Samiya Sen
Co-Chair, UNFF
Dear Delegates,
Hello and welcome to UPMUNC 58! I am Samiya Sen, one of your chairs for the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF). Along with your dais team, I am delighted to welcome you all to this year’s conference.
Forests play a critical role in maintaining ecological stability by regulating carbon cycles, preserving biodiversity and sustaining freshwater systems. Furthermore they support the livelihoods of over 1.6 billion people worldwide. But now with accelerating deforestation driven by industrial agriculture, mining and infrastructure development we are witnessing the threats to both environmental resilience and social equity on a global scale.
Thus, two major questions are posed:
How can governments curb deforestation while ensuring indigenous communities not only survive but thrive economically ?This question invites you to also consider policies that balance environmental conservation with inclusive economic development, empowering indigenous peoples as active partners in sustainable forest management rather than passive victims of deforestation.
How can public and private actors come together to restore forests at scale, without falling into the trap of empty pledges and greenwashing? Here you’ll evaluate how genuine accountability, transparent financing, and community-centered implementation can transform corporate and governmental commitments into measurable, lasting forest restoration outcomes.
The path will be complex, requiring you to balance economic growth, corporate interests and community rights. Ultimately you should envision a future where environmental integrity and social equity coexist within a truly sustainable forest economy.
A little about me, I’m a sophomore studying Economics and Statistics & Data Science within the School of Arts and Sciences. Around campus I’m involved in Wharton Undergraduate Data Analytics Club, where I teach the basics of data science through weekly workshops. I’m also a part of Penn’s International Affairs Association SecBoard, a few consulting committees and a volunteer tutor program. Beyond school, I enjoy running, trying every coffee shop (and adding them to my Beli rankings) and playing the NYT’s sudoku.
I’m so excited to welcome you all to Penn and the whimsical city that is Philadelphia. I’m even more excited to welcome you to UPMUNC 58 this November! Feel free to email me or any of your staffers, should you have any questions.
Warmly,
Samiya Sen
samiyasn@sas.upenn.edu