High Level Segment Dialogue of Heads of CPF Organizations

 

Eva Muller, Director of FAO’s Forest Economic Policy and Products Division

 

High Level Segment Dialogue of Heads of CPF Organizations, 14 May 2015

 

 

Excellencies,

 

Distinguished Delegates,

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

For the last 15 years, FAO has had the honor of serving as Chair of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), a unique formation of 14 member organizations, supporting UNFF in its work and enhancing international collaboration and cooperation in the forest arena. FAO has, to a large extent, used its own human and financial resources to carry out CPF activities and second staff to UNFF. Our contributions to CPF have been based on FAO’s broad institutional mandate, capacity and comparative advantages. FAO has been part of many of the CPF’s joint initiatives and taken a leadership role in activities on reporting, funding for sustainable forest management (SFM), supporting the implementation of the Forest Instrument and CPF rebranding efforts. The initiatives on streamlining reporting and harmonizing forest-related definitions have contributed to stronger reporting under the FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) and  to UNFF. They have helped reduce the reporting burden for countries and have strengthened the quality of global forest data.

 

Since many years, FAO has been maintaining the CPF Sourcebook on finance for SFM, which contains a wealth of resources on funding sources for SFM activities. FAO has also participated in the CPF Advisory Group on Forest Finance and hosted the Organization-Led Initiative on Forest Financing, which have helped shape discussions on forest finance in UNFF.

 

FAO has assumed major roles in developing the CPF’s Strategic Framework for Forests and Climate Change, a study on assessing and monitoring forest degradation and the SFM fact sheets, re-branding CPF, and supporting celebrations of the International Year of Forests and the International Day of Forests (IDF).

 

As noted in the Strategic Evaluation of FAO’s Role and Work in Forestry and the outcome of the meeting of FAO’s Committee on Forestry in June 2014, governments encouraged FAO to take a more proactive role in the global forest arena via the CPF.

 

FAO is committed to continue its constructive engagement in the CPF. We share the view that the nature of the CPF should be kept voluntary. While joint initiatives under the CPF should be based on members’ comparative advantages and organizational capabilities, CPF member organizations could establish a work plan based on guidance provided in a strategic plan of UNFF.

 

CPF has a great potential to become a major strategic mechanism to support implementation under the future IAF and the post-2015 development agenda. FAO offers its leadership/support in this context to ensure the continued success of the CPF and the new IAF.

 

Thank you.