Distinguished Guests
Government Officials,
Private Sector Representatives,
Represented Schools from the Ra District
Ladies and Gentlemen

Good Morning,
Ni sa yadra vinaka,

It is indeed an excellent opportunity for me to be here with you today to celebrate the 2015 International Day of Forests.

First, my sincere appreciation to the people of Nanukuloa, for their support and for allowing us to hold this important occasion here, the Ra Provincial Administrator for the effective coordination and support, and everyone who worked tirelessly and those who contributed in one way or another to make this day a success. Our gratitude extends also to our development partners SPC, GIZ and FAO for the sponsorship and in kind contribution towards this event.

The United Nations General Assembly formally proclaimed the 21st of March every year as the International Day of Forests and to be celebrated on the 21st of March each year. The purpose of the International Day of Forests is to globally celebrate and raise awareness on the important role that all types of forest and trees outside forest play in supporting national developments, and providing for our daily needs. So today is both a day for celebration and also a day for raising awareness.

Each year, the UN identifies an international theme, and for this year the international theme is “Forests, Climate, Change” highlighting the vital role that forests play in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation efforts. From that international theme, we developed our national theme which is: “Healthy Forests Contribute to Resilient Communities”. Our National theme highlights the linkage between healthy forests and climate change, and resilient communities and rally for greater action right from the national level down to the village and individual level, which would lead to healthy forests contributing to resilient communities.

Ladies and gentlemen, we all understand the vital contribution of forests towards supporting national socio-economic development, food security, health, and poverty alleviation. It cuts across the economy from the top to the bottom of the social and economic chain.

But so often, we take all these free services for granted: fresh air; clean water; food; shelter, and medicine. Forests and trees play a significant role in the provision of these items. Trees play a vital role in providing fresh air “a byproduct of photosynthesis”. All our cities, towns, villages, schools, and government stations are supplied with water that is sourced from our forests; our agricultural plains that supplies our markets with food are irrigated by rivers that flows out of forests, a significant amount of our national power need comes from hydro-power; a significant amount of food sold in our markets and beside the road are sourced from our forests or in forest related environments: examples are: Ivi; Tarawau; Kavika; Dawa; Wi; Tamarin; Duruka; Ota. Most of our houses and furniture are from timber. Over half of the medicine that is sold in our pharmacies is derived from plant based materials that are found only in forest ecosystems. The papers that we write on including paper packaging materials are made from trees. Basically forests and trees is the backbone that provides the services that we need in order just to live and in addition to that, it freely provides support to the economy and national development, all these services if economically valued runs into hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

The forest already has a long list of the things which it is freely supplying. Now we have a recent addition—Climate Change; and the central role that forests play in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The old items on the list will not go away; however, new items will keep on coming in.

Ladies and gentlemen;
The ecosystem services that forests provide are always taken for granted, and is always totally absent from our national accounting books. A study was undertaken in 1994 to try and value Fiji’s ecosystem services, Forests and mangroves contributes a total value of over $543.7 million annually in terms of ecosystem services. These figures are never appreciated, and not accounted for in our national books for various reasons. But it brings home the message that the central role that forests freely play in supporting national development and sustaining livelihoods must be celebrated. Trees and forests are to be loved, protected, nurtured, and enhanced for what they are, and celebrated for all that they have to freely offer. Every year on the 21st of March the whole world is celebrating this, and we are here today to join in that celebration.
Ladies and gentlemen;
Government has been allocating significant amounts of fund annually (up to around $0.5million annually) and for 2015 the amount is $0.6 million, focusing on reforestation and forest protection activities. This includes raising awareness, training programs to forest owning communities in order for them to make better management decisions with regards to the utilization, protection, and conservation of their forest resources. These activities are often carried out in collaboration with: Development Partners; International Organizations; Regional Bodies; NGOs; and community groups, and I wish to take this opportunity to thank them all in this regard.

Talking about working together:
Due to the type of landownership that we have, stakeholder collaboration, and a great deal of understanding is central to addressing forest related issues. Fiji is fortunate that we have a number of International, Regional, and Local Organizations including NGOs that we work in collaboration with in creating the awareness that we need at all levels of management from: civil societies, government, and organizations. A number of key organizations that the Forestry Department is working together with in 2015 are: GIZ in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation; Regional REDD+ Project on Sustainable Forest Management including REDD Plus: The Global Environment Facility and FAO in the Management of Forest Protect Areas; the Global Environment Facility and UNDP on the Ridge to Reef Project; the European Union with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) on the Reforestation and Afforestation in the sugar cane areas in the Western Division, Conservation International (CI) on conservation activities, Nature Fiji and Mareqeti Viti on the Establishment of Permanent Forests Estate, The International Timber Organization (ITTO) on the Management of Mangroves in the Rewa Delta, with an estimated total value of expenditure of close to $50 million Fiji Dollars of external funding, this figure excludes the amounts for NGOs.

Ladies and Gentlemen:
We are endowed with extensive forest resources that provide important environmental, social and economic benefits. We are fortunate that over half of our total landmass (58%) is still covered with Forests which are home to at least 1,518 species of vascular plants, of which 50.1% are endemic to Fiji. The wise use of these resources is essential if their multiple values are to be maintained for the benefit of future generations. I therefore urge everyone to commit themselves to reducing deforestation, preventing forest degradation, and promoting sustainable livelihoods through forest smart actions that address resilience, adaptation and mitigation issues.

Ladies and gentlemen:
The art of forest management has two key elements: the first is understanding the science of forest growth and dynamics, these are often addressed by foresters, biologists, conservationists, etc; the second deals with how the values and understanding of forest owning communities evolves and changes in regards to the importance of their forest resource in providing for their livelihood, and weighing these against other developments and economic opportunities.

But as for today, we will engage ourselves in the planting of trees right here in Nanukuloa. I invite all to join in this tree planting ceremony, to celebrate this day and raise awareness on the importance of forests. But awareness must be coupled with concrete action on the ground and let us acknowledge the vital role of forests in addressing climate change and ensuring resilient communities, and pledge to work together to protect and sustainably manage our forests for ourselves and our future generation.

Finally: Forests sustains life, help us sustain the forest, plant a tree today, plant for our future.

And my God Bless Us All