FOURTH SESSION OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL FORUM ON FORESTS MEETS AT HEADQUARTERS, 31 JANUARY û 11 FEBRUARY

Press Release
ENV/DEV/531
PI/1221

FOURTH SESSION OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL FORUM ON FORESTS MEETS AT HEADQUARTERS, 31 JANUARY – 11 FEBRUARY

Continues Attempt to Reach Agreement On International System for Protecting World’s Forests

After years of negotiations, there is a new determination to reach an agreement on a new international system for managing and protecting the world’s remaining forests at the Commission on Sustainable Development’s fourth session of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests, which opens today in New York.

The options under consideration at the talks, which will run from 31 January to 11 February, range from the establishment of a permanent intergovernmental forum to discuss forest policy issues, to the establishment of a legally binding instrument, such as a convention, to guide and regulate forest management at the global level.

Although forest issues have long been enmeshed in overriding international issues, such as financing for development, international trade and transfer of environmentally-sound technologies, there is a sense that this round of negotiations is perhaps a last chance for reaching a global accord on forest management.

Forests and other wooded lands cover almost one third of the planet, but between 1990 and 1995, 65.1 million hectares of forests were lost in developing countries alone. At the same time, there is increasing recognition that forests may be the best line of defence against climate change, and a reduction in deforestation and uncontrolled forest fires would significantly increase the capacity of the forests as a carbon sink. The global trade in forest products amounted to $135 billion in 1997, but with between 70 and 100 countries unable to meet their needs for forest products, there is a growing need for those goods.

Poverty is a major factor in the deforestation in tropical countries. However, poor governance, illegal logging and trade -- that amounts to billions of dollars every year -- also play a major role in the rapid decline of the world’s forests.

In the current round of talks, countries will attempt to hammer out an agreement that will guide the international community on forest policies. The possibilities include, at the very least, providing a permanent forum to discuss

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forest issues. Other options include developing a type of mechanism to better coordinate existing forest arrangements or developing a programme to implement concrete actions that have already been suggested at the national and international level. There is also an option to move forward with the negotiation of a forest convention, an issue that has been very controversial during previous negotiations. Any agreement reached during the Forest Forum would have to be ratified at the eighth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, this April.

For additional information, please contact Pragati Pascale (963-6870) or Dan Shepard (963-2339), Development and Human Rights Section, Department of Public Information; or Tage Michaelsen (963-5294), Intergovernmental Forum on Forests Secretariat, Division for Sustainable Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

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