UNFF11 High-Level Segment, Roundtable 2 "Renewed Commitments to Implementation of the IAF beyond 2015"

 

 

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

 

UNFF11 High-Level Segment

 

Roundtable 2 "Renewed Commitments to Implementation of the IAF beyond 2015"

 

 

Excellencies,

 

Distinguished Delegates,

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

As we are getting closer to a decision by UNFF11 on the future of the International Arrangement on Forests, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the ways in which FAO can assist in strengthening the implementation of sustainable forest management under a new IAF.

 

FAO has a broad constitutional mandate in forestry with close links to agriculture, food security and nutrition, and has made great strides in making available forest information, serving as a neutral forum for dialogue and providing technical assistance over the 70 years of its existence.

 

FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment (or FRA) provides the latest and most comprehensive data on forests in all countries and regions of the world. FRA 2015 will be launched at the World Forestry Congress in September of this year and will be complemented, for the first time, by regional assessments that will be presented at and discussed by FAO’s six regional forestry commissions.

 

FAO’s flagship publication, the State of the World’s Forests (SOFO), analyzes forest-related topics and the focus of the 2014 edition – the socio-economic contributions of forests – was chosen with the review of the IAF and the development of the SDGs in mind. The information generated by FRA and SOFO can assist UNFF under the new IAF to assess, monitor and report on progress made in the implementation of the Forest Instrument and the achievement of the Global Objectives on Forests.

 

FAO’s governance arrangements are also of relevance to the new IAF. FAO’s Committee on Forestry (COFO) and its six regional forestry commissions help shape the implementation of actions on forests at the global, regional and country level. UNFF resolutions are regularly considered by COFO, to give guidance to FAO for support to member countries in their implementation.

 

Moreover, the six regional commissions of COFO set priorities for forest work at the regional level. World Forest Weeks and Regional Forest Weeks, organized in conjunction with the governing body sessions, provide an open forum for discussions among countries, international and regional organizations and Major Groups. We hope that the future IAF will consider these existing fora with a view of creating a less fragmented forest policy landscape translating global policy into greater action on the ground in an efficient and cost-effective way.

 

FAO has a long history of supporting UNFF and its predecessors, including, among others, through provision of human and financial resources, its leading role in the CPF and through its pioneering support to a number of countries in systematically and deliberately implementing the Forest Instrument.

 

We fully support the development of a strategy to link goals, targets and indicators of the SDGs to the implementation of the new IAF. Through our statistical capacity and our mandate for global information provision we are ready to contribute to global progress towards achieving these goals.

 

Mr. Chair,

 

Let me close by reiterating that FAO remains committed to support SFM and will continue to provide key implementation support under the new IAF and SDGs. We look forward to working with our partners in the CPF and strengthened global governance arrangements to deliver the future objectives under the new IAF.

 

Thank you.