SUMMARY

    At its second session in 1974, the Committee requested that the agenda of Regional Forestry Commission sessions include as a standing item "Matters to be referred to the attention of the Committee on Forestry (COFO)", and that the corresponding section of the report of each session be submitted to the subsequent session of the Committee. This note summarizes the main points of interest to COFO made by the Regional Forestry Commissions (RFCs), as well as other FAO statutory bodies in forestry, at meetings held since the previous session of COFO in 1999.

    Forestry Statutory Bodies are convened by FAO to provide regular fora for exchanging views and identifying priorities as well as for taking joint action in specific areas of forestry development and management. This background paper summarizes the recommendations made to COFO in their sessions during the past biennium and describes proposals for strengthening the role of the RFCs as technical and policy fora.

    The FAO Forestry Statutory Bodies in forestry include:

• the Regional Forestry Commissions for Africa, Asia-Pacific, North America, the Near East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe;
• the Advisory Committee on Paper and Wood Products (ACPWP);
• the Panel of Experts on Forest Gene Resources;
• the International Poplar Commission (IPC).

MATTERS FROM REGIONAL FORESTRY COMMISSIONS FOR THE ATTENTION OF THE COMMITTEE

1. Some matters raised by two or more of the RFCs included:

• the need to move to implementation of national forest programmes;
• the need for capacity building and institutional development;
• the potential importance to forestry sector development of certain of the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol and the need for information in order to understand its significance.

2. The following sections summarize matters to the attention of COFO.

AFRICAN FORESTRY AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION (AFWC)

(12th session, Lusaka, Zambia, 27 to 30 March 2000)

• The Working Party on Wildlife Management and National Parks should be renamed the "Working Party on the Management of Wildlife and Protected Areas", and its Terms of Reference modified, in order to better reflect the current needs and priorities in this field;
• FAO should assist member countries in Africa to identify and implement innovative mechanisms for mobilizing domestic financial resources at different levels in order to secure implementation of their nfps and sustainably manage their forests;
• In addition to pursuing its assistance to African countries to develop their forest information systems, FAO was called upon to increase its role in training, awareness raising and information as regard issues related to criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management and certification of forest products in Africa;
• The Commission recommended that FAO assist African countries to improve their understanding of the technical forestry aspects and opportunities for financing sustainable forest management associated with the Kyoto Protocol.

ASIA-PACIFIC FORESTRY COMMISSION (APFC)

(18th session, Noosaville, Queensland, Australia, 15 to 19 May 2000)

• A request was made to FAO to increase support for the implementation of national forest programmes and the transfer of technology;
• Informed COFO of the importance of securing firm political and administrative support for implementation of the Code of Practice for Forest Harvesting in Asia-Pacific, and the Commission's recommendation that efforts be made to link implementation to existing initiatives for which political commitment already exists;
• Informed COFO of the "Study of the Efficacy of Removing Natural Forests from Timber Production as a Strategy for Conserving Forests" and its request to FAO to widely disseminate the results of the study;
• Requested COFO to consider the difficulty that many countries with limited financial resources have in participating fully in global fora such as the proposed United Nations Forum on Forests. It therefore wished to suggest to COFO that FAO's regional forestry commissions and COFO could play important roles in supporting practical implementation of IPF/IFF proposals and facilitating dialogue and cooperation;
• Drew the attention of COFO to the need for increased efforts to address concerns related to the many issues related to forest certification and the forestry aspects of the Kyoto Protocol which remain to be resolved and the need to facilitate information sharing and dialogue on them;
• Concluded that convening in-session seminars, or seminars prior to the Commission's main session, was an effective mechanism to enhance participation and improve the exchange of views and information. It suggested that COFO take note of this strategy and recommend it for possible adoption by other Regional Forestry Commissions. The Commission also urged COFO to consider ways of enhancing the participation of the private sector and non-governmental organizations in Regional Forestry Commission sessions and activities.

NORTH AMERICAN FOREST COMMISSION (NAFC)

(20th session, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada, 12 to 16 June 2000)

• The FAO Forestry Department be given the resources it needs to fully participate in the implementation of any future program of work of the proposed United Nations Forum on Forests;
• FAO expand its urban forestry program;
• FAO pay greater attention to management at the watershed level, focusing on the restoration of degraded watersheds and the maintenance and protection of existing watersheds;
• FAO address issues related to watershed management in an integrated fashion across all sectors of the Organization;
• FAO establish a program of work to address issues related to recreation, eco-tourism and the use of forests as outdoor classrooms for public education.

