PRESS CONFERENCE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL FORUM ON FORESTS

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL FORUM ON FORESTS

At a Headquarters press conference this morning, the co-Chairman of the Fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF), Bagher Asadi of Iran, said that significant progress had been achieved during the session, which began on 31 January and is scheduled to conclude later today. Also speaking at the briefing was Jagmohan Maini, a coordinator of the IFF Secretariat.

The gap between the North and the South, particularly on many forest-related issues, had been, for the most part, covered, Mr. Asadi said, adding that a lot of progress had been registered as far as policy dialogue was concerned. A consensus had been achieved on many, though not all, issues under the Forum’s programme of work.

According to Mr. Asadi, among the major issues under discussion were: implementation and monitoring of an IFF programme for action; questions relating to financial resources; trade and environment; science and technology; the establishment of a global legally binding instrument, such as a convention, to guide and regulate forest management; and the establishment of a permanent intergovernmental forum to deal with policy issues concerning the management, conservation and sustainable development of forests.

One outstanding issue was the question of a legally binding instrument, he continued. The gulf was between two groups of countries, in each of which one could find both developed and developing countries. The problem concerned whether to start the process towards a legally binding instrument now or sometime in the future. He hoped that a consensus would be achieved by the end of the day.

On future international arrangements, he said there was a dominant trend that there should be an institutional follow-up to the Forum process. Most participants agreed that a permanent body, which could be called the United Nations Forum on Forests, should be established within the United Nations system to continue the work at an intergovernmental level. The body would fulfil a number of functions -– policy development, coordination, implementation, monitoring and the initiation of a proper tool for the formulation of a legally binding instrument on all types of forests.

“We’re hopeful that by the end of the day we’ll arrive at a consensus text that will bring all the elements under the umbrella structure of a United Nations Forum on Forests”, he said. He recalled the existence of an inter-agency partnership on forests comprised of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the secretariat of the Convention on Biodiversity, and the Centre for Forest Research. The group had been coordinating policies on forestry-related matters. A new arrangement being worked out would provide for the continuation of that institutional partnership, he said.

Mr. Maini said that the fact that the co-Chairmen of the session were from the North and South had helped in building a consensus between the developed and the developing countries. (The other co-Chairman is Iikka Ristimaki of Finland.) He added that almost one third of the planet was covered by forests, and so the health and well-being of forests were closely tied with that of humans. Twelve

Forests Press Conference - 2 - 11 February 2000

million hectares of forests were deforested every year, with a large part being devoted to the creation of agricultural lands. Governments faced a very difficult dilemma about how to feed their peoples, deal with expanding population, and also protect the forests. There was also the other dimension of trade, which formed part of the Forum’s agenda. He said the international trade in forest products totalled about $130 billion.

He said 80 per cent of that trade was among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries; only 20 per cent came from the developing countries. He also said 80 per cent of the wood produced and harvested in the North was used for industrial purposes, while the South used a similar figure for fuel. There was a lot of deforestation in the South, to create agricultural lands to meet basic human needs.

Another important issue was the problem of countries with low forest cover, he said. At a recent conference in Iran of international experts, it had been revealed that about 300 to 400 million people lived in and around forests in different parts of the world, particularly in countries where forest cover was scarce. They depended on that forest cover for their livelihood. Forest issues were, therefore, extremely complex. It was a microcosm of sustainable development issues, involving the environment, economic and social development, empowerment of women and poverty alleviation.

Replying to questions, Mr. Asadi told a correspondent that the establishment of a United Nations Forum on Forests was gaining ground among participants. There was also broad agreement on the continuation of the institutional partnership among relevant international bodies to continue the coordination of, and implementation of, forestry-related programmes and activities. There was also talk about a third element, concerning the formulation of a legally binding instrument on forests.

In response to another question, he said that, as he had already explained, the new arrangement the session was trying to establish contained three elements: the United Nations Forestry Forum; institutional partnership; and the provision for the initiation of a global instrument on forests.

A correspondent said he foresaw the draft global instrument, with brackets, being transmitted to the eighth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development for action. Mr. Asadi said he remained hopeful that an agreement would be reached. He said the bureau had made clear its intention that an agreed text should be concluded during the current session. [Any agreement reached during the session would have to be ratified at the Commission’s eighth session in April].

What kind of impact would an international instrument have on national forestry policies? a correspondent asked. Mr. Asadi replied, a lot. What the Forum sessions had tried to do was to promote national forestry plans and programmes and that seemed to have been their most successful area of work. Most countries now seemed convinced of the necessity, desirability and the utility of a national forestry policy, programme or strategy. Governments that accepted the future global instrument would be obliged to abide by its provisions.

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