UN FORUM ON FORESTS OPENS SECOND SESSION; WILL CONSIDER WAYS TO HALT DEFORESTATION

United Nations Forum on Forests

Second Session

1^st Meeting (AM)

UN FORUM ON FORESTS OPENS SECOND SESSION; WILL CONSIDER WAYS TO HALT DEFORESTATION

Current Session to Run from 4 to 15 March

The second session of the United Nations Forum on Forests began this morning at Headquarters and is scheduled to run from 4 to 15 March.

The Forum is the focus of global efforts to promote sustainable forest management.  It will review current trends and practices to determine what is working, what can be done differently, and how additional resources can be mobilized to stave off further deforestation and forest degradation.  One of the primary goals is to increase the political commitment of countries to forest issues.

Newly elected Chairman of this session, Knut Øistad (Norway), said this was a year of key events, and particularly the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), which would be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in August. He was confident that progress made by the Forum would be an important contribution to the upcoming World Summit.

Preparations for the current session had been challenging, as the Forum had been forced to rethink its efforts and its consideration of important issues.  He hoped the next two weeks would enable the Forum to focus on the work ahead and make the required advances.  He also hoped that the session would make a substantial contribution to solving today's priority issues and was confident that the international arrangements could make a substantial contribution to sustainable development.  While the Forum provided a comprehensive framework to advance the sustainable development of forests, he called for a renewed commitment from international partners in all current efforts.

In opening remarks, Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), said the way the forest issue was handled was important for development policies.  Even if the objective was only to protect a forest, environmental, agricultural and transport policies also had to be addressed, as pressure on forests came from diverse sectors.  The reverse side was the recognition that development depended on protection of forests.  Forestry was a sector with long-term returns, returns not always going to the owners of forests.  Financing of forestry reflected many of the problems faced in financing the sustainability of development, he added.

Venezuela's representative (on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China) said that one of the means of combating deforestation was

reforestation, which could contribute to maintenance of the ecological balance and improve employment.  Those programmes needed the support of the international community and the financial institutions.  The elaboration of definitions, in particularly that of low forest coverage, was also necessary.

Spain's representative (on behalf of the European Union and associated States) called on the Forum to accelerate a process for a credible voluntary reporting system.  Forest law enforcement and governance aimed at combating illegal logging and related trade were emerging issues that must be addressed. Also, the ministerial declaration should highlight the need for cross-sectoral cooperation and coherence among members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), regional processes and governments on policies and practices affecting forests, both at national and international levels.

The Chairman of the Collaborative Partnership, Hosny El-Lakany, said the Partnership was established in April 2001 in response to a request of the Economic and Social Council to enhance cooperation and coordination of activities.  He emphasized the need for each government to send clear and consistent messages to support the work of the Partnership and the Forum.

Many speakers also urged developed countries to transfer environmentally sound technologies to the developing nations while providing them with assistance in critical areas.  There were also numerous calls for the development and enhancement of adequate and applicable criteria for information and monitoring.

South Africa's representative also drew attention to the fact that some of the world’s greatest forests were located in Africa, particularly the Congo basin, and stressed that their specific needs must be taken into consideration.

In other matters this morning the Forum reconfirmed the appointments of Ositadinma Anaedu (Nigeria), Ana Patricia Chaves (Costa Rica) and Alexey Kornienko (Russian Federation) as officers of the session.  It was also agreed that

Ms. Chavez would serve as Vice-Chair-cum-Rapporteur.  In addition, Moeini Meybodi (Iran), the candidate of the Asian Group, was elected to the Bureau.

Also this morning the session adopted its agenda and other organizational matters, and agreed to the proposed organization of work.  The forum also appointed Mr. Meybodi and Mr. Anaedu as Chairs of Working Groups I and II respectively.

The Forum was also informed that Juan Mayr Maldonado, Colombia's Minister of the Environment, would chair the Ministerial segment of the current session, scheduled for 13-14 March.  That segment will include a dialogue session with heads of member organizations of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests.

Ivan Šimonović (Croatia), President of the Economic and Social Council, and Jagmohan Maini, head of the secretariat of the United Nations Forum on Forests also addressed the Forum this morning.  The representatives of Canada, Brazil, Japan, Nauru, Netherlands, Indonesia, Australia, China, United States, and New Zealand made statements as well.

The Forum will meet again at a date and time to be announced in the Journal.

Background

The United Nations Forum on Forests begins its second session this morning at Headquarters, scheduled to run from 4 to 15 March.  The first session took place from 11 to 12 June 2001 and was also held at the Secretariat.

