The United Nations Forum on Forests met this morning to open the high-level segment of its fifth session, during which it was expected to hold a policy dialogue on actions for the future with government ministers, heads of Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) organizations, and high-level representatives of the major groups. In the afternoon, it was expected to hold two round-table discussions, the first on restoring the world’s forests, and the second on forest law and governance for sustainability. (For additional background information on the Forum’s fifth session, please see Press Release ENV/DEV/851 of 12 May 2005.)
(I-Newswire) - FOLLOWING ARE SUMMARIES OF STATEMENTS MADE TODAY IN THE UNITED NATIONS FORUM ON FORESTS. A COMPLETE SUMMARY OF TODAY’S FORUM MEETING WILL BE AVAILABLE AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE AFTERNOON ROUND TABLES AS PRESS RELEASE ENV/DEV/857.
Background
The United Nations Forum on Forests met this morning to open the high-level segment of its fifth session, during which it was expected to hold a policy dialogue on actions for the future with government ministers, heads of Collaborative Partnership on Forests ( CPF ) organizations, and high-level representatives of the major groups. In the afternoon, it was expected to hold two round-table discussions, the first on restoring the world’s forests, and the second on forest law and governance for sustainability. ( For additional background information on the Forum’s fifth session, please see Press Release ENV/DEV/851 of 12 May 2005. )
Statements
Opening the high-level segment, Forum Chairman Manuel Rodriguez Becerra ( Colombia ) said that, over the past 16 years, a packet of activities related to forest management had been developed at the United Nations, in most part through the Forum on Forests. Reviewing the several conferences at which the forest-related agenda had been elaborated, he noted that governments had approved nearly 300 proposals for action for sustainable management of forests. Then, in 2000, the United Nations Forum on Forests had been established as the highest-level forum on forest issues worldwide.
During the previous nine days of the Forum’s fifth session, he continued, many participants had noted dissatisfaction over the lack of implementation of agreed objectives for the sustainable management of forests. A huge gap continued to exist between international agreements and their implementation. Degradation and deforestation continued, not only destroying unique ecosystems, but also resulting in increasing poverty among those depending directly on forests for their livelihoods. The biggest challenge of the high-level segment was to decrease the gap between words and action; the Forum must give the world a clear signal that forests counted.
The high-level segment opened this morning, he added, with a high-level dialogue among multi-stakeholders on the connection between development and forests. Forests must be viewed within the framework of, and be linked to, the Millennium Development Goals. As the Chair, he urged all delegations to take decisions at the highest political level, and with the energy and creativity to show the world the seriousness of the intention to reduce the gap between words and action.
JOMO KWAME SUNDARAM, Assistant Secretary-General on Economic Development, on behalf of Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs José Antonio Ocampo, said that today’s meeting would focus on the critical aspects of sustainable management of the world’s forests. It would also provide an opportunity to reaffirm commitments to sustainable forest management as a means of addressing the increasing rate of deforestation, as well as to tackle key issues. The world fundamentally depended on natural resources such as forests for development, but efforts made by world leaders during September’s high-level plenary to review the implementation of the Millennium Declaration would be in vain if deforestation continued. Regional and global efforts must be strengthened, and countries should adopt time-bound laws for such actions as forestry replanting, exploring in particular what sustainable forest management could contribute to achieve internationally agreed development goals. Members might also wish to send a clear message to September’s meeting, he said, by addressing the underlying causes of deforestation and degradation, and by working toward lasting solutions that would affect millions of people worldwide that lived in forests.
Sustainable forest management and the Millennium Development Goals, he continued, would only be fully realized if the linkages between forests and related goals were understood and explored. If the forest sector was to play its full role in helping to achieve internationally agreed goals, then it was essential that such programmes were aligned with such things as poverty reduction strategies, as forests were deeply intertwined with other sectors of society.
