The new agreement [http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/LTD/N07/557/67/PDF/N0755767.pdf?OpenElement] sets a standard in forest management that is expected to have a major impact on international cooperation and national action to reduce deforestation, reverse the loss of forest cover, prevent forest degradation, promote sustainable livelihoods and reduce poverty for all forest-dependent peoples.

“It was a long process – it took over 15 years of discussion and negotiations to achieve this, but it was worth the effort,” said Srgjan Kerim, President of the General Assembly. The agreement was reached in April this year, after two weeks of intense negotiations among delegates to the UN Forum on Forests [http://www.un.org/esa/forests].

Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, called the agreement a “milestone,” noting that “this is the first time Member States have agreed to an international instrument on international forest policy and cooperation.”
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 13 million hectares of the world's forests are lost due to deforestation every year, which, in turn accounts for up to 20 per cent of the global greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. The world's forests and forest soils store more than one trillion tons of carbon – twice the amount found in the atmosphere.
 “The message from Bali is very clear,” said Pekka Patosaari, Director of the UN Forum on Forests Secretariat. “The world’s forests are intimately linked to climate change.” And Boen Purnama, Secretary-General of the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry and Chairman of the UN Forum of Forests, pointed out that “the unique role of forests in climate stabilization and as a life-support system must be further strengthened in many ways.”
More than 1.6 billion people, according to World Bank estimates, depend on forests for fuel, food, medicine and income. “Forest resources are crucial for poverty reduction and the sustainable development of developing countries,” said Samuel Outlule, Botswana’s Permanent Representative to the UN, “especially in Africa where a significant proportion of the continent’s population depends primarily on forests for their livelihood.”
The new agreement, although not legally binding, reflects a strong international commitment to sustainable forest management, through practical measures at the country level, aimed at stabilizing climate change, protecting biodiversity, and reducing poverty.
“We have only one planet to share, and we must ensure its health and sustainability,” noted Hans Hoogeveen, former Chair of the UN Forum on Forests. “Words should now be translated into concrete action.”