The Forum is now the focus of global efforts to promote sustainable forest management.  It will review current trends and practices to determine what is working, what can be done differently, and how additional resources can be mobilized to stave off further deforestation and forest degradation.  One of the primary goals is to increase the political commitment of countries to forest issues.

The current session is expected to deliberate on the following:  means of implementation -- finance, transfer of environmentally sound technologies and capacity-building for sustainable forest management; progress in implementation; combating deforestation and forest degradation; forest conservation and protection of unique types of forests and fragile ecosystems; rehabilitation and conservation strategies for countries with low forest cover; rehabilitation and restoration of degraded lands and the promotion of natural and planted forests; and concepts, terminology and definitions.

In addition, a high-level ministerial segment will take place on 13 to

14 March, including a dialogue session with heads of member organizations of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests.  After meeting with the leaders of

11 international organizations that comprise the Collaborative Partnership on Forests -- an innovative partnership established to support the work of the Forum –- the Ministers will determine the message they may wish to take to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, scheduled to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa in August.

Before the Forum is a report of United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan (document E/CN.18/2002/2) which notes that although concern for the world’s forests has led to significant progress in developing sound forest policies and programmes, the world’s total forest area continues to decline.  The report, one of several prepared for the session finds that many countries are experiencing difficulties in implementing their forest policies and programmes because they lack sufficiently trained personnel and adequate resources.  Other obstacles to efforts to halt deforestation include weak law enforcement, insecure forest property rights, and perverse subsidies leading to unsustainable timber harvesting and other land use practices that accelerate forest loss.

The report of the Secretary-General also highlights several areas in which there has been concrete progress over the past decade.  New policies in countries, for example, have helped increase dialogue with various citizen groups that are affected by decisions concerning forests.  Criteria and indicators for assessing progress toward sustainable forest management have also been developed and are being implemented in about 150 countries.  Most countries now have a national forest programme, or a comprehensive forest policy process that can be used as a suitable framework for the implementation of internationally agreed upon proposals for action.

The report notes that overall, notable progress has been made in managing forests, not only to promote their economic viability, but also to safeguard and enhance their environmental and socio-cultural benefits.  Still, stresses the Secretary-General, heightened political commitment and sustained financial support will be essential to conserve forests and ensure continued progress towards sustainable forest management.

Also before the Forum is:  a note by the Secretary-General on enhanced cooperation and policy and programme coordination (document E/CN.18/2002/2); another report of the Secretary-General on progress in rehabilitation of degraded lands and promotion of natural and planted forests (document E/CN.18/2002/7); a further note by the Secretary-General on multi-stakeholder dialogue on sustainable forest management (document E/CN.18/2002/10); and a report of the International Expert meeting on Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting on the progress Toward Sustainable Forest Management, 5-8 November 2001, Yokohama, Japan (document E/CN.18/2002/12).

Statements

KNUT ØISTAD (Norway), Chairman, said this was a year of key events, and the most important was the upcoming World Summit on Social Development, which would be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in August.  He was confident that the Forum was satisfied with the progress made on policy development for forests and that such progress would make an important contribution to the upcoming World Summit.

Preparations for the current Forum had been challenging due to a heavy provisional agenda and only few months to do it all.  The Secretariat had also experienced challenging times, he said.  In addition, when the Government of Costa Rica withdrew its offer to host the Forum in San Jose, as previously scheduled, the Forum was forced to rethink its efforts and its consideration of important issues.  Despite inherent difficulties, however, he hoped this session would be able to focus on the work ahead and make the required advances.

He said hundreds of millions of people depended on forest resources for their livelihoods and welfare.  He hoped the session would make a substantial contribution to solving the priority issues of today and was confident that the international arrangements could make a substantial contribution to sustainable development.  While the Forum provided a comprehensive framework to advance the sustainable development of forests, he hoped for a renewed commitment from international partners in all current efforts.

NITIN DESAI, Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said the current session was particularly important as it was meeting some weeks before the third preparatory session for the Johannesburg Summit, which would carefully consider the Forum’s contributions.  Since the Rio Conference 10 years ago, much ground had been covered on the issue of forests.

He said the way the forest issue was handled was important for development policies.  Even if the objective was only to protect a forest, environmental, agricultural and transport policies, among other things, also had to be addressed as pressure on forests came from diverse sectors.  The reverse side was the recognition that development depended on protection of forests.  It was not just a matter what forests could produce, but also of the ecological services they could provide.  One of the major achievements had been that those issues were much more widely accepted as a basis for forest policies.