One of the round tables in the afternoon would examine the underlying causes of deforestation, and consider how to tackle them in an interactive way. Since the rate of deforestation was still alarmingly high, vital issues for the round table on Restoring the World’s Forests were those of identifying the real causes behind deforestation, of ensuring cross-sectoral dialogue, and of facing up to the financial implications of achieving forest restoration. The second round-table discussion, on Forest Law and Governance for Sustainability, would focus on accountability, and on crucial elements of good government at all levels. He added that it would provide an opportunity for members to consider issues and approaches, to handle them in more depth, and to highlight the ways in which forests could make a difference and play a full part in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
BUYELWA PATIENCE SONJICA, Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry of South Africa, who was to act as moderator of the dialogue, noted that today was Africa Freedom Day, which celebrated the founding of the Organization of African Unity, and stressed that the African model of openness should find expression during the current discussion, as the people and economies of Africa would rely upon the outcomes of the deliberations for their liberation. As the current topic concerned how the Forum could contribute to implementation of the outcomes of the Millennium Summit, and other international conferences and summits, she wished to propose that all engage frankly and freely during their interventions and speak from the heart. Delegations should engage each other with passion, and should seek solutions for the benefit of all. All participants shared an interest in the sustainable use of forest resources; yet, in addition to that commonality, strength could also be found in their diversity of experience and insight.
This morning’s dialogue should incorporate a critical examination of forests possible and existing contribution to attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, she reiterated. Thus, whether or not the global forest community had intensified its efforts for the sustainable management, conservation and development of forests as agreed at the Johannesburg Summit should be among the questions addressed. Had satisfactory progress been made with respect to the plan of action, including in reducing deforestation, halting the loss of biodiversity, halting land degradation, improving food security, and improving access to safe drinking water and affordable energy? Moreover, at Johannesburg, it had been recognized that action was required at all levels in order to achieve sustainable forest management. Had the global forest community taken that to heart, and had it demonstrated its commitment to the rest of the world? Moreover, what should be done to put the global forest community into a better position in that regard? Finally, what should future international arrangement on forests do to make provisions for meaningful interaction between all stakeholders?
OCTAVIE MODERT, State Secretary of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development of Luxembourg, speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, said that current trends of deforestation and forest degradation called for greater political commitment and allocation of resources at all levels toward forests and sustainable forest management. It was necessary to succeed in translating the global forest dialogue into implementation and action on the ground, and to build the international dialogue on member’s experiences in the forests. Although such a process had been established in Europe with the Ministerial Conferences on the Protection of Forests, the current international arrangement on forests had not fully succeeded in doing that. If Member States were not able to do so, there was a danger that forests and sustainable forest management, as well as the entire international forests dialogue, would be relegated to the fringes of international policy discussions.
The first action that was necessary was to agree on setting common goals and quantifiable targets, clearly spelling out the commitment to, and ambitions for, preserving and restoring the world’s forests and their sustainable management. At the same time, she said, it was necessary to emphasize the crucial role forests played in poverty reduction, health, the mitigation of climate change, and combating desertification and environmental sustainability. Forests mattered, and the Forum needed to make that message heard, particularly during the Millennium Review Summit in September. The institutional framework of the current international arrangement on forests needed to be strengthened, she said, and the European Union maintained its commitment to the development of a legally-binding instrument for that purpose, as it would provide the necessary commitment and guidance to take action, as well as the necessary means of implementation to achieve common goals. Stressing that the outcome of the Forum needed to preserve the perspective for the development of a legally-binding instrument on forests, she said that the European Union would remain firm on the necessity for the establishment of strategic global goals.
JOSEF PROLL, Federal Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management of Austria, said that, while his country was, in terms of territory, one of the smaller members of the Forum, its forest-based industry -– with an export quota over 70 per cent -- represented an important pillar of the foreign trade balance. Further, as 80 per cent of its forests were managed by private owners, Austria remained well aware that the manner in which forests were treated depended decisively on the motivation of forest owners. Thus, national and European Union environmental policy required the launching of substantive initiatives for the protection and sustainable management of forests at the international level, and the country was working with the private sector to look for new strategies better to integrate forest issues into international cooperation activities.
