1. The Commission acknowledged the beneficial trend of decentralization, community participation and informal production and trade, and recommended that appropriate policies and actions be taken to revitalize forest administrations so that they can deliver their crucial supervisory and regulatory role (para. 9).
2. The dual role of forests and trees as ecological, social and economic resources was also noted. The meeting therefore recommended that both functions be considered and called upon FAO, the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), the African Timber Organization (ATO) and the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), in particular through the African Forest Research Network (AFORNET), to develop methodologies and case studies on assessment and enable valuation of economic and environmental services of forests in the African context (para. 10).
3. Given the weight of the informal sector in the national economies of most African countries, the Commission recommended that Government policies should provide an enabling environment to improve and further integrate it into the economic fabric (para. 11).
4. The Commission welcomed the presence of a number of female African foresters among delegates, as well as the Network of African Women for Sustainable Development (REFFAD). It recommended that FAO and other international organizations assist countries to strengthen the place and role of women in forestry in the region (para. 12).
5. The Commission recognized the particular importance of forestry and forest resources in Low Forest Cover Countries in Africa, most of which being also low-income and food-deficit countries. It was therefore recommended that governments of LFCCs, with support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and FAO, should strengthen the LFCC Secretariat and the active participation of its member countries (para. 17).
6. The Commission recommended that strategies and resources to raise the quality, relevance and resources of forestry education and research be developed and implemented at national, sub-regional and regional levels (para. 18).
7. The Commission endorsed the report of the Working Party and in particular the recommendations requesting (para. 21):
i. FAO to assist affected countries to develop common strategies and approaches to deal more efficiently with transboundary movements of wildlife;
ii. FAO and other relevant institutions to continue support efforts on breeding wild species for food;
iii. TCDC on the management of wildlife and protected areas to be encouraged and supported by FAO and other relevant international and bilateral organizations;
iv. That conflicts between human populations and wild animals be further addressed with assistance by FAO and other partners and that the issue be the subject of the next in-session seminar.
v. FAO to take appropriate measures for effectively implementing the Commission’s long-standing request to establish a Wildlife Officer’s post at the Regional Office for Africa.
8. The Commission recommended that intersessional activities on both forestry and wildlife issues be formally planned and held to deliver on recommendations and advance the overall work of the Commission. It further recommended that FAO, through the Commission and other partners, provide more support for the participation and a preparation of articulate positions of African delegations to major forest-related meetings (para. 24).
9. The Commission recommended that regional and sub-regional organizations, especially the economic communities, be sensitized and supported in their efforts to strengthen collaboration among them and with international partners such as FAO in identifying options and products for inter-African exchange (para. 25).
10. The Commission recommended that a further identification of progress (e. g. the search of excellence exercise in sustainable forest management), and that monitoring of follow-up and implementation are done on major issues, including i. a. on criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management, certification processes in Africa, and reduced impact logging (para. 26).
11. The Commission recommended that FAO update, expand and share the compendium of organizations that fund forestry development which was prepared for its Tenth session (para. 27).
12. The Commission recommended further dissemination of the outcomes of the International Wildland Fire Summit and urged countries to incorporate them in their forest fire management policies and programmes (para. 28).
13. The Commission recommended that countries, FAO and other partner organizations support the economic valuation of damages of various nature caused by fires through i. a. appropriate case studies, and thus help increase awareness of the need and political commitment to combat them (para. 29).
14. The Commission recommended that FAO continue to support cooperation in forest fire and in particular proceed with the completion of its programme and convene a ministerial meeting on forests, including forest fires, in connection with the Seventeenth session of the Committee on Forestry (COFO) in 2005 (para. 30).
15. The workshop recommended that the Commission should provide a forum for strong regional forestry policy dialogue, including preparations for future global meetings; for a common African position at the Fifth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF-5); and for sharing of experiences in implementation (para. 34).
16. The Commission stressed the strategic importance of documenting and valuing the environmental and, in particular, water-related services of forests, and recommended that FAO provide information and case studies on the issue (para. 38).
17. The Commission recommended that FAO should provide further documentation on the issue of the role, potential and constraints of plantation forestry, in particular with reference to water resources balance, and that it disseminate related, balanced and well grounded information (para. 39).
18. The Commission, noting the various international, regional and sub-regional initiatives relating to water resources management and the existence of a number of river basin organizations, recommended that countries, FAO and other partners active in the sector should take stock and cooperate with those organizations and duly incorporate their experience and potential contributions (para. 41).
19. Participants expressed concern at the low priority initially accorded to forestry in the CAADP and at the apparent disconnect between CAADP and the UNEP-led Environment Initiative and felt that the two entry points must be well articulated. The Commission recommended that FAO should, in concertation with the NEPAD Secretariat and UNEP, take steps to harmonize the two initiatives (para. 44).
20. It was therefore recommended that FAO should provide a more disaggregated breakdown, with explanatory notes of the estimated costs of proposed activities and present these on a sub-regional basis in order that sub-regional economic organizations would be able to identify the implications for their members (para. 45).
21. The Commission recommended that FAO ensure that activities on wood energy and on forest research were fully articulated and budgeted (para. 47).
22. The Commission recommended that FAO, and the NEPAD Secretariat, enhance interaction and consultation in the remaining steps to formalise the Forestry Chapter. It further recommended that participants and observers continue seeking opinions on the Chapter and provide feedback to FAO, and ultimately to the NEPAD Secretariat (para. 48).
23. The Commission considered that some of the key issues of concern to African forestry should be brought to the attention of the Committee on Forestry. These were (para. 74):
• The dual role of forests and trees as ecological, social and economic resources was noted. The meeting therefore recommended that both functions be considered and called upon FAO, the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), the African Timber Organization (ATO) and the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), in particular through the African Forest Research Network (AFORNET), to develop methodologies and case studies on assessment and valuation of economic and environmental services of forests in the African context.
• The Commission recognized the particular importance of forestry and forest resources in Low Forest Cover Countries in Africa, most of which being also low- income and food-deficit countries. It was therefore recommended that governments of LFCCs, with support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and FAO, should strengthen the LFCC Secretariat and active participation of its member countries.
• The Commission endorsed the report of the Working Party on the Management of Wildlife and Protected Areas, and in particular the recommendations requesting:
i. FAO to assist affected countries to develop common strategies and approaches to deal more efficiently with transboundary movements of wildlife;
ii. FAO and other relevant institutions to continue supporting efforts on breeding wild species for food;
iii. TCDC on the management of wildlife and protected areas to be encouraged and supported by FAO and other relevant international and bilateral organizations;
iv. FAO to take appropriate measures for effectively implementing the Commission’s long-standing request to establish a Wildlife Officer’s post at the Regional Office for Africa.
v. Conflicts between human populations and wild animals be further addressed with assistance by FAO and other partners and that the issue be the subject of the next in-session seminar.
• The Commission stressed the importance of bilateral, regional and global agreements on forest fires. It recommended that FAO continue to support cooperation in forest fire management and, in particular, proceed with the completion of its programme and to convene a ministerial meeting on forests, including forest fires, in connection with the Seventeenth session of the Committee on Forestry (COFO).
• The Commission, noting the various international, regional and sub-regional initiatives relating to water resources management and the existence of a number of river basin organizations, recommended that countries, FAO and other partners active in the sector should take stock and cooperate with those organizations and duly incorporate their experience and potential contributions.
• Participants expressed concern at the low priority initially accorded to forestry in the CAADP and the UNEP-led Environment Initiative. The Commission recommended that FAO should, in concertation with the NEPAD Secretariat and UNEP, take steps to harmonize the two initiatives.