United Nations Forum on Forestry (UNFF) - first substantive session in June 2001 - Council conclusions

(2001/C 164/01)

1. In February 2001, the United Nations Forum on Forests set up by the Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc) of the UN in October 2000 (see doc. No 14805/00) held its organisational meeting(1) and informal consultations (see doc. No 6546/01 + ADD 1) in order to prepare its first substantial session in New York in June 2001 (UNFF 1) which has to adopt its provisional Multi-year programme of work (MYPOW), develop a plan of action (PoA) for the implementation of the proposals for action of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forest (IPF) and of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forest (IPF) and initiate the work with a Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF).

2. The ad-hoc working party on forestry at its meetings on 17 and 18 April and 2 May 2001, devoted its work on the preparation of a draft of Council's conclusions based on suggestions from the Presidency, in view of its adoption by the Agriculture Council in May 2001, before the first substantial session of the Forum (UNFF 1) which will take place in New York from 11 to 22 June 2001.

3. The delegations, supported by the Commission representative, reached a consensus on these conclusions, consequently the working party invites the Coreper to endorse the draft annexed to this note and then forward it for inscription as an "A" item on the agenda of a coming meeting of the Agriculture Council.

(1) Before this meeting, the Coreper on 31 January 2001 (doc. No 5817/01) confirmed certain considerations set up by the ad-hoc Working Party on Forest, (doc. No 5567/01).

DRAFT COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS ON THE FIRST SUBSTANTIVE MEETING OF UNFF IN JUNE 2001

1. The European Union reaffirms that sustainable forest management (SFM) is an integral part of sustainable development. The Council, recalling its earlier conclusions, remains committed to the implementation of the Rio Declaration on environment and development Agenda 21 and the forest principles and reiterates its support for promoting the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests.

2. The Council welcomes the Ecosoc Resolution E/2000/L.35, which sets out the goals, objectives and principal functions of the international arrangement on forests and establishes the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) and calls for the formation of a Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) between the relevant organisations of the United Nations system and other relevant international and regional organisations, institutions and instruments.

3. The Council looks forward to the first substantive meeting of the UNFF in June 2001, which will discuss and take decisions on the following issues:

(i) adoption of its multi-year programme of work (MYPOW);

(ii) development of a plan of action for the implementation of Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF)/Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) proposals for action, which will address financial provisions;

(iii) initiation of the United Nations Forum on Forests' work with the CPF.

4. The Council welcomes the work already done within the EU to consider how the UNFF and the CPF should handle the principal functions of the international arrangement on forests. The Council recognises that detailed positions on these functions will be required for UNFF 1.

5. The MYPOW should translate the objectives, principal functions and the specific tasks outlined in Ecosoc Resolution E/2000/35 into concrete activities to be undertaken by the UNFF over the next five years. The overall goal of the MYPOW is to facilitate and promote implementation at national, regional and global levels of sustainable forest management in all types of forests. The MYPOW must also allow the UNFF to provide a forum for policy guidance and coordination.

6. To ensure effectiveness, UNFF should have a manageable agenda. For instance, each session of the UNFF could deal with one cross-cutting issue and two other priority issues. These could include issues that arise from national reports dealing with obstacles and achievements in implementation as well as current developments in other processes, in particular forest-related conventions and global programmes. The Council invites the UNFF to undertake frequent consultations with these other forums, e.g. the UN Framework Convention on climate change, the UN Convention to combat desertification and the Convention on biological diversity.

7. To facilitate the UNFF session discussions and support the MYPOW through the collection of background information and preparatory discussions the Council supports the establishment of ad-hoc working groups on:

- finance,

- parameters of a mandate for developing a legal framework,

- a reporting system including monitoring and assessment.

Intersessional meetings will also be important in facilitating and advancing UNFF's work.

8. The Council stresses the importance it places on the appropriate participation of all relevant organisations, instruments, institutions, regional processes as well as the private sector, NGOs and other major groups as defined in Agenda 21 in the work of the UNFF.