The contribution forests and their management could make to sustainable development had been clearly indicated at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, he noted, but there was a need to define which framework conditions must be set at the international level to ensure that the multiple functions and effects of forests could best be developed and utilized. There must be a clearly-defined common understanding of what was to be achieved, and the sustainable management of all forests must be the top priority. The international forest regime should be reshaped to reflect a shared vision and common objectives and goals regarding the world’s forests, a commonly-agreed conceptual framework for sustainable forest management, the strongest possible conviction to speed implementation at all levels, and a transparent and effective mechanism to enable fair access to funds and know-how.
M.S. KABAN, Minister of Forestry of Indonesia, speaking on behalf of the Association of South-East Asian Nations ( ASEAN ), said that forests comprised 60 per cent of Indonesia’s total land, and because they played such an important role, he understood the significance of achieving sustainable forest management and eradicating poverty. Indonesia had been implementing the proposals of action, and had achieved success in such areas as stakeholder participation in forest management; the improvement of the economic status of people living in and around the forest; and the enhancement of law enforcement. This had been difficult, as Indonesia did not have adequate financial support, and also had to deal with a lack of capacity, as well as a lack of global cooperation and coordination, particularly in cross-border crimes and associated illegal timber trade. That underscored the importance of international and regional cooperation and cooperation on sustainable forest management.
A future international arrangement on forests should consist of significant political efforts, and should be more action oriented, he continued. It should place an emphasis on the means of implementation, and promote regional and subregional cooperation. He added that such an arrangement should also provide a more concise mandate, and be respectful of the sovereignty of States in line with State goals.
JOHN BROWNE, Minister of State, Department of Agriculture and Food of Ireland, said that a number of Millennium Development Goals had particular relevance to sustainable development, of which forestry was a major subset. It was most important to alleviate poverty among the 400 million people living in or near forests, including 60 million indigenous people who depended almost entirely on forests. There was a need for the international community to further promote and demonstrate the contributions that sustainable forest management could make to sustainable development and to the achievement of many of the Millennium Development Goals. It was necessary to link those goals and the contribution of forests more explicitly.
It was also necessary to pursue the possibilities provided by the Global Environment Facility as far as possible, he continued, including halting the decline in official development assistance toward the forest sector. The Forum needed to send a clear and coherent message to the high-level plenary meeting of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly, which should demonstrate the importance of sustainable forest management and the linkages between forests and Development Goals. The time was right, he said, to globally renew and restate the commitment to reduce deforestation and forest degradation, and increase the area of sustainable forest management, through afforestation and other means.
DATO SRI HAJI ADENAN BIN HAJI SATEM, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Malaysia, said that his country remained strongly committed to implementation of the sustainable management of forests as enshrined in international agreements. The timber industry remained one of the major contributors to the country’s exports, as earnings reached 19.78 billion ringgit in 2004, and as the timber sector directly employed 3.5 per cent of the national workforce. Furthermore, upstream forest activities such as logging had contributed to bring much-needed development to rural areas, including by improving access to remote areas through the opening of forest roads. Those roads had provided mobility to local communities in their socio-economic activities. Products such as rattan and bamboo, which were harvested small-scale by local communities, provided supplementary sources of income to rural communities.
Malaysia recognized that forests could play an important role in the maintenance of climatic and environmental stability, conservation of invaluable biodiversity and supply of clean water resources, he continued. Yet, central to the issue of implementation of sustainable management of forests in developing countries was the availability of sufficient financial resources and technology. Preliminary estimates indicated that 2.9 billion ringgit would be required fully to implement sustainable management of forests in Malaysia, including the need for research, infrastructure and human resources development. Due to the immense cost involved, the financing of sustainable management of forests could not be discussed in the context of national efforts alone; there was an urgent need for intensive external financial assistance from developed countries to developing countries.
DARIO KATATA, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Angola, said that, notwithstanding the progress achieved so far in sustainable management, the lives of millions of people who depended directly or indirectly on forests continued to be negatively affected by environmental problems related to deforestation, and to the degradation of resources and its impact on the productivity of forest ecosystems. The current session, therefore, constituted a vital landmark for political reflection on the future of forests as a fundamental element for development.
