It is my pleasure to share with you highlights of RECOFTC’s work from October 2020 to September 2021. In the Asia–Pacific region, we continue to struggle with the global pandemic and its devastating economic fallout, especially for the most vulnerable households. At the same time, we are battling climate change, the greatest challenge of our lifetimes.
It has never been so urgent that we implement solutions that approach health, social and environmental challenges in a holistic way. Community forestry is a proven nature-based solution and ecosystem-based approach that does just that.
As statistics and narratives in this report show, through community forestry we are contributing to achieving the Global Goals and the Paris climate agreement. We are securing land tenure, fostering gender equality and social inclusion, nurturing food security and nutrition, protecting biodiversity, addressing climate change and more.
At RECOFTC, we know how to do it. Many of our government partners have strong commitments to expanding community forestry, backed by enabling policies and laws. In addition to having an enabling environment for community forestry, we have thousands of forest communities that want to contribute. What we need now is investment.
We are poised for investment and for success. I witnessed the global commitments made at the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, in Glasgow in November 2021 to ensure that Indigenous Peoples and local communities receive a fair share of the benefits from carbon initiatives. I also see the energy, resources and commitment behind the movements to restore our landscapes. These are just two examples of changes in thinking that are positioning forest communities as equal partners, agents of change, and architects of their own development.
RECOFTC stands ready to support them. I hope you will too.
It is with immense gratitude that I thank our donors, sponsors, Board of Trustees, partners, communities and staff members for their steadfast support, especially through the pandemic. I look forward to working with you to achieve our collective vision of communities living equitably, securely and sustainably in and beside healthy, resilient forests.