Mr Boris Tabacof, Chairman of the ACPWP, opened the 47th Session of the Advisory Committee and welcomed the participants. Mr Wulf Killmann, Director of the Forest Products and Economics Division of FAO, also welcomed the participants and expressed his appreciation for their valuable advice to the work programme of the FAO Forestry Department. He recalled the important role of the paper and wood products industry in contributing to FAO’s main objective to reduce hunger in the world and thereby make progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
The increased participation of the private forestry sector in the international dialogue is a demonstration of the industry’s commitment towards sustainable use of forest resources and to strengthening their socio-economic contribution to countries’ development. This is very much in accordance with the targets set by the members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) - an interagency coordination mechanism, chaired by FAO, composed of 14 international organizations - which aims, inter alia, to strengthen the dialogue on forestry issues among international agencies, civil society and the private sector.
Mr Killmann reminded participants that, during 2006, six FAO Regional Forestry Commissions are meeting to discuss ways of boosting regional cooperation and action towards implementation of sustainable forest management practices. The private industry sector participation in the Africa, Asia-Pacific and European Forestry Commission sessions, had been highly appreciated. Indeed, the Asia-Pacific meeting, in its conclusions, recognized the critical importance of private sector investment in forestry, for developing and management of forest resources, as well as for processing and marketing of forest products. In view of this, the Commission urged member countries to review policies and regulations, with the aim of removing unnecessary constraints to private sector investment.
This and other issues, such as forest certification, illegal logging and the Planted Forests Code, were discussed at the Commission meetings. Similarly, the next three Commission sessions (Near East, Latin America and North America Commissions), would also deal with topics related to forest development, which are of interest to member countries and to the private forest sector. The outcomes of the Forestry Commissions will be presented at the next session of the Committee on Forestry, to be held in Rome in March 2007, just after the Fourth Ministerial Meeting on Forests.
Since the Forty-sixth session of this committee last year in Vancouver, other events have continued to shape the forestry agenda. In particular, the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) in February 2006 agreed on steps to strengthen the international arrangements on forests, including four global objectives for forests and a commitment to develop a global, non-legally binding instrument on forests.
This year has also heralded the adoption of the new International Tropical Timber Agreement, which aims to leverage better market acceptance of tropical timber by promoting sustainable forest management.
Furthermore, the 2010 target of the Convention on Biological Diversity calls for significant reduction of the rate of biodiversity loss. The sustainable forest management concept is finally being integrated into the CBD’s work on forest biodiversity, as a way to implement the ecosystem approach in forests. The currently negotiated international regime on access to genetic resources and benefit sharing arising from their utilization may have a significant impact on the forest utilization in the future. The outcomes of these and other international discussions will undoubtedly affect the way forestry resources are managed for the multiple products and services they provide.
It is generally agreed that other recent developments – not necessarily coming from the forestry sector but affecting forests and the paper and wood products industry, require more attention and should be included in FAO’s work. Reference was made in this connection to the trends in energy prices and the consequent effects on energy policies. This and other issues, such as the role of emerging countries’ economies and the socio-economic contribution of the paper and forest products industry, will be part of our common agenda today.
Finally, Mr Killmann emphasised that the ACPWP session is a tool to guide the work of FAO, through dialogue, linked with the other activities organized by ICFPA jointly with CEPI and FPAC.
