Global environmental conventions - legally binding agreements negotiated among governments to take action in concert to combat or mitigate a global environmental threat - have proliferated in recent decades, particularly following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992.
Many existing treaties address issues related to forests. However, there is no global legal instrument in which forests are the main subject and in which they are viewed in a holistic way, with attention to the full range of goods and services they provide. In the first article in this issue, B.M.G.S. Ruis reviews the coverage of forest-related issues in ten global treaties, and analyses the gaps and overlaps among them. Some functions (e.g. conservation of biological diversity, commerce in wood and wood products) are covered better by existing treaties than others (e.g. watershed protection, rural livelihoods). The author concludes that fostering synergies among existing treaties may not be sufficient to regulate all forest functions and to ensure sustainable forest management.
How does a convention become a convention? While the process is complex and varies from one environmental convention to another, the article by L. Ivers singles out some essential features, key players and common stages in the political process that leads towards a convention, from issue identification to entry into force.
While many conventions address issues related to forests, three are particularly important for the sector: the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has provided an important forum for addressing access and benefit-sharing issues related to biodiversity, such as traditional resource rights, intellectual property rights and equity in trade of genetic resources. S.A. Laird describes how CBD reflects and has bolstered relatively recent shifts in the ethical, commercial and policy context of biodiversity prospecting, research and conservation - among them consideration of biodiversity as part of the national patrimony (rather than the "common heritage of mankind"); awareness of biodiversity as a source of information and not only as a source of material; and awareness of the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities to control and benefit from biodiversity research, prospecting and conservation.
Although the role of forests in mitigating global climate change is still unclear, forestry-based emission reduction projects are nevertheless on the increase. P. Moura-Costa reviews the evolution of the negotiation process of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and how it has affected the market for carbon offsets and greenhouse gas reductions. The current investment trend, if it continues, could have enormous implications for the forest sector, sustainability and conservation. The potential size of the forestry-based offset market is still very dependent on policy decisions - on how offsets will be accounted for and which forestry activities will be accepted in mechanisms under the convention.
How has the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) influenced the forest sector? China, one of the countries suffering most severely from desertification, has long attached great importance to forestry, environmental improvement and combating desertification. Commitments under UNCCD have encouraged the country's efforts towards these objectives, both directly and indirectly. T. Liu shows how UNCCD has helped contribute to China's progress in controlling desertification and rehabilitating desertified areas - particularly in such areas as public awareness raising, the adoption of policies and support mechanisms that attract investment in forestry and desertification control, and promotion of international cooperation in combating desertification.
Finally, in an article not directly related to the theme of this issue, E. Alvarez Godoy, S. Díaz Aguirre and M. Alessandrini Díaz describe current research being carried out in Cuba on methods for the use of foliage and wood residues left over by the forest industry. Conversion of these residues into products such as animal feeds, fertilizers, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals offers an economical and ecological solution for dealing with excessive foliage accumulating in the forest and sawdust building up in sawmills. Moreover, the use of the procedures described in the article can help to develop awareness of the value of the sustainable use of natural resources.
The members of the Committee on Forestry, FAO's main statutory body in the field of forestry, at the committee's fifteenth session in March 2001 (also reported in this issue), drew attention to the importance of international conventions. The committee requested FAO to continue its collaboration with the secretariats of the forest-related conventions - particularly CBD, UNCCD and UNFCCC - on issues related to forests. Furthermore, the committee recommended that FAO keep member countries informed about the various conventions that relate to forests in order to assist countries in their participation in the international forest policy dialogue. It is hoped that this issue of Unasylva will play its part in keeping readers informed.
