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Forestry

Forests represent an important natural resource that can help developing countries improve their economic well-being. More than 1.6 billion people worldwide depend on forests for some part of their livelihood. Forests provide a wealth of important wood and non-timber forest products (such as edible nuts and fruits, medicinal plants, fibers and rubber) that people in the developed and developing world rely on. The value of wood and non-timber products provided by forests is immeasurable.

Biotechnology

In many developing countries economic growth and increased income-earning opportunities, especially for the rural poor, depend on the performance of the agriculture sector. Over the last 20 years, improved crop varieties have accounted for an estimated half of agricultural productivity improvements. As we face global population growth, increased competition for land and water resources from industrial and urban growth, climate change, and the need to protect the environment, we need new solutions to increasing agricultural productivity to combat hunger and poverty. Agricultural biotechnology offers an important tool, which along with traditional breeding, new technologies, and improved resource management, enhances crop, livestock, and aquaculture productivity.

Global Climate Change

Climate change is one of the century’s greatest challenges, and will be a priority of our diplomacy and development work for years to come. Energy sector growth and resultant greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries over just the next thirty years are on track to equal the total emissions recorded to date. Climate change can compound pre-existing social stresses – including poverty, hunger, conflict, migration and the spread of disease – and threatens to diminish the habitability of our planet. Economies of many developing countries are heavily dependent on climate-sensitive industries such as agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and tourism, and poor communities are more limited in their abilities to adapt to climate change. Moreover, increasing energy supply and access are fundamental for development. The success of our development efforts will depend upon efforts to foster low-carbon and climate-resilient growth.

Land Management

As the world population grows, its escalating resource needs place ever-increasing pressure on land. This creates conflicts among competing user groups, and often results in adverse impacts both to the land and to its living and non-living resources. Land degradation due to desertification, soil erosion and deforestation is accelerating at an unprecedented rate, leading to loss of productivity, increased poverty, and conflict. While natural disasters can contribute to this degradation, human exploitation of natural resources is by far the leading contributor.

Pollution Prevention

At its core, cleaner production is a business management technique that directs attention toward inefficiencies and waste that erode profits and competitiveness, reducing the environmental sustainability as well as the economic viability of a company. Indeed, to modernize effectively and participate in an open economy, firms must incorporate environmental considerations into daily operations, including best practices and other measures to improve natural resource, water, materials and energy use.