Scotland signs up to forestry pledge
First Minister commits to Bonn Challenge.
A global ambition to restore landscapes and forests has been supported by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
The Bonn Challenge aims to regenerate 150 million hectares of deforested and degraded landscapes by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030.
Bianca Jagger, an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Ambassador for the Bonn Challenge, the organisation driving the initiative, was in Edinburgh to meet the First Minister and endorse Scotland’s pledge.
The First Minister said:
“Developing forestry has many economic, social and environmental benefits, which is why we recognise the importance of the Bonn Challenge and I was pleased to welcome Bianca Jagger to Edinburgh to support this pledge.
“We are already working with partners on high profile restoration projects using forestry, woodlands and greenspace to improve people’s lives and wellbeing in our urban and rural communities.
“By backing the Bonn Challenge, the Scottish Government has signalled we will play our part in global efforts to increase woodland cover and restore landscapes, benefiting people and the environment. I hope our support will galvanise other governments to join reforestation efforts.”
Bianca Jagger, IUCN Ambassador for the Bonn Challenge said:
“I am delighted to welcome Scotland’s pledge. Scotland is the first European country to sign up to the Bonn Challenge.
“Scotland joins a cohort of visionary governments and other entities who have recognised that restoring degraded and deforested landscapes is critical to improve people’s lives by achieving poverty reduction and livelihoods generation while also generating benefits for biodiversity and combatting climate change.”
Background
Ms Jagger was invited to Bute House after meeting the First Minister in Bonn last year.
The Scottish Government became a member of the IUCN in 2017.
The Bonn Challenge is a global effort to reforest millions of hectares of land across the world. It is developed upon the forest landscape restoration approach.
The Scottish Government has committed to a range of future actions as part of the pledge to the Bonn Challenge.
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