FO:NEFC/02/3

Table of Contents

I. Background

II. Identifying possible regional inputs to the UNFF

III. Involvement of other regional and sub-regional groups

I. Background

1. Forestry issues have been at the forefront in international discussions since the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992. The concept of sustainable forest management and the means to measure progress in improving it, at the national level, has been further refined through the development and application of relevant criteria and indicators. In addition, agreement has been reached on a large number of proposals for action in the debates of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) and the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) in the period between 1995 and 2000. With the establishment of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) in October 2000, the international community has demonstrated a high level of political commitment to address global forestry issues, including through holding biennial ministerial segments in conjunction with UNFF sessions.

2. Not surprisingly, most deliberations throughout the IPF and IFF focused on global issues, although members fully recognized that responsibility for action rests mainly with countries and, to a lesser but important extent, with international organizations and agencies that are mandated to address forestry related matters. Given the long history of country collaboration through FAO Regional Forestry Commissions, there is significant potential to advance common forestry objectives as these pertain to implementing IPF/IFF proposals for action, in the context of the UNFF. For example, the Report on the Committee on Forestry (COFO), March 2001 (para. 79) stated:

The Committee recognized the significant potential and capacity of the Regional Forestry Commissions (RFCs) to identify emerging and important regional forestry issues, bring such issues to global attention, support technology and information exchange, enhance co-ordination, promote regional integration and facilitate the exchange of lessons learned. It urged FAO to continue to strengthen the capacity and roles of the RFCs.

3. Furthermore, a meeting of the Bureaux of FAO Regional Forestry Commissions, held at FAO on 11 March 2001, stressed: the RFCs offer opportunities to provide input from the regional perspective to UNFF and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) (section 8).

4. The opportunities identified by COFO and the Bureaux relate mainly to implementing the IPF/IFF proposals for action. For example:

The Committee recommended that the RFCs support implementation of the IPF/IFF proposals for action by facilitating national review and prioritisation of the proposals, and identifying the comparative advantages of various organizations and processes offering support. (para. 82 of the COFO report).

From the Bureaux report (section 6) The meeting ....noted the increasing emphasis being placed [by the UNFF] on action at the ground level in support of sustainable forest management, in particular more effective implementation of the IPF/IFF proposals for action.

II. Identifying possible regional inputs to the UNFF

5. The Regional Forestry Commissions serve as a forum for the exchange of technical and policy information and the promotion of FAO action and assistance for forestry development. In general, RFCs have significant potential and capacity to:

• identify emerging and major regional forestry issues;
• bring these matters to global attention, where appropriate;
• provide countries with greater access to know-how and information, e.g. through networking within and among regions;
• enhance the co-ordination of technical activities; and
• promote regional integration.

6. In particular, members of the NEFC may wish to consider how they may facilitate the implementation of the IPF/IFF proposals for action, in keeping with the importance of this function, as stressed by the members of the Bureaux (section 6 of the report):

The meeting recognized that RFCs offered excellent opportunities to facilitate review and prioritisation of the IPF/IFF proposals for action, to identify the comparative advantages of various organizations offering support, and to coordinate action at the regional level. Also: In light of the fact that considerable progress has been made at the regional and national levels with regard to the IPF/IFF proposals for action, it was suggested that the regional efforts should be reported to the UNFF and the CPF through the RFCs and FAO.

More specifically, the Bureaux members recommended:

...that countries undertake rigorous review of the proposals for action and identify priorities and gaps, proposals of highest relevance, etc. Regional consultations, involving countries, regional organizations, donors, NGOs, and others could be useful in identifying priorities and matching resources for action. It was recommended that the RFCs could play an important role in organizing and facilitating such consultations at the regional level, and motivating countries to work through the prioritization and assessment exercises needed to map out specific plans for collaborative action.

III. Involvement of other regional and sub-regional groups

7. It is recognized that Regional Forestry Commissions are not the only regional fora providing the means to report to the UNFF. The members of COFO recommended (para. 83 of the COFO report) ...that the RFCs, in collaboration with regional processes, take an active role in facilitating the input of regional perspectives to the UNFF and the CPF. It requested FAO to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas among the RFCs and with the UNFF and CPF in a transparent manner.

8. In the case of the NEFC, three important sub-regional groups are actively involved in forestry questions: the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD). With regard to specific regional processes, countries involved in the development and application of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management in the Near East, Dry-Zone Africa and those participating in the Tehran Process to address the special needs and requirements of countries with low forest cover are in a good position to advance the work of the UNFF and the CPF.

Conclusions

9. The international forest policy dialogue has raised a number of issues and made a number of suggestions with regard to improving sustainable forest management worldwide. As a result of scientific and technological advances, much progress has been made in reaching a better understanding of what constitutes sustainable forest management and how to achieve it, recognizing that implementation entails each country taking into account its unique conditions and requirements.

10. Over the last ten years or so since UNCED, major breakthroughs in the forest dialogue have been achieved and agreement reached in many areas. The challenge now facing members of the international community is to move the forest agenda forward, from decisions on paper to action on the ground. Indeed, with the establishment of the UNFF, this message was made clear at the highest political levels.

Items for the consideration of the Commission

11. Given the foregoing, members of the Commission may wish to consider the following:

• ways in which the Commission could interact with relevant regional and sub-regional groups and processes to respond to forest-related issues of common concern, in the context of the UNFF and the CPF;
• the need to identify other regional and sub-regional bodies and processes that could provide additional inputs to the UNFF and the CPF;
• how Regional Forestry Commissions, generally, can contribute to the UNFF process and, more specifically, how the Commission can play a role in this regard;
• how the Commission could facilitate the implementation of the IPF/IFF proposals for action of key relevance to the region.

12. Should members decide to pursue initiatives related to the work of the UNFF, particularly the implementation of IPF/IFF proposals within the region, the FAO is ready to further support the Commission in its efforts.