NEAR EAST FORESTRY COMMISSION (NEFC)

(Teheran, Islamic Republic of Iran, 1 to 4 July 2000)

• The FAO Forestry Department should further support capacity-building for data collection, storage, analysis, dissemination and use;
• Noted the relevance to countries with low forest cover in other regions of the Teheran Process and the Teheran Declaration, as well as the intention of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to establish a secretariat to promote the Teheran Process;
• Stressed the importance of non-wood forest products to the countries of the Region, and the initiatives to sustainably manage, develop and promote NWFP which may be of relevance to other regions;
• Noted the steps taken to further develop and implement criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management through the Near East Process;
• Noted the steps taken to develop national forest programmes and revise forest policies, and the need for FAO to continue this endeavour;
• Noted the potention importance to forestry sector development of certain of the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol.

LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN FORESTRY COMMISSION (LACFC)

(Santa F� de Bogot�, Colombia, from 4 to 8 September 2000)

• Emphasised the importance of improving the quality and accessibility of forest information as the foundation for the planning, development and formulation of forestry policy and the importance of the FAO proposal to conduct the project of information and analysis for sustainable forest management and the Outlook Study for Latin America and the Caribbean;
• Noted the growing importance of national forest programmes as a comprehensive framework for the formulation, planning and application of the forestry process in the Region, especially for implementation of the proposals of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests and also noted FAO's cooperative work in support of national forest programmes in the Region;
• Drew attention to the importance of the forestry sector in the mountain areas of the region, and the opportunity provided by the International Year of Mountains 2002 to raise awareness of these ecosystems. Also the need to integrate forest management into the general management of natural resources at catchment basin level;
• Given the important role that forests can play in implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Commission requested that FAO help strengthen national technical capacities by providing information and training on the Convention and its instruments;
• Stressed the importance of the Subregional Groups established under the Commission as mechanisms to facilitate the integration and exchange of information and experiences among countries in support of their national forest policies and programmes;
• Recommended that the Committee on Forestry seek appropriate strategies to foster the development of the forestry institutions of the countries of the Region;
• In view of the considerable uncertainties in the way countries are addressing the management of native forests, the different positions adopted, the need to involve local communities and the need to generate local benefits and achieve sustainable development, requested that FAO promote recognition of integrated natural resource management by communities as a valid strategy for the conservation of forests;
• The Commission considered that it was vital to reinforce the action of FAO's Committee on Forestry to promote the forestry production chains in the projects it executed, as well as other actions implemented through the programme of support to the national forest programmes.

EUROPEAN FORESTRY COMMISSION (EFC)

(30th session, held jointly with the 58th session of the ECE Timber Committee, Rome, 9 to 13 October 2000)

• Noted the importance of balancing the environmental, social and economic elements of sustainable forest management and stressed that economic viability is a key component of long-term management;
• Emphasised that reliable, current data and information were essential for sustainable forest management, for the development of forest policy, for planning and for the monitoring of progress in regional processes and stressed that transparency and participation in data collection and in the synthesis and dissemination of information would continue to be essential;
• Noted that many member countries had developed national forest programmes and recognized the importance of cross-sectoral issues to the nfp process. The joint session recognized the benefits of inter-agency co-ordination/collaboration in approaching cross-sectoral issues and the potential of the ITFF and its successor to promote this;
• Urged that FAO play a leadership role in the proposed Collaborative Partnership on Forests and to contribute to the work of the UNFF, building on experience learnt from its contributions to the IPF and IFF;
• Supported the continuation and revitalization of AFWC/EFC/NEFC Committee on Mediterranean Forestry Questions Silva Mediterranea, drew attention to the Committee as an example of inter-regional collaboration in matters that go beyond their own regional interests, with particular reference to the shared problem of forest fires that could be of interest to other regions as well.

MATTERS FROM OTHER STATUTORY BODIES FOR THE ATTENTION OF THE COMMITTEE

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON PAPER AND WOOD PRODUCTS

3. The Advisory Committee on Paper and Wood Products (ACPWP) held its 40^th session in S�o Paulo, Brazil, from 27 to 28 April 1999. The Committee:

• commended the work done on the finalisation of the Global Fibre Supply Model and recommended the planning of follow-up activities;
• recommended that FAO gave higher priority to work related to Global Climate Change, especially on the issue of carbon sinks and definitions;
• recommended stronger involvement in the promotion of sustainable forest management, especially with regard to the development of certification;
• recommended the continuation of work on recovered paper and the establishment of a Working Group on this topic.

4. The Committee held its 41^st session in Rotorua, New Zealand, from 2 to 3 May 2000. The session concluded that:

• follow-up activities of the work done on global climate change should be planned;
• FAO should play a very active part in the World Bank Forestry Sector Review;
• more frequent contacts and exchange of information (particularly in the field of certification) take place between FAO and the private forest industry sector;
• there was need to evaluate the feasibility of undertaking an outlook study on recovered paper.

PANEL OF EXPERTS ON FOREST GENE RESOURCES

5. The Panel held its eleventh session at FAO Headquarters, Rome, from 29 September to 1 October 1999. It recognized FAO's international leadership and its role in advising and collaborating with national institutes in the conservation in and ex situ, enhancement and sustainable utilisation of forest genetic resources.

6. The Panel passed a number of recommendations, among others:

• Raising of awareness of the social, economic and environmental benefits of conservation and wise utilisation of forest genetic resources through well-targeted information;
• Provision of up-to-date information on the state of the world's forest genetic resources, notably through continued development of the FAO World-Wide Information System on Forest Genetic Resources (REFORGEN);
• Facilitation of the exchange of information, technologies and forest reproductive materials for evaluation and conservation purposes, on mutually agreed terms; dissemination of information on access, benefit-sharing and biosafety; support to networking and twinning arrangements;
• Support to national institutes in the development and implementation of forest genetic resources programmes within the framework of regional and sub-regional strategies;
• Further development of methodologies, guidelines and pilot activities on the in situ conservation of forest genetic resources;
• Continued collaboration with IUFRO and other international and national partners on harmonization of forest genetic resources-related concepts and terms.

INTERNATIONAL POPLAR COMMISSION

7. The International Poplar Commission held its 21^st session, the session of its Executive Committee and meetings of its subsidiary bodies in Portland, Oregon, USA, from 24 to 28 September 2000. The 21^st session noted the increasing interest in the broad range of goods and environmental services provided by poplars and willows (including their growing use for bio-energy and for phyto-remediation of polluted sites) and made the following recommendations:

• there was a continued need for the conservation of the genetic resources of natural populations of poplars and willows;
• increased attention should be paid to the safe movement of reproductive material and issues of plant quarantine;
• the potential of fast-growing plantations of poplars and willows to contribute to environmental benefits - including meeting the aims of the UNFCCC, the CBD and the CCD - should be recognized in national policies;
• research priorities for poplars included detailed studies at regional and global level of pathogen populations and their range and on the potential application of biotechnology to enhance wood quality.

DEVELOPING THE ROLE OF THE REGIONAL FORESTRY COMMISSIONS

8. RFCs serve as regional fora for the exchange of technical and policy information and the promotion of FAO action and assistance for forestry development. Feedback from the sessions of the RFCs (see below) and from individual members shows that RFCs have substantial potential and capacity to:

• identify emerging and major regional forestry issues;
• bring these matters to global attention where appropriate;
• provide countries with greater access to know-how and information, e.g. through networking within and between regions;
• enhance the co-ordination of technical activities; and
• promote regional integration.

9. Since 1995, FAO has taken action to strengthen the RFCs, to enhance their inputs to COFO and their involvement in the development of the COFO agenda. Bureaux of all RFCs were invited to contribute to the identification of items for the COFO agenda, the theme for the next World Forestry Congress and to providing inputs for the Task Manager Report to CSD-10 on Agenda 21, Chapter 11. FAO technical support officers at Headquarters have been allocated to support study groups, e.g. NAFC. Wider publicity has been given to the background papers for the Regional Forestry Commissions that have been put on the FAO Forestry Department website since the RFC meetings of 2000.

10. FAO is ready to further develop RFCs, recognizing that environmental, social, cultural and economic differences between and within regions call for flexibility in defining their roles and responsibilities. In reviewing the future role of the RFCs, COFO member countries may wish to consider the following:

• In order to promote greater interaction between senior forestry officials, informal meetings could be held annually, between the formal biennial meetings. Technical sessions could be organized outside plenary RFC sessions, to encourage the exchange of information, e.g. comparable to the pre-session seminar of the APFC on the removal of forests from timber production;
• Since there are big differences in forest cover, forest policy objectives, stage of economic development or even geographic distance between countries in regions, the sub-regional groups might be further developed, e.g. the four sub-regional groups of the LACFC. Such sub-regional groups should, and frequently do, interact and collaborate with existing sub-regional bodies, e.g. the periodic meetings of ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) forestry officials, the annual South Pacific Heads of Forestry meeting or the African Timber Organization, the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), etc;
• The working (or study) groups of the Regional Forestry Commissions could play a bigger role in policy and technical matters, for example in:
• the development of regional or sub-regional operational guidelines for nfps, e.g. along the lines of the existing partnership between the AFWC and the African Academy of Sciences;
• the further development and especially implementation of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management;
• support to the Global Forest Resources Assessment;
• provision of regional inputs to SOFO.
• The activities of the working groups of the Regional Forestry Commissions could be developed (where they exist), or initiated (where there is need for them), e.g. by strengthening the links between the appropriate technical officer and the working group, as has been done in the case of the study groups of the NAFC. The NAFC made recommendations that related to the active role they wished FAO to play in study groups;
• Joint meetings of RFCs, of sub-regional groups or working groups, could be held with other relevant bodies;
• Increased publicity for the work and outputs of the RFCs and their working (or study) groups.