Network for Certification and Conservation of Forests (NCCF) joins hands with the world community in celebrating the International Day for Biological Diversity 2020. This year’s theme is ‘Our solutions are in nature’, which emphasizes hope, solidarity and the importance of working together at all levels to build our life in harmony with nature.

NCCF deeply concerned with the COVID 19 outbreak worldwide, stands together with the international community in fight against this pandemic.

Despite our technological advances, we are completely dependent on healthy and vibrant ecosystems for our water, food, medicines, clothes, fuel, shelter and energy, to name a few. Ecological life support systems, of which biodiversity is an integral part, provides the functioning ecosystems that supply oxygen, clean air and water, pollination of plants, pest control, waste water treatment and various ecosystem services. Altered wildlife habitats have disrupted human-zoonotic symbiotic relationship and caused the spill over of diseases like COVID-19 from animals to human.

Health of people and planet are interdependent, essentially one and the same thing and both can thrive in equal measure. Conservation challenges during and post COVID-19 call for sustainable lifestyles, reverse migration, high priority to local industries, green growth; focus on climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation and prudent management of natural resources.

More than ever, the year 2020 is the year of reflection, opportunity and solutions. It is the year when the world can signal a strong will for a global framework that will “bend the curve” on biodiversity loss for the benefit of humans and all life on Earth. We should now harness the power of rich biodiversity to restore habitats, enhance ecosystem services and live in harmony with nature.

NCCF is actively engaged in diverse conservation activities including, development of globally benchmarked and India specific sustainability certification standards for various constituents of our natural resource base, viz. forests, trees outside forests, non-wood forest produce, protected areas and wetlands, land degradation neutrality, ecotourism and biomass & biofuels, as its core working area. NCCF is also developing a Carbon Registry-India aimed to provide a trading and tracking platform for verified GHG emissions reduction and removals enhancement.

Implementation of NCCF standards through the mechanism of certification offers huge opportunity to accelerate sustainable development, sustainable forest management, climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, land degradation neutrality, reduced animal wildlife conflict, enhanced livelihoods, value chains, trade and consumer protection, while enhancing competitiveness, fostering technological development and fully meeting the requirements of health, safety and environmental conservation.

On this International Day for Biological Diversity, NCCF reiterates its commitment to promote sustainable managements of natural resources through certification as an important tool of management and wishes good health and full safety to its all valued partners and stakeholders.