After a period of dialogue, he continued, it was necessary to focus attention towards advancing the environmental agenda by taking such steps as strengthening the role of the Forum and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests; focusing more on implementing actions related to the sustainable management of all types of forests; encouraging and facilitating the transfer, acquisition, adoption and development of environmentally sound technologies; and acknowledging the need for the creation of a global forest fund, as well as the transfer of financial resources, especially to developing countries, to implement sustainable management of forests and past proposals. He added that, while he was aware of the importance of a future legally-binding instrument on all types of forests, such action should be economically feasible, and environmentally and socially acceptable. Additionally, it must respect the right to sovereignty of all States, as well as the current and future regional protocols on the matter.
BEAT NOBS, Head of the International Affairs Division in the Agency for Environment, Forests and Landscape of Switzerland, noted that the Millennium Summit had built upon the results of other international conferences and summits to set international goals for development. And, subsequently, the World Summit on Sustainable Development had deepened that commitment. Thus, the common commitment to sustainable development represented the overarching theme that linked economic, social and political development. And, within that broader picture, forests played a crucial, cross-cutting role.
With more than 1 billion of the world’s population dependent upon forests for their livelihoods, forests remained central to poverty eradication, he said. They also remained central to protection of the environment, to maintaining the balance in the global ecosystem, to maintaining biodiversity, and to stabilizing the water cycle. Forests contributed to social and economic prosperity. Thus, Switzerland remained convinced that the Forum must send a strong and clear message to the forthcoming high-level plenary of the General Assembly, underlining the importance of forests as a fundamental element of sustainable development and key to implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, and committing to a strengthened international arrangement on forests. That arrangement should provide for a two-year cycle of meetings, and regional meetings, among other characteristics.
M. ABDELADIM LHAFI, Haut Commissaire aux Eaux et Forets et a la lutte contre la Désertification of Morocco, said the current session was a turning point to translate into operational action the agreed-upon goals. That would determine the success or failure of what members had decided to undertake together in order to stop the degradation and restore the balance of forests, and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. There was no doubt that sustainable forest management was an imperative, and Morocco would do all that it could to manage its forests sustainably and make it a priority. What were not needed were not just purely technical solutions, but solutions that involved a number of factors, including economic ones.
It was also necessary to take into account social considerations, and the necessity of preserving the balance of forests, she said. Morocco’s approach included the development of mechanisms and various conventions on biodiversity, and was based on a constructive partnership and participatory development to manage its resources in a sustainable manner. It was necessary to work together, and investments should be made available and accessible, she added.
MANUEL REED, General Director of the National Forestry Commission of Mexico, recalled that the central mandate of the Forum had been to bring about consensus to adopt an international agreement on forests. To that end, the Forum’s present discussion should result in firm commitments to compliance with agreed objectives by all. However, this would only be possible if a legally-binding instrument was adopted, which would enable the forest community to take action to make forests a priority at the international level. That overarching objective also required the establishment of a world forest fund with new and additional resources to support those countries willing to uphold their responsibilities and undertake concrete action.
At present, there was a unique opportunity to achieve sustainable development through protecting the world’s natural wealth, he added. The Forum had not just to discuss the future international arrangement on forests, but also the framework of the future legal instrument. Mexico would seek a compromise, and accepted that a possible first step toward its elaboration would be to set quantifiable, codified goals and objectives. Noting that the Forum had reached an impasse in negotiations, he said he would like those goals to be set. By the end of the session, there should be international instruments that incorporated firm commitments. If the Forum did not achieve solid and meaningful goals, it would have to reflect on how to improve its future work.
LEE SOO-HWA ( Republic of Korea ) said that there was no doubt that some obstacles still existed in terms of achieving sustainable forest management. In order to strengthen the international arrangement on forests, the Republic of Korea suggested that, while it might be very difficult to reach consensus, every country needed to compromise. He also emphasized that more action for implementing sustainable forest management at the international, regional and national levels should be pursued to reach consensus on a future international arrangement.
