
- Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation
Source: Down To Earth
