Forum | Forum Macau wants ‘green’ cooperation with UN

Xu Yingzhen

Forum Macau Secretary General Xu Yingzhen this week stated the importance of building a society and an increasingly green and sustainable future through the creation of a global green supply chain in trade and investment in forest products.

Speaking at the opening of the Tropical Wood Investment and Trade Colloquium between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries and cooperation in the global green supply chain, organized by the Forum Macau Training Centre and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), Xu Yinhzhen recalled that building a sustainable system is a foundation for social development.

Noting that this is the first time Forum Macau has organized human resources training in cooperation with United Nations official bodies, not only for the Forum Macau member countries but also for other nations such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Ghana and Ecuador, Xu called concerted efforts to be made by stakeholders to create the so-called “green supply chain” of global forest products.

“Some of the Forum Macau members act as forest suppliers and others as consumers. However, everyone has the same need to boost reforestation, beautify their countries and improve the environment to overcome the many global ecological challenges resulting from climate change, with a view to maintaining and developing the security of the ecological system,” Xu Yingzhen said.

During the opening ceremony of the colloquium, ITTO chief executive Gehard Dieterle argued that “sustainable forest management and timber trade are inseparable,” but warned that forests are currently under “great pressure,” from the multitude of not only economic but also cultural assets they have.

The ITTO official also recalled that “illegality in many cases is related to needs, particularly in poor countries that cannot invest in sustainability.”

“We are working with governments on tax incentives and systems while training forestry companies, and research organizations to understand the implications of sustainability,” said the chief executive of the ITTO.

Dieterle also noted that statistics show that illegal activities in the supply of forest products are worth between $50 billion and $70 billion. MDT/Macauhub