COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT HOLDS HIGH-LEVEL MEETING WITH FOCUS ON INTERGOVERMENTAL FORUM ON FORESTS

Press Release
ENV/DEV/544

COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT HOLDS HIGH-LEVEL MEETING WITH FOCUS ON INTERGOVERMENTAL FORUM ON FORESTS

Sustainable forest management was an integral part of sustainable development and required long-term commitment, Portugal's Secretary of State, Vitor Barros, told the Commission on Sustainable Development this evening, as it held a high-level meeting focusing on the outcome of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forest.

This evening's discussion was the third in a series of high-level meetings taking place over two days during the eighth session of the Commission, which monitors implementation of Agenda 21 -- the plan of action adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) (Rio de Janeiro, 1992).

Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Mr. Barros said that the primary responsibility for sustainable forest management rested with individual countries. Therefore, he encouraged all countries to establish and implement national forest programmes. In addition, making the United Nations Forum on Forest operational should be a priority on the international community's agenda.

The Forum, he continued, should be open to all States and regional economic integration organizations, and allow for the active involvement of relevant international and regional organizations identified in Agenda 21. Stressing the need for the early establishment of the Forum, he said it should have high visibility, political status and authority, taking into account the need for a transparent, cost-efficient and dynamic structure.

The international community would be paying lip service to environment and sustainable development, said Nigeria's representative, speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, unless it established a global financial mechanism to address, in concrete terms, all the recommendations on forests. The momentum of synergies between different international organizations and instruments dealing with forest issues must be maintained. Also, relevant organizations of the United Nations system, other international and regional organizations, institutions and conventions should form a collaborative partnership to support the work of the United Nations Forum on Forests.

Sustainable Development Commission - 1a - Press Release ENV/DEV/544 9th Meeting (Night) 26 April 2000

The representative of Costa Rica said that addressing the issue of forest management should not be postponed. While the Commission continued debating the structure and operational aspects of the Forum, more and more forests were being destroyed. The Forum should open as soon as possible, perhaps as early as January 2001, and begin with the commitment of all countries to provide it with adequate information of the condition of their national forests.

Austria's Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, Wilhelm Molterer, said that concerns differed widely. Countries with low percentage of forest cover were concerned about their ability to meet current and future needs. Those with a higher percentage of forest cover were concerned about ways to best mobilize the potential of the resource. Despite divergences of interest, there was not a common commitment to the idea of sustainable forest management as a basic principle to guide policy.

Also this evening the Co-Chairman of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests, Ilkka Ristimaki of Finland, introduced the report of the Forum's fourth session.

Statements were also made by the Government ministers and representatives of Iran (as Co-Chairman of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests), Spain, United States, Peru, Chile, Russian Federation, Brazil, Denmark, Canada, New Zealand and Bolivia. The representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Sierra Club and the World Conservation Union also spoke.

The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. Thursday, 27 April, to hold a high-level meeting focusing on finance and investment.

Sustainable Development Commission - 3 - Press Release ENV/DEV/544 9th Meeting (Night) 26 April 2000

Commission Work Programme

The Commission on Sustainable Development met this evening to hold a high- level segment, with a focus on the outcome of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests. (For background on the high-level segment, see Press Release ENV/DEV/542 of 26 April.)

Statements

ILKKA RISTIMAKI (Finland), Co-Chairman of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF), said that even if some issues remained controversial, governments had completed negotiations on all items within the mandate on forests. The report contained more than 100 proposals for action, further strengthening the IFF predecessor arrangement. It covered three categories, including promoting and facilitating, consideration of pending matters, arrangements and mechanisms. Highlights included the consensus reached, the remarkable progress made, and the recommendation to establish an intergovernmental body. Consensus must be consolidated and momentum maintained.

BAGHER ASADI (Iran), Co-Chairman of the IFF, said that the sense of flexibility by all concerned parties had made the final consensus possible. The outcome of the IFF would not have been possible without the many meetings and expert studies. Many had been co-sponsored by both developed and developing countries alike and had included the active participation of civil society. The IFF process had been open, inclusive and transparent and had strengthened North-South partnerships. A platform for action had also been created.

