Jagdeo named FAO’s Special Ambassador for Forests, Environment
Former President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo was on Friday appointed the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Special Ambassador for Forests and the Environment, the Organisation’s Director General José Graziano da Silva announced on the final day of the 23rd session of the Organisation’s Committee on Forestry (COFO) taking place in the Italian capital of Rome.
Former President Bharrat Jagdeo
As Special Ambassador, Jagdeo will promote the role of forests in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, raise awareness of the vital contributions of forests to food security, rural poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration, and encourage actions to support the sustainable use of forests and other natural resources, the FAO said on its website.
“Dr Jagdeo has been working with FAO to promote environment and forestry around the world, and we are very happy he joins his voice to our efforts,” said Graziano da Silva in thanking Jagdeo for accepting the role of Special Ambassador.
The former Guyanese Head of State described his appointment as a “great honour” and acknowledged FAO’s work in so many areas critical to life and well-being on the planet.
Jagdeo, named Champion of the Earth by the United Nations Environmental Programme in 2010, pledged to continue to raise the profile of forests and advocate for global recognition of their importance.
A global advocate for international action to combat climate change, Jagdeo, who became the youngest Head of State in the world at 35 and went on to serve two terms as President 1999-2011, launched the Jagdeo Initiative to create a more competitive agricultural sector in the Caribbean by 2015.
He also conceptualised the internationally renowned Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), a strategy aimed at outlining Guyana’s vision in promoting economic development, while at the same time combating climate change.
Jagdeo will also draw on his experience serving on the UN Secretary General’s High Level Advisory Group on Climate Financing, as a patron of the Delhi-based World Sustainable Development Forum, as an IUCN Patron of Nature, and President of the Assembly of the Korea-based Global Green Growth Institute.
The former Guyanese leader was elected and served as COFO Chairperson for the 22nd and 23rd sessions of FAO’s forestry committee.
The UN has a tradition of enlisting the support of prominent individuals to underline priority issues and to draw attention to its activities.
