9 February 2012 – People who have made special contributions toward
protecting forests and forest communities will receive the Forest
Heroes Award at a special ceremony hosted by the United Nations Forum
on Forests Secretariat marking the conclusion of the International
Year of Forests on 9 February 2012 at the United Nations Headquarters
in New York.
In addition to the presentation of Forest Heroes awards, the ceremony
will also feature the winners of the 2011 Universal Postal Union
letter writing contest that drew entries from over 2 million children
and youth worldwide, and the announcement of the winners of 2011
children’s art contest to “Celebrate the Forests.” There will also
be film clips from the first-ever award-winning International Forest
Film Festival, as well as the launch of the commemorative “Forests for
People” book with 75 articles from 35 countries.
Jan McAlpine, Director of the United Nations Forum on Forests
Secretariat and member of the jury panel for the Forest Heroes Award,
said the well-being of our forests was a concern for everyone. “Each
of us, all 7 billion people on earth, has our physical, economic and
spiritual health tied to forests. We launched the UNFF Forest Heroes
Awards for the International Year of Forests 2011 to identify and
honor the countless individuals around the world who are dedicating
their lives to nurturing forests in quiet and heroic ways. The
programme aims to spotlight everyday people working to make positive
changes for forests.”
Through many activities, the 2011 International Year of Forests helped
promote awareness of the issues confronting the world’s forests and
the people who depend on them. Forests cover 31 per cent of the
world’s total global land area, store more than 1 trillion tons of
carbon and provide livelihoods for more than 1.6 billion people.
Deforestation accounts for 12 to 20 percent of the global greenhouse
gas emissions that contribute to global warming.
Ninety nominations for Forest Heroes from forty-one countries were
received by the UNFF Secretariat and 15 finalists were selected.
After a long and difficult deliberation, the jury finally decided on
the following regional winners: Africa’s Mr. Paul Nzegha Mzeka
(Cameroon), Asia’s Mr. Shigeatsu Hatakeyama (Japan), Europe’s Mr.
Anatoly Lebedev (Russia), Latin America’s Mr. Paulo Adario (Brazil)
and North America’s Ms. Rhiannon Tomtishen & Ms. Madison Vorva (USA).
In addition, the jury decided to add a special award in recognition of
the deceased couple José Claudio Ribeiro and Maria do Espírito Santo,
two activists in Brazil who were tragically murdered while trying to
protect their natural forests. Each hero embodied innovative
approaches and grassroots initiatives that make a direct impact on the
forests they have dedicated themselves to.
Through education, reforestation, and sustainable bee farming, Mr.
Mzeka and his team have helped 30 communities in Cameroon to protect
their watersheds and conserve community forests, and he still works
tirelessly at the age of 77.
As an oyster fisherman, Mr. Hatakeyama understands the critical role
of forests in maintaining clean water for his oyster beds, and he has
become an iconic advocate of sustainable forests and farming practices
in Miyagi, an area of Japan that was recently devastated by the March
2011 tsunami.
Working through the legislative system, outreach and education, Mr.
Lebedev has successfully campaigned against illegal logging and
destructive land practices in Russia that threatened indigenous
communities and Siberian tigers.
Despite death threats and warring interest groups, Mr. Adario has
dedicated himself to the protection of rainforests and the
forest-dependant communities in the Brazilian Amazon.
As 11-year-old girl scouts, Ms. Tomtishen and Ms. Vorva worked to
raise awareness about palm oil, which is linked to the destruction of
rainforests, and an ingredient used in girl-scout cookies. Now at 16,
these inspiring girls are working to educate consumers and to persuade
multi-national companies such as Kellogg’s and Cargill to change their
supply chain practices to help reduce deforestation.
While these heroes come from varied backgrounds, they share a common
courage, passion and perseverance that serve as inspiration to anyone
who wants to make a difference for forests.
Since its launch in February last year, global observance of the
International Year of Forests has been dedicated to raising public
awareness of the vital role of people in sustainable management and
catalyzing actions in the development and conservation of all types of
forests.
The international Jury for the Forest Heroes award comprised senior
leaders in the international forest community: Jan McAlpine, Director,
United Nations Forum on Forests Secretariat (UNFFS), Eduardo
Rojas-Briales, Assistant Director General, Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Frances Seymour, Director
General, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Emmanuel
Ze Meka, Executive Director, International Tropical Timber
Organization (ITTO), and Jan A. Hartke of Clinton Foundation.
For more information, please contact Daniel Shepard, shepard@un.org,
or Sylvia Chen, chen14@un.org. The International Year of Forests
website: www.un.org/forests
Notes to Editors
The International Year of Forests
The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 as the International
Year of Forests to raise awareness of management, conservation and
sustainable development of all types of forests. The theme of the Year
is “Forests for People,” celebrating the central role of people in
sustainable forest management. The Secretariat of the United Nations
Forum on Forests of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
based in NY, served as the focal point for the implementation of the
International Year of Forests. The Secretariat works in cooperation
with 193 governments, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and
international, regional and sub-regional organizations and processes,
as well as relevant major groups. For more information, visit
www.un.org/forests
The United Nations Forum on Forests
The United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) is an intergovernmental
policy forum which promotes the “management, conservation and
sustainable development of all types of forests and strengthens
long-term political commitment to this end”. The Forum was established
in 2000 by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
(ECOSOC) and is composed of all Member States of the United Nations.
In 2007, UNFF adopted the Non-Legally Binding Instrument on All Types
of Forests (Forest Instrument). The instrument provides a
comprehensive framework for national action and international
cooperation for the sustainable management of all types of forests
which includes reducing deforestation, preventing forest degradation,
promoting sustainable livelihoods and poverty eradication for all
forest-dependent peoples. The Secretariat of the United Nations Forum
on Forests (UNFF) is located at United Nations Headquarters in New
York. For more information, visit www.un.org/esa/forests/.