Moldova subscribed to the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use in the Glasgow Climate Change Conference. More than 100 leaders reaffirmed commitments to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030, IPN reports, quoting a press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova. Among the signatories are the EU Member States, the U.S., Canada, Japan, the Russian Federation, Turkey, and Ukraine.
The Declaration commits to conserve forests and other terrestrial ecosystems and accelerate their restoration. Afforestation is also a major medium- and long-term objective of the Republic of Moldova. Cooperation in this field is important for achieving the international objectives related to forests.
Global leaders affirmed the role of forests in balancing greenhouse gas emissions and removals, adapting to the impacts of climate change, and maintaining healthy ecosystem services. They pledged to strengthen efforts to implement and, if necessary, redesign agricultural policies and programs to incentivize sustainable agriculture, promote food security, and benefit the environment.
They also promised to reaffirm international financial commitments and significantly increase finance and investment from a wide variety of public and private sources, while also improving its effectiveness and accessibility, to enable sustainable agriculture, sustainable forest management, forest conservation and restoration.
There is national consensus that a forestation program will bring benefits to the citizens by creating jobs in rural communities, improving agricultural productivity and diminishing soil erosion, attenuating the impact of climate change at the local level, clearing the air and protecting water.
President Maia Sandu welcomed the signing of the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use. She reiterated that afforestation is for Moldova a national priority and the quality of people’s lives depends on the achievement of this goal.
“The protection and extension of forests should become our common mission. Uncontrolled felling should be stopped. We need courageous and well-thought-out environmental policies to intervene in the economy, production and consumption, including an ambitious national plan for restoring forests. In Moldova, as in any other place on earth, the people deserve to live in a clean and healthy environment, many generations to come,” said President Sandu.
