Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Thank you Chair.
New Zealand would first like to provide some comments on the Deforestation Roadmap mention by my colleague from Brazil. New Zealand welcomes the information provided on the COP30 Deforestation Roadmap. We thank Brazil for initiating the process of consulting stakeholders across international organisations. We look forward to supporting this process and strengthening international coordination and collective action for forests. We also encourage continued consultation and recommend that the Roadmap:
- Emphasise deforestation avoidance and forest quality, not only net outcomes;
- Promote policy coherence between climate instruments, land use, biodiversity and rural development;
- Highlight the role of public finance and indigenous partnership in unlocking sustainable forest outcomes;
- Support context specific pathways that reflect national circumstances while maintaining global ambition.
As we enter the United Nations Decade for Afforestation and Reforestation in line with Sustainable Forest Management, we would like to highlight the integral role of planted forests in our landscapes. In New Zealand, planted forests are a vital resource that enable an active forest industry while reducing pressure on natural forests.
Finally on an interlinked approach towards achieving the Global Forest Goals, in 2025, the New Zealand government launched the Biodiscovery Platform, designed to accelerate the development of high-growth industries producing natural pharmaceuticals and other bio-based products, including products rooted in our forest biodiversity. This Platform aims to unite researchers, indigenous enterprises and industry to drive commercially focused innovation. In this way, it supports Global Forest Goal 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Thank you Chair.