Financial matters were another core issue in the future arrangement, he continued, and that was interrelated to each member. He recognized that there had been various financial resources available, but those were not enough to implement sustainable forest management, especially for the developing countries. Some questions still remained as to whether the existing resources had been effectively utilized for implementing sustainable forest management, especially for the developing countries, and the Republic of Korea strongly suggested that the Forum had to make more of an effort to find a way to utilize the existing resources effectively.
Mr. RODRIGUEZ ( Costa Rica ) said the goal of the Forum’s work should be to set the basis for carrying out joint work for the implementation of agreements on forest-related issues. Thus, while the current session had evinced some positive developments, it had also left many questions. There was no agreement on concrete goals to relieve deforestation, nor to elaborate a legal framework for implementation of the plan of action on forests. The Forum had no concrete answers for the millions of people that depended on forests for their survival. The Forum faced a crossroads due to a lack of political will, including concerning the generation of financial resources for forests, the rationalization of existing mechanisms for the mobilization of financial resources, and the exchange of experiences. Those were fundamental elements that should be addressed. However, the main goal should remain to strengthen action to improve the standard of living of rural populations around world, particularly those most affected by poverty, through the sustainable management of forests. Costa Rica remained willing to elaborate quantifiable goals, as called for by Mexico.
NICOLAS FORISSIER, State Secretary for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Rural Affairs of France, said it would be very difficult to achieve the Millennium Goals, including those relating to development, if members did not succeed in saving the forests, and in halting the trend towards their degradation and destruction. Forests provided direct substantial income that only sustainable management could ensure lasted over the long term.
What was, therefore, needed, he continued, was a new awareness and a new mobilization of effort to find the necessary funding for sustainable forest management. That included increased use of national resources in all countries; a determined effort to improve governance, and fight corruption and illegal logging; and increased allocation of official development assistance resources through bilateral and multilateral channels, as well as a search for every possible innovating funding formula. In order to demonstrate determination and to ensure precise benchmarks in the future, it was necessary to reach agreement on a limited number of quantified targets linked with the Millennium Development Goals, he added.
RISTO SEPPALA, President, International Union of Forestry Research, said that forests could play an important role in reducing poverty and hunger, which was the first and foremost Millennium Development Goal. Available scientific knowledge gave evidence about the close linkage between forests and the livelihood –- or even the survival –- of the rural poor, as the subsistence of millions of people was now highly dependent on forests. Forests were also important sources of employment and income and, for example, forest-based enterprises in many developing countries provided at least a third of all rural non-farm employment and generated income through the sale of wood products. The potential existed to improve the livelihoods of the rural poor by further developing markets for all kinds of forest products, and policymakers and decision makers could help to harness that potential by supporting the development of small forest-based enterprises and improving their market access through investment in infrastructure and improved market information.
There was a clear understanding that poverty was a multidimensional problem requiring holistic and cross-sectoral solutions that were sustainable over time, he said. For example, conservation efforts could have considerable impacts on the livelihoods and subsistence of the rural poor, by depriving them of subsistence uses by closing off forests. There was, therefore, a need to make sure that enhancing environmental sustainability would not conflict with poverty reduction efforts, as addressed in the first Millennium Development Goal. He added that the scientific community also had an important role to play in addressing the link between forests and international development goals. One possibility for addressing that was to form an international panel that could have the same kind of role for forests as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had for those activities.
ACHIM STEINER, Director-General, International Conservation Union, recalled that the debate this morning was about the linkage between the Millennium Development Goals and forestry issues. The linkages that extended from Millennium Development Goal 1 thru to 7 were intrinsic to the sustainable management of forests. Forests remained central to water, to the survival of many people and communities, and to maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystems.
Yet, in some ways, the discussions during the last few days had led one to wonder whether consensus did not continue to evade the global forest community, he said. Much progress had been made at local and regional levels for sustainable management of forests, but at the international level, the community seemed to be stuck. There did not seem to be consensus that commitments to implementation could move the debate forward. If the United Nations Forum on Forests was not able to lead on some of those objectives and goals, it should not stand in the way of the success of local and regional initiatives. Communities should be empowered to play a more active and accepted role in the sustainable management of forests and, to that end, adoption of a rights-based approach was critical.
