LARC/04/INF/11

1. The Statutes of the Latin American and Caribbean Forestry Commission list its functions as advising FAO on the formulation of forestry policies and reviewing and coordinating their implementation at regional level; exchanging information and, through its specialized subsidiary bodies, generally advising on the most suitable methods and measures for technical problems; and making appropriate recommendations on the above.

2. Membership of the Commission is open to all Member Nations and Associate Members of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations whose territories are totally or partially situated in the Latin American region, as defined by the Organization, or that are responsible for the international relations of one of the non-autonomous territories of the region. Aspiring members need to meet these conditions and should notify their interest to the Director-General of the Organization.

3. The Latin American and Caribbean Forestry Commission held its Twenty-second Session from 7 to 11 October 2002 in Buenos Aires, at the kind invitation of the Government of the Argentine Republic. The session was attended by delegates from 24 Member Nations, the representative of a UN specialized agency and observers from nine international, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.

4. A summary of the recommendations and requests of the Twenty-second Session of the LACFC is given in paragraphs 5 to 20.

Presentation of the state of forestry in the region

5. The Commission recommended to the Secretariat that forest cover data be presented separately for the Latin America and Caribbean region and for the North America region in order to clarify the situation in the Latin America and Caribbean region.

6. The Commission recommended the inclusion of information on market trends and performance, illegal felling and trafficking of forest products, instruments for the promotion of trade, the state of the forestry industry and the emergence of new forest products. It also called for information on the state of forestry research, education and training.

Review of FAO Regular and Field Programmes, and follow-up to the recommendations and requests of the Twenty-first Session of the Commission

7. The Commission took note of progress made in implementation of the FAO Regular Programme for Forestry. It, however, recommended that greater attention be given to certain topic areas such as: identification and valuation of forest environmental services; aggregate contribution of the forestry sector to the Gross Domestic Product of countries; more efficient mechanisms for rural community access to forest resources; and greater emphasis on the economic potential of forests in order to attract investment.

Progress of the Project on Forestry Information and the Study of Forestry Trends and Prospects in Latin America and the Caribbean

8. The Commission recommended that greater understanding and more information be gained on the environmental services that forests provided, that these services be valued and that the beneficiaries be identified so that they could bear the cost of these services.

9. The Commission recommended that FAO support implementation of the recommendations that had been put forward by the workshops held under the Project.

Support to National Forest Programmes

10. The Commission recommended that FAO strengthen its work of identification and support to the countries of the region in mobilizing sources of funding and technical cooperation to help the countries overcome their difficulties in implementing their National Forest Programmes.

IN-SESSION TECHNICAL PANELS

Integration of forestry policy and other sectoral policies

11. On the basis of the Technical Panel's discussions, the Commission recommended:

That national Governments:

• define the priorities of the forestry sector in the national framework and take these into consideration in National Forest Programmes;
• establish mechanisms to improve the calculation of the contribution of forest goods and services to the National Accounts;
• design forestry policies with the effective participation of key stakeholders;
• establish mechanisms for the review and adjustment of national forestry policies so that these are more sustainable and dovetail with the development policies of other sectors.

That the Committee on Forestry (COFO):

• request the Forestry Department to continue and expand its actions for the intersectoral linkage of the forestry sector with other sectors, including the agricultural, fisheries, water, mining and oil sectors.

That other International Fora with a potential impact on forestry development:

• identify synergies between forestry policies and proposals in agreements and conventions relating to forest resources;
• ensure the participation of representatives of other sectors in determining international policies on forests, especially financial institutions;
• address all aspects of trade in forest products in international discussions, including environmental services.

Forest certification

12. The Commission adopted the suggestion of the Technical Panel and recommended that the Forestry Department provide guidelines to countries on future trends in the forest certification process and in markets for certified products.

Illegal forest extraction

13. On the basis of the Technical Panel's discussions, the Commission recommended:

That FAO:

• foster dialogue and information on this subject in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean.

That countries:

• pay greater attention to preventing and suppressing illegal felling;
• seek clear and precise legal instruments and strengthen institutional capacity for effective control;
• use market mechanisms to reduce or eliminate illegal forest utilization.

IN-SESSION SEMINAR: THE NATIONAL FOREST PROGRAMMES

14. The Commission recognized the importance of regional and subregional interactions for each country and recommended that these be promoted through the Commission's Subregional Groups and receive technical support from FAO.

Regional Matters Identified by the Commission for the Attention of the Committee on Forestry

15. The Commission took note of progress made in the implementation of the FAO Regular Programme for Forestry. It, however, recommended that greater attention be paid to certain topic areas such as: identification and valuation of the environmental services of forests; aggregate contribution of the forestry sector to the Gross Domestic Product of countries; more efficient mechanisms of rural community access to forest resources; and greater emphasis on the economic potential of forests in order to attract investment.

16. The Commission also recommended that the FAO Committee on Forestry strengthen its work of identification and support to the countries of the region in mobilizing sources of funding and technical cooperation to help the countries overcome their difficulties in implementing their national forest programmes.

17. The Commission recommended that the Committee on Forestry request the FAO Forestry Department to continue and expand its actions for the intersectoral linkage of the forestry sector with other sectors, including the agricultural, fisheries, water, mining and oil sectors.

18. The Commission recommended that the Committee on Forestry support countries in the linkage and harmonization of national and regional agenda for the monitoring and application of proposals and initiatives of international agreements on forests, in order to achieve complementarity and avoid duplication, and thus achieve more efficient sustainable forest management in countries.

19. The Commission recommended that the Committee on Forestry insist before the United Nations and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CBF) on the need for countries of the region to pay due attention to the contribution of forestry to Gross Domestic Product in the National Accounts.

20. The Commission recommended that the Committee on Forestry request the Forestry Department to provide guidelines to countries on future trends in the forest certification process and in markets for certified products.