Meio Ambiente

Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity / United Nations Environment Programme

During the International Year of Forests, decision-makers will be asking the question: what are the policies that most successfully protect forests? The World Future Council, an international forum that provides decision-makers with effective policy solutions, will come up with some answers. At the Annual Meeting of the United Nations Forum on Forests in New York, the World Future Council (WFC) announced that it will provide this year's distinguished Future Policy Award to the world's most inspiring, innovative and influential laws on forest protection. The Awards will be presented in New York in September 2011 at a reception hosted by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the WFC. In making the announcement, Alexandra Wandel, Executive Member of the Management Board of the German-based organization, said: "Exemplary policy solutions do exist. The Future Policy Award celebrates the best of them. The aim of the award is to raise global awareness for these policies and speed up policy action. At the World Future Council we strive to enhance policy progress in the interest of future generations."

Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, said: "Forests hold more than 80 per cent of the world's biological diversity and, as highlighted in 2010, deforestation and forest degradation are major reasons for the world's unprecedented biodiversity loss. This is why it is urgent to identify policies that protect biodiversity while contributing to the fight against land degradation and climate change."

Speaking in New York at the opening ceremony of the International Year on Forests, WFC Honorary Councillor, Wangari Maathai, the Nobel Peace Laureate and Founder of the Green Belt Movement, said: "Governments have a responsibility to ensure that the ecological services provided by the trees and forests are available for the common good of all communities, including the future generations."

Nominations for the Future Policy Award are received from a select group of international organizations as well as from Councillors and Advisors of the World Future Council. A research team screens all nominated policies according to the seven principles for sustainable development law that were presented at the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development. As a result, an evaluation report is presented to the international jury composed of experts from all five continents.