KEN NEWCOMBE, Senior Manager of the World Bank, said that it was not so long ago that the problem of forests was seen from a northern perspective, from a manner of preserving resources in developing countries. A short time ago, there was no real sense of the benefits of forests, and they were also seen just as tropical forests. Now, however, the critical importance of forest goods and services to perhaps half of the world’s people who relied on them for their welfare was very well understood. There had also been a perception that the poor were somehow responsible for the destruction of forests, but that was naïve, as they did not have the capacity to deplete forests on a significant scale. The main issue was not just addressing the problem of poverty, but the fact that very powerful economic agents were at work. In that sense, he said that it was noteworthy that there was now an emphasis on the problem of governance of forests.
During the course of the Forum, the World Bank -– in collaboration with many stakeholders, as well as the Forum and non-governmental organizations -– had changed its forest policy. It was important to integrate, rather than exclude, forests in efforts and, in the process, protect both local and global public goods that served for sustainable forest development. The World Bank currently allocated $500 million a year in support of those objectives, and intended to enhance the quality of analysis and bringing forests to the table of the development agenda locally. That, however, required creative financing, which necessitated a continuation of partnerships such as those with World Bank and others on the ground to make developmental assistance as effective as it could be.
RACHEL A. ARUNGAH, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and National Resources of Kenya, said the Forum’s current session represented the culmination of the international dialogue on forests, which had begun in Rio. The main objective of this session was to define the future international arrangement on forests. Forests remained critical natural resources for her country, and constituted the backbone of the tourism industry and the source of many of the country’s rivers, she added. Given the critical importance of forests at the national and international levels, Kenya maintained that a strengthened international arrangement on forests should be provided for within the United Nations.
The present session of the Forum should endeavour to set global goals and targets by which to achieve international agreements, and to reverse the current loss of resources, she said. There was a need to establish a global forest fund in order to strengthen the fight against unsustainable forest management, as well as to encourage action at both the international and regional levels. Thus, Kenya appreciated the important role played by the Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO ) and other partners, and felt that the Collaborative Partnership on Forests members must be fully supported. The Forum must seek to come up with ways and means of strengthening overall cooperation for the sustainable management of forests. However, a legally-binding instrument was not the only option available; a strengthened United Nations Forum on Forests could improve the situation.
HOSNY EL-LAKANY, Assistant Director-General of the FAO, speaking on behalf of Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the FAO, said that the organization strongly supported the strengthening of the international arrangement on forests that included a high-level policy forum to provide policy guidance, as well as to the Collaborative Partnership on Forests to collaboratively support countries to achieve sustainable forest management. The Ministerial Meeting on Forests and the seventeenth session of the FAO Committee on Forestry, together with the current Forum session, had demonstrated strong political commitment to sustainable management of the world’s forests. He said that to maximize the efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, it was necessary to follow the United Nations system guidance to use existing mechanisms in order to avoid further fragmentation of forest issues.
The six regional forestry commissions were intergovernmental bodies within the United Nations system, he continued. They provided a dynamic and participatory venue for discussing cross-sectoral and action-oriented issues that were of key concern to the respective regions. He added that the FAO would continue to increase awareness of the links between forests and the Millennium Development Goals, and to enhance regional and subregional cooperation in that area, including through the regional forestry commissions.
OLAV KJORVEN, Director, Energy and Environment Group, United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP ), said that the UNDP strongly welcomed the clear focus of today’s discussion on the role of forests in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, as well as the discussion on that subject in the report of the Secretary-General. The sustainable management of forests contributed substantially to achievement of many international development goals, particularly the Millennium Goals, as well as to income generation, provision of safe drinking water, and reversing land degradation that resulted in the halting of floods and landslides.
