Libreville, Friday March 3, 2023 (Gabon Info) – Addressing his hosts yesterday as part of the first edition of the One Forest Summit organized on the 1is and March 2, 2023 in Libreville, the Gabonese President invited the planet to commit to this ideal to protect humanity from the horrors of climate change. Ali Bongo Ondimba’s closing speech.
Distinguished Heads of State and Government,
Distinguished Guests, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
As the Libreville “One Forest” Summit draws to a close,
I would like to reiterate my gratitude to all the Heads of State, Government, representatives of organizations, business leaders, scientists and delegates. My thanks also go to the hundreds of people who contributed to the success of this Summit, in particular the various administrations and the volunteers.
I hope that your stay here in Gabon has been fruitful professionally and pleasant personally. When Emmanuel and I decided to co-organize the “One Forest” Summit in Gabon, a country 88 percent covered by tropical rainforest, it was an expression of a common ambition.
Bringing together nations around the world to commit to preserving, nurturing and restoring our planet’s forests is a testament to the collective awareness of the role that forests play in this global climate and ecological crisis. That would be enough to solve a third of the climate crisis!
Dear fellow Heads of State, Your
Excellencies, It was our ambition that we could bring together a core group of
ambitious nations from North and South to champion the cause of forests. To «
make forests more valuable alive than dead », as King Charles the third put so
simply almost fifteen years ago.
I
hope that during your stay in Gabon you have learnt a little about our model of
« exploiting the forest to save the forest ».
That you have been able to visit our
special economic zone in Nkok to see how investing in timber transformation
locally creates a circular economy, which increases the value of the forests to
the nation.
The true value of rain forest carbon and
ecosystem services need to be recognized and monetized. They need to appear on
our balance sheets and help to develop our countries and create jobs.
I hope that the Libreville « One Forest
Summit » will be remembered as more than just a steppingstone to COP28.
I am confident that together we have put
in place a sound plan that will make COP28 the success we all need it to be.
My dear Emmanuel, thank you for your
commitment to the One Planet that we have.
I know you walked in the forest this
morning and I hope that experience will give you the courage to keep fighting
for Our Forests.
My fellow brother heads of state, as we
say in Gabon, « On Est Ensemble ». To all delegates, I hope you will carry the
Libreville « One Forest Summit » in your hearts and minds as you work for a
better planet for our children.
To the young people, who held their own « One Forest Youth Forum », I commend your leadership. And as we part company remember this – Healthy Forest – Healthy Planet – Healthy People. Safe return to your respective countries and please remember the spirit of Libreville and keep fighting for the forests.
Thank You.
FIN/INFOSGABON/SM/2023
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