ANNE ENE-ITA (Nigeria) speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said that there was dire need to mobilize financial support to implement country-driven strategies on environment and sustainable development. The international community would be paying lip-service to environment and sustainable development would not be possible without target measures to establish a global financial mechanism to address -- in concrete terms -- all the recommendations on forests. It was clear that the focus should now be on how to implement those various recommendations.

It was important that momentum of synergies between different international organizations and instruments dealing with forest issues be maintained, she said. It was also necessary that relevant organizations of the United Nations system, other international and regional organizations, institutions and conventions should form a collaborative partnership to support the work of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF). The new UNFF should be open to all States and operate in a transparent manner. Moreover, it should not be bound by the rules of limitation of membership applicable to the subsidiary bodies of the Economic and Social Council.

VITOR BARROS, Secretary of State of Portugal, speaking on behalf of the European Union, urged all delegations to show a sustained commitment to the implementation of proposals for action presented by the IFF and the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF). All member States within the Union had already committed to establish national forest programmes to strengthen sustainable forest management. As the group providing the largest amount of official development assistance (ODA) to the forest sector, the Union was ready to take a leading role, internationally, in the implementation process.

He went on to say that making the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) operational should be a priority on the agenda of the international community. The Forum should be open to all States and to the regional economic integration organizations, and allow for the active involvement of relevant international and regional organizations identified in Agenda 21. The Union stressed the need for the early establishment of the UNFF, and advocated that it should have high visibility, political status and authority, taking into account the need for a transparent, cost-efficient and dynamic structure.

Finally, he stressed that sustainable forest management was an integral part of sustainable development, requiring long-term commitment. Prime responsibility for sustainable forest management rested with individual countries. He therefore encouraged all countries to establish and implement national forest programmes.

The representative of Costa Rica said that addressing the issue of forest management should not be postponed. Indeed, every day that the Commission debated the structure of the Forum and its operational aspects, more and more forests were being destroyed. The Forum should open as soon as possible, perhaps as early as January 2001.

She went on to say that the Forum should begin with a priority: the commitment on the part of all countries to provide the Forum with adequate information on the condition of their national forests. The Commission should also give preference to identifying the location of the Forum at the current session; if that was not possible, perhaps informal consultations would be necessary.

INOCENCIO F. ARIAS (Spain) said that during the last few years, his country had carried out a reform of its forest management guidelines. Mainly, it had elaborated the Spanish Forestry Strategy which tried to set the basis for a new forestry legislation; for economic planning for action with respect to forestry issues; and for the improvement of administrative and coordination. Since the approval of that Strategy, Spain now envisioned a programme for long-term action which would be known as the Spanish Forestry Plan.

At the same time, the Spanish Strategy for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity had also been established and expanded. Since more than half of Spain was forestland which was home to more than half the species in Europe, that Strategy now included a relevant chapter on forests.

He went on to say that the Forum would improve the current forestry situation internationally and establish a mechanism that would give global common objectives definition, coordination and synergies, consensus-building and equity.

WILHELM MOLTERER, Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management of Austria, said that various regional initiatives were playing an important role in strengthening sustainable forest management by clarifying the concept and interpreting it in the respective regional contexts. Concerns differed widely. Countries with a low percentage of forest cover were concerned about their ability to meet current and future needs. Those with a higher percentage of forest cover were concerned about ways to best mobilize the potential of the resource. Despite such divergences of interest, there was a common commitment to the idea of sustainable forest management as a basic principle to guide policy.

Sustainable forest management could not work in isolation from policy in other sectors, such as climate change, biomass and energy. There was an urgent need, he said, for a long-term commitment on a global scale to a comprehensive and holistic approach to the sustainable arrangement of all types of forests -- and that required a new type of international arrangement. Further steps towards a legally binding instrument on all types of forests should be explored.

Dialogue Segment

The representative of the United States fully endorsed the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) but warned that it should not become “just another global talk shop”; it should, in fact, facilitate an international approach to a wide range of forestry issues. The UNFF should also be open to all States. Most importantly, the Forum should not be susceptible to what had plagued the IFF – the spectre of a national convention. Unhampered by the convention debate, the UNFF should focus on agreed-upon action and new and emerging issues.

The representative was pleased to announce $800,000 in voluntary contributions to support the transition of the IFF to the UNFF.