There must be specific recognition of land degradation and sustainable management of forests as international priorities, he added. In the run-up to September’s review summit, the Forum should direct its conclusions from the current session towards that meeting. Also describing the UNDP’s involvement with forestry issues, he noted that the UNDP was actively engaged in a number of initiatives, as it could not work in any of its focal areas without paying attention to forests. The organization had biodiversity and forest conservation projects in more than 42 countries, and the majority of its 3,000 total biodiversity projects in more than 80 countries incorporated forest-related aspects. The UNDP’s work to help diversify energy supplies also had implications for the condition of forests around the world, and the organization retained a strong commitment to working with indigenous people and other forest custodians.
GONZALO CASTRO, Team Leader for Biodiversity at the Global Environment Facility ( GEF ), speaking on behalf of Len Good, Chief Executive Officer of the GEF, said that his organization united 176 member governments to address global environmental issues by providing grants to country-driven projects in the areas of biodiversity, combating land degradation, international waters, climate change, and ozone depletion. Since its founding in 1991, the organization had maintained a major focus on the conservation and sustainable utilization of forests. Forests were important to the GEF not just because of their intrinsic value for biodiversity, but also because of their great importance to cross-cutting issues related to climate change, land degradation, sustainable natural resources management, and poverty alleviation.
After providing an overview of investments made by his organization to advance the forest agenda, he said the GEF helped countries ensure environmental sustainability, and that its support for biodiversity conservation and land management was a key aspect of achieving Millennium Development Goal 7.
AVRIM LAZAR, the representative of the business community major group, said he represented responsible elements of the business and forestry community from 43 nations, who were committed to halting deforestation and to sustaining ecosystems, to reducing poverty, and to ensuring that local forest communities benefited from economic activities. These groups were also committed to ending illegal logging, and remained willing to work with any government, non-governmental organization or community to that end. They were committed to adoption of the highest standards of sustainable management of forests, and would work with all partners to encourage the spread of certified management practices. The major group’s members were also committed to ensuring that local communities benefited from sustaining forests. When local communities benefited from economic activity in their forests, there was sustainable management of them. Without local communities benefiting from such activities, deforestation occurred.
DON MELNICK, representing the science group, said his agenda was to convince people that the purview of the current meeting was one of the two or three most important issues today. There were often-cited reasons for conserving nature, such as moral responsibility, but there was another very important reason, which was informed self-interest. Citing statistics, he said that the number of worldwide deaths was exacerbated by land degradation, and that people unfortunately suffered the consequences. Members could choose to do nothing about the human and monetary cost of environmental degradation, but if they failed to act they would become the willing executioners of those whose lives were lost as a result of environmental degradation.
Members had to act in concert with a sense of urgency to make changes, if they were to achieve the level of environmental sustainability necessary to meet the Millennium Development Goals, he continued. Environmental sustainability was essential to achieving all of those goals, and required carefully balancing human development activities while maintaining a stable environment. He also stressed the importance of such things as integrating the management of river basins around the world, and seeking a global agreement on wood and timber, because, if not, the world’s forests would continue to disappear at ever-increasing rates.
EDISON LUIS BERNARDES, the representative of the workers and labour unions major group, said that the linkage among poverty reduction, forests, economics, the environment and society was well recognized. All understood the need to link those areas. However, it must also be understood that the root causes of deforestation, particularly in Brazil, were social. It was difficult to solve social problems with purely environmental solutions. Less economic development and job growth had occurred in areas in which purely agricultural usage had been given to the land, while those areas in which some forests were maintained had prospered more. Those working in the forestry industry needed to see their standards of living raised; today, most Brazilian wood and forestry workers earned only $3 per day, while those in the Amazon were not paid nearly that, if they were paid any salary. It must also be recognized that poverty resulted from the failure of employers to put human beings first. Without a long-term plan on the part of the global forest community, the situation could further decline. The workers of Brazil understood the importance of having measurable goals, which were enshrined in international legal conventions. A legally-binding convention would eventually allow for the marshalling of additional resources, and the improvement of the situation of all workers.
ANNIINA KOSTILAINEN, the representative of the youth and children, said that countries faced a great challenge when trying to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Members were not able to reach the Goals on their own and, therefore, needed to work together for change. She said that young people believed that there were concrete actions that could be taken, primarily that education had a catalytic role in the process of achieving poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. Primary and secondary education about forests was critical, especially among children, who contained the long-term potential to protect the environment.
