Sustainable Developments |
International
Conference on Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management
(CICI)
3-7
February 2003, Guatemala City, Guatemala
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Working
Group I continued discussions on strengthening the elaboration and
application of C&I for SFM, concentrating on the following themes:
national-level work and applications; the relationship between
national and subnational-level C&I; linkages with certification;
linkages with monitoring, assessment and reporting; review and
refinement of indicators; and the importance of National Forest
Inventories.
An Indian participant noted that state governments are having difficulty with data collection and monitoring and with the investment required for C&I implementation. Left photo: Delegates from India during the afternoon plenary session
On linkages with certification, a participant from Ecuador commented on socioeconomic realities in his country. He said the majority of forest owners in Ecuador have limited capacities, and therefore are unable to meet the high standards necessary for certification.
A participant from Trinidad and Tobago said certification provides a financial incentive for countries to implement C&I.
Ghana stressed the need to mainstream C&I into NFIs and NFPs.
Working Group II continued its discussions with a focus on the following issues: the meaning of political commitment; ways to promote commitment at national, sub-national, regional and international levels; and ways to enhance cooperation between C&I processes and involve countries not yet participating in C&I initiatives.
On the nature of political commitment, a participant from the US stressed that meaningful political pressure should come from local communities, and highlighted that public interest and political commitment depend on many dynamic factors, and that C&I should reflect the dynamic changes.
A participant from Finland noted that existing political commitment could provide a basis for working toward an agreement on a common set of criteria and a common understanding of indicators.
ATO representative stressed the need for greater bilateral cooperation to support national processes.
A participant from Uruguay stressed the need for South-South technology transfer, and highlighted Uruguay's cooperation with Argentina, Cuba and Chile to this end.
A participant from Paraguay called for utilizing existing information and structures and cooperation between technical experts, highlighting a relevant FAO information project in the Caribbean and Latin America region.
An UNFF representative suggested that the recommendations and conclusions of CICI 2003 be presented to the UNFF, including through side events at UNFF-4.
Participants suggested a number of textual amendments. They also discussed whether conclusions and recommendations of the Conference should address broader issues of sustainability and SFM.
Listen to the Preliminary Reports of Working Group I and II presented by WG I Chair Christina Amoako-Nuama (Ghana), and WG II Chair Ingwald Gschwandtl (Austria) (left photo)
At the end of the day, participants heard presentations of
background papers
by
Ravi
Prabhu
on strengthening institutional capacity and
stakeholder partnerships for implementing C&I and facilitating
information exchange between all stakeholders, and by Ewald
Rametsteiner (left photo) on key issues for
the future development of international initiatives on forest-related
C&I for sustainable development. These two background papers will
serve as the basis for working group discussions on Wednesday, 5
Februrary.
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Related Links |
  International Tropical Timber Organization |Document Download  Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations 
United Nations Forum on Forests inab |