There was also a social and an emotional dimension to the issue, which was not widely understood, he said.  In every way, those issues were a touchstone of the capacity to conceptualize and implement the basic principles of sustainable development articulated in Agenda 21.  He hoped that work could be continued.

Referring to the upcoming Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico, he said the financing of forests had special problems.  Forestry was a sector with long-term returns, returns not always going to the owners of forests.  Financing of forestry reflected many of the problems faced in financing the sustainability of development.  The work on monitoring would also be crucial, as forestry was also connected to global climate change.  The work done in the forum would also play a role in the poverty-reduction agenda.

IVAN SIMONOVIC (Croatia), President of the Economic and Social Council, said the efforts of the Forum to develop synergies and cooperation with the Commission on Social Development were highly commendable.  He also expressed support for the issues selected for substantive discussion at this year’s session on forests: conservation, protection, rehabilitation, restoration, promotion of natural forests, and the transfer of environmentally sound technology.

He suggested that ways on how to efficiently integrate the outcome of the Forum in the work of the Council should also be discussed.  That would be a major step towards establishing important action-oriented cooperation between the Council and the Forum, and prevent both bodies working in isolation from each other.

The Chairman of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), HOSNY

EL-LAKANY, said the CPF was established in April 2001 in response to a request of the Economic and Social Council to enhance cooperation and coordination of activities.  Numerous conventions and organizations addressed forest issues, but no single body had the mandate to set or recommend policies.  The CPF was a close partnership of member institutions.  Where common goals had been established, CPF members worked together through informal arrangements.  He emphasized the need for each government to send clear and consistent messages to support the work of CPF and the United Nations Forest Forum.

In response to an invitation of the Forum, the Partnership would make available a framework to support the work of Forum, which had been prepared with the assistance of the Forest Forum secretariat.  It highlighted activities of member organizations in support of the Forum and described initiatives and mechanisms to establish coordination.

Since April 2001, the Collaborative Partnership had issued a policy document; launched various joint activities; had supported country initiatives; and had initiated discussions to enhance collaboration between stakeholders, among other things.  Many activities had been in direct response to UNFFI requests, he said.

JAGMOHAN MAINI, head of the secretariat of the United Nations Forum on Forests, outlining plans for the ministerial segment of the current session, said there had been considerable discussion on that segment.  The collective view was that during the segment on policy dialogue, an interactive session between ministers and the Collaborative Partnerships on Forest (CPF) would be held on

14 March.  He also informed delegations that Juan Mayr Maldonado, Minister of the Environment of Colombia, would chair the segment.

JAGMOHAN MAINI, Coordinator and head of the secretariat of the United Nations Forest Forum, introduced an informal paper on proposed organization of work for the session.

General Statements

The representative of Venezuela, speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" Developing Countries and China, said the current session offered an opportunity to study further the multi-annual Programme of Work 2001-2005.  The Group of 77 and China reiterated its firm commitment to Agenda 21 and the Declaration of Principles on Forests adopted by heads of State and government in June 1992.  He emphasized the importance of forests in sustainable development.

Regarding proposals for action for the Intergovernmental Group for Forests he said access to financial resources, particularly for developing countries, was essential.  Transfer of technology and scientific research was also important.  It was of vital importance to have transparency in international trade of forest products for the sustainable management of forests.  He supported a mechanism against illegal trade in those products.

One of the means of combating deforestation was reforestation, which could contribute to maintenance of the ecological balance and improve employment.  Those programmes needed support of the international community and the financial institutions.  The elaboration of definitions, in particularly that of low forest coverage was also necessary.  The composition of the three groups of experts must be of an intergovernmental character, and the presence of experts from developing countries must be guaranteed, he said.

IÑIGO ASCASIBAR (Spain) spoke on behalf of the European Union and the associated States of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey.

He said the Union was working individually and collectively as well as in wider European cooperation to implement the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests and the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests proposals for action by the IPF/IFF.  The current session of the Forum should provide a good opportunity for all stakeholders to openly exchange lessons learned in implementing those proposals at regional, national and global levels.  Discussions should highlight progress made and obstacles encountered in the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests, and lead to specific recommendations for all relevant actors.

The Union also expected the Forum to accelerate a process for a credible voluntary reporting system.  Forest law enforcement and governance aimed at combating illegal logging and related trade were emerging issues that should also be addressed at this session.  In addition, the ministerial declaration should, among other things, highlight the need for cross-sectoral cooperation and coherence among CPF members, regional processes and governments regarding policies and practices affecting forests, both at national and international levels.

