| FO:LACFC/2002/8 |
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LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN FORESTRY COMMISSION |
Item 4 of the Provisional Agenda |
22nd SESSION |
Buenos Aires, Argentina, 7 - 11 October, 2002 |
FOLLOW-UP TO THE UNFF AND THE
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Secretariat Note |
1. Forestry issues have been at the forefront of international discussions since the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992, which adopted Chapter 11 (Combating deforestation) of Agenda 21 and the Forest Principles. During the UNCED follow-up process 1995-2000, a large number of proposals for action were agreed in the deliberations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) and the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF). With the establishment of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) in October 2000, the international community demonstrated a strong commitment to advance management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests.
2. The UNFF aims to facilitate the implementation of the IPF/IFF proposals for action; provide a forum for continued policy development and dialogue; enhance cooperation and programme coordination; foster international and cross-sectoral cooperation; monitor and assess progress and, on this basis, consider future action. The second session of the UNFF (New York, 4-15 March 2002) included a ministerial segment as well as dialogue between ministers and heads of the members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF). The ministerial segment produced a statement that was transmitted to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).
3. The report of the second session of the UNFF will be provided at the meeting and copies are available through the website of the UNFF Secretariat http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/unffdecision.htm
4. The Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), an innovative interagency partnership on forests, was established in April 2001. The creation of this partnership follows the recommendation of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC), and is based on the high-level, informal Interagency Task Force on Forests (ITFF) that provided support to the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (1995-1997) and later the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (1997-2000). The CPF is comprised of thirteen international forest-related organizations, institutions and convention secretariats. CPF's objectives are to support the work of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) and its member countries and to enhance cooperation and coordination among its members on forest issues.
5. CPF members facilitate the work of UNFF in three main ways: supporting the implementation of the IPF/IFF proposals for action; providing expertise and advisory services to UNFF; and assisting in monitoring, assessment and reporting on forests. The CPF enhances cooperation and coordination on forests by developing synergies among its partners and carrying out joint programming and collaborative activities. These activities will also further enrich the work of each member organization by the continuous exchange of information and ideas across the different CPF members.
6. The CPF has also established a CPF Network to facilitate interaction and communication with a wide range of other international and regional organizations, including NGOs, private sector entities and other major groups. The CPF reports annually on its progress and planned activities to the UNFF through its Framework to Support the Work of the UNFF.
7. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), held in Johannesburg, South Africa, 26 August - 4 September 2002, was a ten-year review of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) to strengthen global commitment to sustainable development. It called for strengthening implementation of actions agreed at UNCED and its follow-up, accountability and partnerships. The two principle outcomes of the Summit were the political declaration, agreed at the level of the heads of state or government and the WSSD Plan of Implementation, which called upon action towards poverty eradication, changing unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, and protecting and managing the natural resource base.
8. The WSSD Plan of Implementation recognizes sustainable forest management as essential to achieving sustainable development and as a critical means to eradicate poverty, reduce deforestation and halt the loss of forest biodiversity, as well as to improve food security and access to safe drinking water and affordable energy. It calls for action at all levels, inter alia, to: enhance political commitment to sustainable forest management; support the UNFF, with the assistance of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests; domestic forest law enforcement and against illegal international trade; promote sustainable timber harvesting; address the needs of the poorest regions which suffer the highest rates of deforestation; create and strengthen partnerships and international cooperation for capacity-building, in order to implement sustainable forest management, including the IPF/IFF proposals for action; support indigenous and community-based forest management systems; and implement the Convention on Biological Diversity's expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity.
9. Questions that LACFC may wish to consider:
