33. The Commission recommended that the following items be brought to the attention of the Committee on Forestry at its next session:
• Recognizing the appreciable increase in forest and tree plantations as a result of the rising awareness of the importance of forests, increased political will and the availability of treated waste water, the FAO Forestry Department should continue its technical support to field activities and in particular to national forest assessments, and facilitate information exchange and capacity building by working with countries to exchange document and success stories.
• Recognizing the importance of collaborative action on forest fires and exotic invasive species, recommended that relevant thematic studies be conducted and regional information networks established to counter these threats.
• Recognizing the importance of the rehabilitation and sustainable development of mangroves in some countries of the region, recommended that a sub-regional TCP be prepared to support such action.
• Recognizing the interdependence between strategies for forest management, water resource management and poverty alleviation, particularly in rural areas, the FAO Forestry Department should incorporate these strategies into its projects and development programmes in the Near East Region.
• Considering the importance of the need for technical assistance in capacity building on water management and use, particularly water harvesting, use of treated waste water and the selection of tree species with low water requirements, the FAO Forestry Department should conduct a study on the role of trees and forests located in watershed areas and along water courses in regulating water flow and quality, submit a proposal on upstream-downstream social and economic linkages and report to the 17th Session of the Commission.
• Recognizing the importance of developing an institutional framework for implementing any proposed bilateral, regional or international fire agreements, COFO should discuss the principles of establishing such agreements for combating forest fires.
• Recognizing the need for international processes to provide the means for the implementation of the IPF/IFF proposals for action and for the dissemination of information on the outcomes, the FAO Forestry Department, in collaboration with other partners, should continue to support implementation at the national level, assist countries in building national capacities in intergovernmental fora and to follow the progress of the Proposals.
• In view of the insufficient attention assigned to forestry in most countries, the FAO Forestry Department should encourage countries to increase support to their forestry sectors, enhance their activities, improve national capacity building, contribute more effectively to global intergovernmental fora and follow the progress of debate in such fora.
• Given the importance of the preparation of country papers for the FOWECA process and national forestry development, and the lack of appropriate expertise in several countries, the FAO Forestry Department should increase its technical support towards the preparation of such papers.