GILBERT PARENT (Canada) said the Forum must concentrate on implementation on the ground and not on developing new proposals for action.  The current and past sessions should be the catalysts that expedite action taken on the ground and advance the state of the world’s forests.

He said model forests, such as those developed in his country and expanding throughout the world, represented an initiative in building partnerships locally, nationally and internationally to generate new ideas and solutions to sustainable forest management issues.

To be prepared to evaluate the effectiveness of the international arrangement in 2005, Canada encouraged the Forum to adopt a “results-based culture” and suggested the development of a strategic results framework that could be used as a basis for that evaluation.  He also stressed the importance of engaging political leaders in sustainable forest management issues and having them provide strategic direction on how the Forum should fulfil the various aspects of its mandate.

MARIA LUIZA RIBEIRO VIOTTI (Brazil), associating herself with the statement of Venezuela on behalf of the Group of 77, said as a result of its action-oriented framework, universal composition and political authority, the United Nations Forum on Forests would be able to remedy the insufficient progress to date in the implementation of the existing elements on forest issues.  The ad hoc working group on finance and technology transfer was of paramount importance in implementing sustainable forest management on a permanent basis.  Together with fair terms of international trade, the provision of new and additional financial resources, as well as advanced technology, were instrumental in building a strongly sustainable development-oriented forest sector.

She said the development and enhancement of adequate and applicable criteria for information and monitoring, to be addressed by another ad hoc working group, was crucial to the proper evaluation of the work of the Forum.  The working group should bear in mind the burden on developing countries for providing information on forests and the need for criteria on information and monitoring to take into account the different levels of capacity of countries, as well as the many different types of forests to be monitored.

The work of the ad hoc group concerning a mandate for developing a legal framework on all types of forests should not prejudice the substantive work of the Forum and should start as of UNFF-4.  The Ministerial Message to Rio+10 should highlight the relevant role that the sustainable management of forests could play in helping countries to achieve the overarching goal of sustainable development. It had to contribute to maintaining the issue of forests in a prominent spot on the international agenda and to raising awareness concerning the relevance of forests, she said.

OSAMU HASHIRAMOTO (Japan) said that one of the key objectives of the Forum was combating degradation of forests and deforestation.  While intense efforts had been made to combat such activities there was enough evidence to show that such practices still continued at an alarming rate.  Japan believed that good governance and appropriate law enforcement were fundamental to effective forest management. Efforts to halt illegal logging must also be stepped up.  The commitments of both exporting and importing countries were key in tackling that issue.

He said that even though there was a long list of action proposals, for United Nations efforts to be more useful, plans would have to be more concrete and action-oriented.  Japan proposed that good use be made of monitoring and assessment reporting.

He said his country, through bilateral and multilateral channels, had provided assistance to developing countries.  It would continue to assist those countries in their sustainable forest management efforts.  The high-level segment proposed was also very timely, and Japan expected the discussions there to generate strong commitment from all sides for sustainable forest management.

VINCI NIEL CLODUMAR (Nauru), speaking on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum Group, said the Pacific Islands were faced with the reality and pressures of changing social, cultural, economic and political development in the region, forcing Member States to give increasing attention to their resources.  Forests and trees were important natural resources within the region and played a critical role in its economic, social, physical and cultural environments.  The strategies for rehabilitation and conservation were of great interest to the Pacific region. The strategies for rehabilitation and conservation in countries with low forest cover were particularly important for the smallest atoll States.

He said on many islands, forests underpinned agriculture, food security and health through their role in maintaining the supply of fresh water.  Forestry on many islands sustained an economy that provided health and education services and other important community infrastructure.  The Group endorsed the list of issues to be addressed by the Forum.  In those areas, some concrete measures had been taken by some members who had adopted new policies and legislation which recognized and provided safeguards for the environment and biodiversity and also defined better and improved forest resource acquisition, development and management practices.

Despite those positive initiatives, Pacific islands often did not have the resources or human capacity to achieve all that was necessary to follow up on obligations and commitments.  The international community needed to recognize the potential as well as the ecological vulnerabilities of the Group when criteria for development assistance were set.  The directions for sensible and sound forest development and management approaches were in place.  Paving the way for implementation in partnership with international and regional communities needed to be the next step, he said.

KOEN DAVIDSE (Netherlands), also speaking on behalf of Ghana, said a workshop on Forests and Biological Diversity had been held in Accra, Ghana, from 28-30 January.  The Netherlands had helped to make that workshop possible.  The workshop had been the result of close cooperation between the secretariats of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Forest Forum.  The report of the workshop was submitted to UNFF 2 by the Government of Ghana.

