Fourth Session of Un Forum on Forests to be held in geneva, 3 - 14 may

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 29 April (UN Forum on Forests) -- The United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) will hold its fourth session at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 3 to 14 May 2004.

The Forum will consider implementation of the proposals for action of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests/Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IPF/IFF) in five areas:  social and cultural aspects of forests; traditional forest-related knowledge; scientific forest-related knowledge; monitoring, assessment and reporting, concepts, terminology and definitions; and criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management. 

Participants will address enhanced cooperation, including among members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and between the UNFF and the Convention on Biological Diversity, and a proposal to facilitate the review of the effectiveness of the international arrangement on forests at the fifth session.  They will also consider the recommendations of the ad hoc expert groups’ meetings on:  approaches and mechanisms for monitoring, assessment and reporting; and finance and transfer of environmentally sound technologies, which were held in December 2003 in Geneva.

As part of the session, three special events highlighting the role of sustainable forest management in rural development and poverty eradication in Africa and small island developing States, and the role of forests in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, will be held.  In addition, a multi-stakeholder dialogue to foster the exchange of views and experience between civil society organizations working towards sustainable forest management in the field and government representatives will be organized during the session.

For more information contact:  Pekka Patosaari, Coordinator and Head, UNFF, tel: (212) 963-3160, e-mail: patosaari@un.org; or Njeri Kariuki, tel: (917) 367-6048, in UNFF, e-mail: kariuki@un.org

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