Sustainable forest-based industries

The Advisory Committee On Sustainable Forest-based Industries endorses its Strategic Framework 2020-2030

©G. Bome/Vanuatu Department of ForestsRome 6 October 2020 – The Advisory Committee on Sustainable Forest-based Industries (ACSFI) has endorsed the ACSFI Strategic Framework 2020-2030 at the occasion of a web-based meeting, on 23 September 2020. The Strategic Framework will guide ACSFI’s work until 2030 by identifying and stimulating strategic actions by FAO, the private sector and other stakeholders that promote sustainable forest management and sustainable consumption and production patterns related to forest products.

The session was opened by Ms Carina Hakansson, Chair of the ACSFI. She welcomed all participants to the meeting and then introduced the Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Ms Beth Bechdol. The Deputy-Director General provided members with insights about FAO’s new vision for engagement with the private sector. It was recognized that FAO can strengthen its position as a facilitator and, together with the ACSFI, develop a community of partners that together will have the capacity to address a range of opportunities and challenges related to the global forest sector. It was agreed that the forest sector has an important role to play in efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Following Ms Bechdol’s intervention, Dr Ed Pepke, Senior Timber Trade and Policy Analyst, Dovetail Partners provided an overview on the findings and recommendations of the ACSFI Strategic Review. Dr Pepke was followed by the Secretary of the ACSFI, Mr Sven Walter who introduced the ACSFI Strategic Framework 2020-2030 providing particular focus on the Framework’s Purpose, Strategic Goal to 2030 and expected outputs 2020-2024.  Based on the recommendations of the Strategic Review, the Strategic Framework sets out the priorities for 2020-2030 with short, medium, and long-term actions identified.

The Strategic Goal of the ACSFI over the next decade is to advise FAO in its work towards the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by enhancing FAO’s impact through catalyzing innovative forest-related actions and partnerships between FAO, the private sector and other stakeholders. Short-term strategic priorities of the ACSFI include i) sharing lessons learned of forest industries’ responses to Covid-19 and their contribution to ”building back better better”; ii) positioning the forest sector in the sustainable circular bioeconomy and iii) engaging in the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration.

Following the endorsement of the ACSFI Strategic Framework 2020-2030, Lyndall Bull Forestry Officer at FAO and part of the ACSFI Secretariat provided the Committee with an update on relevant activities and initiatives including the Committee on Forestry (COFO), the World Forestry Congress 2021 and the upcoming 2021 ACSFI meeting. In particular she stressed the opportunities that the ACSFI has at the upcoming ACSFI: “The ACSFI has an opportunity to partner on sessions at the World Forestry Congress to bring its voice to topics of critical importance to the private forestry sector.” The ACSFI Secretariat is now finalizing and preparing the strategic documents for distribution.