The representative of Peru said that adoption of a suitable work programme for the years to come should guarantee that key problems in the implementation of policies on forest management will be resolved. The challenge, however, would be to face, in a realistic manner, the need to arrive at an estimate of the goods and services that forests could provide. It was essential in that regard to allow fair market access and eliminate technical trade barriers. “Only an understanding of the many opportunities for development that are offered by forests will help stop deforestation.”

The representative of Chile said that political authority should be granted the UNFF, so that it could address the important tasks before it. The Forum should also have a high-level political composition. That would be the best way it could contribute achieving the goals of the Commission on Sustainable Development.

He went on to say that the UNFF should have sufficient independence and the ability to specialize the focus of its work. The Forum should also cooperate with the Economic and Social Council at a level equal to that of the Commission on Sustainable Development.

The representative of the Russian Federation shared the concern of other delegations that feared the fate of their forests. It was especially important that management and protection of nature not “slip away” from the view of the Commission. Forests, which were closely linked to biodiversity, and climate and water supply issues, were an important part of sustainable development. Therefore, it was important that a convention on forests be considered during the preparations for Rio+10.

The delegate of Brazil said that the fourth session of the IFF had resulted in a clean, well-balanced text. The Economic and Social Council was the United Nations organ entrusted with promoting coordination among United Nations agencies and other agencies. The first session on the organization of the Forum should be held this year. A substantive meeting could take place in the first three months of next year.

The representative of Denmark said that he was disappointed that they had not agreed on an effective legally binding policy on forests. Since Rio, it had been the main ambition of non-governmental organizations, developed and developing countries to achieve a binding policy. That had also not been achieved at Rio+5. If a link was not formed between the Commission and the new United Nations Forum on Forests, a major element would have been missed. The new Forum should have a clear mandate with financial instruments and mechanisms. Those should be the first two issues discussed. It would be good to have a high-level intersessional meeting in two years to see what had happened. Forestry was too important to leave to officials and experts.

The representative of Canada said that it fully supported the focus on implementation of the IPF/IFF proposals, on the development of a mandate for a legal framework, and on finding better ways to support sustainable forest management in countries that needed assistance. Canada looked to the prompt establishment of the UNFF to provide for early reporting on actions in that field. The IFF was given the mandate to monitor and assess progress at national, regional and global levels. Canada would have preferred a stronger commitment to a legal binding instrument for forests. Canada believed that the UNFF should not replicate IPF and IFGF, and that it should operate in an open, transparent and participatory manner.

The representative of New Zealand said that forests were of a varied kinds and could not be dealt with under one heading. New Zealand supported the concept of ministerial and public engagement in the work of the body.

The representative of Bolivia said that it supported the statement of the Group of 77 on the call for an open-ended composition of the group, and believed that financial support should be given to developing countries. The new Forum should be action-oriented. The composition of the Forum should be constantly renewed and it should nurture new ideas.

The representative of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said the Organization had been one of the strongest contributors to the IPF/IFF process. The FAO was disappointed when the five-week process had failed to achieve consensus on a forest convention. Perhaps expectations had been too high. He wondered whether the model would be the best to pursue results in the future. The FAO was not a sovereign organization but an intergovernmental body, and would continue to work in close collaboration with the other groups. Greater attention should be paid to proposals for action. There had been too much talk and not enough commitment. Greater emphasis must be placed on mobilizing financial resources.

A representative of the World Conversation Union said that governments should evaluate whether decisions on forests would be taken on a holistic basis that integrated the links to other sectors, cross-sectoral issues, and ecological and social dimensions. Governments should also determine whether all States would be given the opportunity and necessary mechanisms to participate in the UNFF, and whether funding would be made available for developing country participation.

Representatives of all States should be eligible for election to the Bureau. Major groups participation must also be assured.

A representative of the Sierra Club, speaking on behalf of non-governmental organizations, said that the new Forum should be established with participatory mechanisms for major groups at least equivalent to the Commission. The Commission should expedite the establishment of the new Forum and ensure genuine participation of major groups in the preparatory process to design the Forum, and in Economic and Social Council deliberations to establish the Forum. The main focus of the new Forum should be on facilitating, monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the IPF and IFF proposals for action. The Commission should help ensure that the Forum had the freedom to carry out is work unimpeded.

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