Young people were often the main source of spreading information within people and families, she continued, and governments should also support their participation in both national and international processes aimed at achieving the Millennium Development Goals. That included involving them in national forest programmes, youth-led initiatives, and openly establishing partnerships with youth organizations. She added that she hoped that the pattern of environmental degradation would end, and dreamed that her generation would be the first to leave to children a healthier environment than it had received from its parents.
PARSHURAM TAMANG, the representative of the indigenous major group, recalled that the motif of the second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People had been set as “Partnership in Action”. Indigenous people continued to be concerned about land degradation and deforestation worldwide, which was a concern they shared with the Forum on Forests. It was estimated that indigenous people had an overall population of 500 million, 250 million of whom lived in or near forests. Moreover, indigenous people represented 4,500 diverse cultures and religions. For them, maintenance of the forests was a matter of survival, not just of poverty eradication. The Forum should recall that standards had been established with regard to indigenous peoples, including through the United Nations’ Permanent Forum and working groups on indigenous issues. Those groups had opened participation for indigenous peoples with or without consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, and the United Nations Forum on Forests should incorporate indigenous peoples in like manner. Moreover, it had been clearly demonstrated that continued indigenous peoples’ sovereignty over resources was not in conflict with international legality.
PETER MARSH, representing the small landowners group, said that family forest ownership was a distinct form of forest tenure. There were 25 million forest-owning families in North America and Europe, who had the potential to directly contribute to the achievement of goals, but there were strategic obstacles that needed to be addressed. Those obstacles included the need for strengthening the recognition of tenure and property rights, as property rights must not be subject to ongoing erosion. Another important obstacle was obtaining market access, though he acknowledged that some countries had established mechanisms to overcome that. The development of family forest owner associations, on local, national and international levels, was also important. He added that the support of governments was also needed, as that was an essential condition to the ability of the group he represented to contribute to environmental health, both nationally and globally.
LAMBERT OKRAM, the representative of the non-governmental organizations major group, said sustained commitment to the conservation of forests and improvement of livelihoods of the poorest of the poor was needed, including to those who lived in the fringes of the forests and those that had migrated to urban centres due to the degradation of forest areas. Their situation was an indictment of the activities of those responsible for forest management and use. Those practices had neglected the needs of those that lived in and around the forests. While many countries gave generous tax concessions for equipment brought into the territory for start-up industries, non-governmental organizations had to pay taxes on equipment brought in for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. Unless the forest community began to look closely at what was necessary to sustain the interest and advance the causes of those living in forests, the battle for sustainable development would be lost. Those living in the forests did not benefit economically from use of forests. The present time was a rare opportunity for the forest community to come to the aid of these communities and help them to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
DENNIS GARRITY, Director-General of the World Agroforestry Centre, said that agriculture covered roughly the same area as forests, so that what happened on agricultural lands was of tremendous consequence to forests throughout the world. The perspective of small-holder farmers and the role that they could play in managing, conserving and expanding forests was also very important. The world had to end the desperate poverty that was dehumanizing and which killed, and agroforestry would play a key role in that. As such, the global community needed to invest in agroforestry, and it was increasingly important to highlight and promote the concept of “trees outside forests”, because it was an important element of the forest landscape restoration process. Agroforestry also demanded more attention, because as it expanded, the desperately poor would benefit and the world’s forests would be more sustainably managed.
At the close of the dialogue, Ms. SONJICA of South Africa observed that many delegations had called for a move from dialogue and discussion to implementation, and reiterated that all those present had the responsibility to ensure that the decisions they took were, in fact, implemented. There had also been identification of the three pillars of sustainable management of forests -- economic, environmental and social -- as well as emphasis on the linkage between poverty eradication and forests. The crucial and pivotal nature of the Forum’s fifth session had been acknowledged, as had the importance of ensuring that the future international arrangement on forests was action oriented. Moreover, many delegations had emphasized that developing countries required assistance to implement the sustainable management of forests, but that those countries must also show commitment to sustainable management practices.
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