Hosted HFLD Conference on Climate Finance Mobilization.
In the picture H.E President Desire Bouterse, President of the Republic Suriname (R) and H.E Antoine Joly, Ambassador of France in Suriname (L)
By Mr. Oquemele Denz MSc, Chargé d’affaires, Embassy of the Republic of Suriname.
The Embassy of the Republic of Suriname in the Hague, Netherlands, introduces Suriname to the Diplomat Magazine as the most forested country in the world, with a forest coverage of 93%. In addition, Suriname has a low deforestation rate and with these characteristics belongs to the group of countries with High Forest cover and Low Deforestation (HFLD).
It is imperative for this trend to change since these HFLD developing countries are in dire need of adequate and tangible international climate finance, technology transfer and capacity building to support their transition towards a climate resilient and low emissions development and to achieve the goals set forth in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement.
In this regard, the Government of Suriname, with the support of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Office in Suriname, hosted the high-level HFLD Conference on Climate Finance Mobilization in her capital Paramaribo from 12-14 February, 2019. This conference gathered around 200 national and international experts from 27 countries and 15 international, regional and non-governmental organizations to increase cooperation and exchange knowledge and experiences on climate finance mechanisms.
On this occasion the HFLD developing countries established their joint strategies and positions on climate finance mobilization, summarized in the adopted “Krutu of Paramaribo Joint Declaration on HFLD Climate Finance Mobilization”. This declaration has mandated Suriname to bring the HFLD developing countries’ effort to the international fora, an assignment taken very seriously and to which Suriname has pledged its dedication.
By this mandate the Government of Suriname convened the first meeting of the HFLD Platform on May 6, 2019 in New York, on the margins of the 14th the United NationsForum on Forests (UNFF14) with the objective to operationalize the “HFLD Platform” asa flexible forum for consultation and collaboration on policies related to HFLD and climate finance mobilization.
The HFLD developing countries have chartered a new pathway to jointly continue their efforts and focus on practical results, and will work towards a united voice and innovative models to shape their mutual interests, which will strongly empower their efforts on their way forward.
