Africa Environment Day Focuses on Sustainable Forest Management

March 2011: In celebrations for the ninth Africa Environment Day, the African Union (AU) Commission, in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and local partners, highlighted the importance of sustainable forest management (SFM) for sustainable development and addressing climate change.

These celebrations, which were organized by the AU, in cooperation with UNEP Addis Ababa Liaison Office to the AU Commission, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and others, took place under the theme “Forests for Sustainable Development.” Three-hundred cuttings of local tree species were presented to a reforestation project in the surroundings of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Speaking at the ceremony, Abebe Haile Gabriel, AU Director for Rural Economy and Agriculture, announced that the AU is finalizing the African Strategy on Climate Change, which aims at strengthening Africa's participation in global climate change debate while addressing impacts of climate change in Africa. Serge Bounda, UNEP representative to the AU, emphasized the role of youth in addressing deforestation and called for identifying solutions and ways forward on SFM in the run up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio 2012). [AU Press Release] [UNEP Press Release]