Helen Clark Says World Needs Action on Forest Land Rights to Meet Climate Goals

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has “warned that global climate change goals cannot be achieved without a united push to secure land rights for the world’s indigenous forest communities”, as reported by Paola Totaro for The Wire.

“As the international community moves to implement these ambitious frameworks, there is the potential for a new era of co-operation around eradicating poverty, reducing disaster risk, spurring green growth and significantly reducing inequalities,” said Clark in an opinion piece for the new Thomson Reuters Foundation website.

“However it will be impossible to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change without decisive action to protect the world’s forests. A growing body of evidence shows that when indigenous and community rights are recognised and enforced, communities successfully protect and manage their forests, making crucial contributions to climate change mitigation.”

According to Clark, now head of the UN Development Programme, “securing land rights was an imperative not just for indigenous communities but for also for women.”

“Gender-sensitive laws and regulations are needed: land laws which support women’s rights must not be undermined by family and inheritance laws, awareness of women’s legal rights must be raised and those rights must be upheld,” she said.

Clark announced her bid to succeed Ban Ki-moon as secretary general of the United Nations last month.

Article Source: The Wire, Paola Totaro, May 16, 2016

Image Source: Twitter – Pamela Glading