9. The Council considers that the plan of action should be seen as a process to support implementation of IPF/IFF proposals for action, which are to be carried out at the national, regional and global levels. It is urgent to define the plan. The plan of action should build on the IFF Final Report, which outlines how implementation of the IPF/IFF proposals for action should be undertaken. Since the UNFF is a facilitating rather than an operational body, its plan of action will have to work through existing instruments by giving guidance for more effective and coherent support for the implementation of the IPF/IFF proposals for action. A decision should be taken at UNFF 1 on the overall framework, targets and timetable, which will facilitate actors in identifying their own priorities and approaches to implement the IPF/IFF proposals for action in a holistic manner. This should lead countries, CPF member bodies, and regional processes such as the Ministerial Conference on the protection of forests in Europe and other stakeholders to provide appropriate inputs.

10. The Council welcomes the recent establishment of the CPF. It should support the work of the UNFF and enhance cooperation and coordination amongst its participants, to seek synergies between the organisations and the instruments involved. CPF participants should undertake joint programming that is consistent with policies, strategies and activities promoted by the UNFF. The CPF should act in a twofold manner: to coordinate inputs from its various members to UNFF, and to take full account of UNFF activities in its work. The Council is looking forward to seeing concrete proposals on specific inputs and aspects from CPF. The Council recognises that effective coordination is only possible if States that are members of the governing bodies of CPF organisations adopt coherent positions with respect to the individual agencies.

11. Reaffirming its April 2000 Conclusions, the Council attaches great importance to Ecosoc's decision that within five years the UNFF will consider with a view to recommending to the Ecosoc and through it to the General Assembly the parameters of a mandate for developing a legal framework on all types of forests.

12. The Council considers that the main measure of the effectiveness of the international arrangement on forests will be its ability to fulfil the goals, objectives and principal functions set out in the Ecosoc Resolution and thereby promote greater implementation of the IPF/IFF proposals for action. The Council attaches great importance to the review of the effectiveness of the arrangement in five years' time. The review should be based on targets set for the functions and the objectives of the international arrangement of forests from the start.

13. The EU urges all partners to show a sustained commitment to the implementation of the IPF/IFF proposals for action. The EU Member States are already committed to developing national forest programmes (NFPs) to strengthen sustainable forest management in Europe. As the group of donors providing the largest volume of grant funds for forests the EU is ready to take a leading role, internationally, in the implementation process.

14. One of the main challenges to achieving sustainable forest management is to make it self-financing in the long run. Public, private, domestic and international sources have complementary roles to play in achieving this goal. Sustainable forest management is important in meeting human needs and alleviating poverty. In this context, there is a continuing need for official development assistance (ODA) flows - especially to the poorest countries - in support of NFPs, including national financing strategies, and for capacity building. The EU remains fully committed to development cooperation, including to reaching the ODA target of 0,7 % of GNP by all donor countries as soon as possible. Innovative work is also required on financial instruments, which will capture the full value of services provided by forests.

15. Further improvement in coordination of ODA so as to ensure an integrated approach towards sustainable development in general and SFM in particular, also continues to be a priority for the EU. At the global level, the integrated and coordinated follow-up of the series of UN conferences and summits of the 1990s, in line with the Millennium Declaration adopted by the Millennium Assembly of the United Nations in September 2000 is of particular importance. The international development targets as elaborated in those conferences and agreed within the OECD high-level meeting of DAC in 1996, provide a useful framework to this end. The Council welcomes the work done on a draft Code of conduct for forest sector development cooperation of the European Community and the EU Member States. The Council also welcomes the proposed collaborative action in support of national forest programmes through the NFP implementation facility and UNDP programme on forests (Profor). The EU has a key role to play in making both initiatives successful.

16. Recalling the Council Resolution on forests and development of November 1999, the EU will continue to assist developing countries to develop and implement national forest programmes in so far as the countries concerned request such assistance in their bilateral negotiations with donors within existing development programmes.

17. Strengthened political commitment is of utmost importance for successful sustainable forest management. The Council welcomes the opportunity provided for ministers at the high-level segments of the UNFF to discuss and take decisions on sustainable forest management. The EU is of the view that high-level ministerial meetings should be organised twice over the five years of the UNFF, the last one taking place at UNFF 5.

18. A declaration by the high-level segment on achievements made and further action to be taken towards sustainable forest management would also constitute a valuable message to the world summit on sustainable development.