The main objectives of the workshop were:  the sharing of experiences and facilitation of synergy between the work on forest biological diversity of the secretariats for the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Forum; and to consider ways and means for integrating conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity into various national policies and to explore possible joint activities between the Convention on Biological Diversity secretariat and the Forest Forum.  It was recognized that both UNFF and the Convention had important and complementary roles in preventing the loss of forest biodiversity. Strengthening the collaboration at the international level was more effective when progress was also made in increasing integration and collaboration in the implementation of the shared objectives of the Convention and the Forum at the national and regional levels.

The CBD secretariat and the UNFF should look for ways to facilitate the effective flow of financial resources to forests and biological diversity and to attract new sources of funding, such as through private sources.  The report had selected 10 areas for action-oriented collaboration between the UNFF and the CBD.

The report recommended the second session of the Forum and the sixth session of the Conference of Parties of the CBD to approve the basis for effective cooperation between them; to initiate collaboration on forests and biological diversity by developing collaborative actions; to consider, further develop and adopt for immediate action the results of the further elaboration; and to convene in two years time a group to review progress in collaborative work.

DJUMALA DARMANSJAH (Indonesia) said that despite positive trends, deforestation and forest degradation had not been halted, and there was no evidence of an end to the decline in the total forest area.  His delegation also noted the need to address and promote cooperation on the key emerging issues of critical importance including those of forest law enforcement at the national level, forest fires and perverse subsidies.

He said a significant challenge confronting developing countries, including his own, was the need to overcome key cross-sectoral constraints, particularly in areas where strong political support was required.  Like many developing countries, Indonesia still faced major financing constraints in its efforts to develop and implement its national forest programmes.  In addition, the lack of environmentally sound technologies and capacity needed to be addressed within multilateral arrangements as well as within bilateral ones. 

He said innovative efforts to mobilize financial resources and to facilitate the transfer of technologies, as well as to promote capacity building, in addition to the existing Agenda 21 commitments, merited consideration.  He encouraged donor countries and institutions to enhance their efforts to provide support.

JOHN TALBOT (Australia) said implementation of the proposal for actions was pivotal for sustainable forest management.  There was a need to examine ways to facilitate cooperation on the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests and Intergovernmental Forum on Forests proposals for action.  The implementation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests and Intergovernmental Forum on Forests proposals for action were pivotal if countries were to progress towards sustainable forest management.  That would require the implementation of new and innovative approaches to financing, capacity building and the transfer of appropriate technologies. 

Referring to the recent workshop of the Forum and the CBD in Ghana, he said collaborative action was needed to better integrate forest biodiversity considerations into national development programs.  The meeting also noted that collaboration would likely lead to a strengthening of both processes’ ability to provide useful advice and recommendations to Governments and other bodies.

He hoped the dialogue between ministers and the heads of the members of the collaborative partnership on forests would result in clear commitment and direction for future action, especially in relation to repositioning forests more centrally on national and international political agendas, and recognizing the fundamental need for cross-sectoral harmonization in the land-use planning process.  The criteria for the 2005 review of effectiveness should align with the principal functions of the Forum, and be accompanied by clear objective measures.  It was important to agree upon a balanced and realistic set of measures to gauge effectiveness.  The review should be clearly linked to country progress in implementing the proposals for action.

XIA JUN (China) said his delegation hoped that this session would make important progress on the Forum’s key issues.  He also hoped the developed countries would transfer environmentally sound technologies.

He said China supported the high-level segment and would like to strengthen political support for that meeting.  He hoped that during that segment, dialogue would be enhanced and that the message going out to the World Summit for Sustainable Development would emphasize the importance of the role of forests. China would submit its country implementation report vis-à-vis forestry policies and hoped to review and compare notes with other countries.

The representative of the United States invited delegates on a tour of the New York City watershed area, organized by several organizations on Saturday,

9 March.

The representative of New Zealand announced a meeting of experts to be held in his country in March 2003.

LAEL BETHLEHEM (South Africa) said her country wished to associate itself with the position expressed by the Group of 77 developing countries and China this morning.  She drew attention to the fact that some of the world’s greatest forests were located in Africa, particularly the Congo basin, and stressed that their specific needs must be taken into consideration.

She stressed the importance of combating illegal logging and related trade. As the host country for the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development, South Africa was committed to advancing the objectives of the Forum.  Her delegation also hoped that this session’s ministerial segment would come up with something concrete to address present forestry related problems.

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