COFO/2005/5

Introduction

This note summarizes decisions of interest to the Committee on Forestry (COFO) taken by FAO Governing Bodies (Conference, Council) since the Committee’s 16^th Session. Excerpts of pertinent outcomes of FAO Regional Conferences are also included.

DECISIONS OF THE FAO CONFERENCE OF INTEREST TO COFO

Thirty-second Session of the FAO Conference
29 November to 9 December 2003

1. In the context of the agenda item on FAO’s initiative to fight hunger: follow-up to the World Food Summit and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the FAO Conference:

• emphasized the need for FAO initiatives at the national level aimed at the inclusion of food security and agricultural development goals in national strategies for sustainable development and poverty reduction, and stressed the need to strengthen horizontal and vertical harmonization of actions within and outside FAO (para. 77);
• suggested that FAO intensify its efforts in monitoring, evaluating and reporting on its work regarding the goals of the Millennium Declaration, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), among others (para. 79);
• stressed the importance of mainstreaming gender perspectives into FAO operations and initiatives and of promoting the use of gender-nuanced MDGs (para. 83).

CONSIDERATION BY THE FAO COUNCIL OF THE REPORT OF THE SIXTEENTH SESSION OF COFO
(10-14 March 2003)

Hundred and Twenty-fourth Session of the FAO Council
23 to 28 June 2003

2. The Council:

• endorsed the COFO report (para.17)
• noted the important role of FAO in assisting Member Nations to achieve the sustainable management and conservation of their forests, stressed the role that national forest programmes should play in implementing the commitments made at the World Food Summit and the World Summit on Sustainable Development, establishing local partnerships, and integrating action into broader national development strategies; and stressed the role of the National Forest Programme Facility in building national capacities, particularly in forest resources assessments (para. 18);
• highlighted important roles for FAO, including support to national forest programmes and country capacity-building; information and knowledge management, including forest definitions and terminology to promote common understanding thereof; establishment of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management, forest resources assessments; forest fire management, and support for countries experiencing drought and desertification; and underscored the linkages among wood energy, food security and desertification (para.19);
• requested FAO to continue its support to international forest processes, including the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF); its leadership role in the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF); and collaboration with the secretariats of international conventions related to forests; and to assist countries in follow-up to the International Year of Mountains (para. 20);
• requested that FAO Regional Forestry Commissions support the efforts of Member Nations to implement sustainable forest management, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) and the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) proposals for action, by facilitating exchange of experiences, by building networks and by enhancing cooperation at all levels (para. 21);
• stressed the need for FAO to play an important role in the interface between forest management and watershed management and to provide technical support to low forest cover countries to combat desertification (para. 22); and
• commended FAO for the preparations of the Sixteenth Session of COFO, particularly the arrangement of Side Events and Parallel Events by partner organizations (para. 23);

DECISIONS OF THE FAO COUNCIL OF INTEREST TO COFO

3. The Council also stressed the importance of the Ministerial Meeting on Forests to also be held in Rome in March 2005. Some Members proposed that FAO convene a meeting of Forestry Ministers every four or five years before the Committee on Forestry (COFO) is held (para. 121).

VIEWS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF FAO REGIONAL CONFERENCES OF INTEREST TO COFO

Twenty-third FAO Regional Conference for Africa
(1-5 March 2004)

4. The Conference commended FAO’s active role in support of African Agriculture, particularly the NEPAD-CAADP (para. 26), and, among other things, urged FAO to assist member countries to develop sustainable approaches to soil improvement based on integrated natural resources management and greater integration of crop-livestock systems (para 34h); urged the NEPAD Secretariat and FAO to continue to facilitate exchanges of experiences on success stories among countries in Africa (para. 35b); and recommended further consultations with national governments and farmers' organizations to identify concerns, priorities and areas of investments when preparing the CAADP companion document on integrating forestry, fisheries and livestock sectors (para. 36a).

5. The Conference stressed the need for an African research agenda to cover all sub-sectors, and urged FAO to continue its efforts in: further enhancing NARS capacity building in the areas of agricultural research, knowledge and technology transfer; and strengthening the linkage between research, extension and farmers to effectively reverse productivity decline (paras. 51 and 52).

6. The Conference noted that bushmeat continues to play an important role in providing protein, medicine and in improving income for rural poor, and recommended that Governments, FAO and international partners should accord particular attention to identify appropriate alternative solutions, help implement them in close collaboration with local communities and continue to share experiences on the subject (paras. 57, 58 and 60).

7. The Conference recommended that FAO should provide support to farmers’ organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations (CSO) to enable their effective participation in the NEPAD/CAADP, and contribute to promoting policy dialogue between NGO/CSO and Governmental actors at national and regional level (paras. 70a and 70b).

Twenty-seventh Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific
(17-21 May 2004)

8. The Conference highlighted the importance of sustainable management of fisheries and forest resources and urged FAO to strengthen its support for the development and effective implementation of national and international plans of action, codes and guidelines for responsible fishery and forestry practices, and efforts to eliminate unsustainable fishing and logging (para. 29).

9. The Conference requested FAO to continue its facilitating role as Chair of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests under the United Nations Forum on Forests (para. 29).

10. The Conference urged FAO and other international organizations to provide increased technical assistance to Pacific Island countries for environmentally sound agricultural development, including support for improved soil and nutrient management, crop-livestock farming systems, agroforestry, seed production, efficient water use, environmental protection and natural resource conservation, and management of fisheries and aquaculture resources (para 77).

Twenty-fourth FAO Regional Conference for Europe
(5-7 May 2004)

11. The Conference:

• underlined the leading role of FAO in the Collaborative Partnerships on Forests and the support of the Ministerial Conferences on the Protection of the Forests in Europe … (para. 15r);

• welcomed the activities undertaken by FAO in the areas of fisheries and forestry (para. 44).

Twenty-eighth Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean
(26-30 April 2004)

12. The Conference recommended systematic consideration of emerging issues for FAO technical cooperation in the Region:

• a territorial focus to rural development;
• multidimensional sectoral policies within a holistic approach that addressed the different rural interlinkages, especially the gender issue;
• institutional development and its linkage with the decentralization process;
• methodologies to assess the impact of policies, programmes and projects, not only ex post, but also during implementation as a mechanism to rectify, refocus and reinforce actions;
• support to processes of subregional economic and market integration, and backing for technical cooperation actions between countries of the Region;
• processes of urbanization and their impact on hunger in the urban environment;
• agroecology (para. 69).

13. The Conference recommended that FAO pay special attention to the state of fisheries, forest resources and sustainable mountain development. The Conference recognized FAO’s activities in support of the International Partnership for Sustainable Development in the Mountain Regions, and requested that funds be directed to these programmes (para. 70).

14. The Conference recommended that FAO should play a strong role in the "Barbados Programme for Island States", which it recognized constituted a solid platform for the development of the agricultural, forestry and fishery capacities of least developed island states (para. 72).

15. The Conference recommended that FAO prepare regional technical cooperation projects to support training activities in the sustainable management of forest resources. It also requested that funding be mobilized to help all countries participate in the LACFC meetings (para. 94).

Twenty-seventh Regional Conference for the Near East
(13-17 March 2004)

16. The Conference requested FAO to:

• support Member Countries in formulating appropriate national and regional strategies and programmes addressing sustainable agricultural development and food security (para. 21);
• assist Member Countries in the development, promotion and adoption of adapted technological packages on water demand and watershed management (para. 33).