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THINGS TO LOOK FOR DURING THE INTERSESSIONAL PERIOD

SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS/EXPERT GROUP MEETINGS: A number of governments and organizations have announced plans to host various seminars, workshops and expert group meetings related to the work of the Panel. The following is a preliminary list of such meetings

  • Implementing the Forest Principles: Promotion of National Forest and Land Use Programmes. Germany will sponsor this seminar, with a tentative date of June 1996. For more information, contact the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development; Tel: +49-228 535 3752; Fax: +49-228 535 3755.
  • Intergovernmental Seminar of Experts on Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management. Finland will sponsor this seminar to be held 19-23 August 1996 in Helsinki. For more information, contact the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland; Tel: +358-0-1602405; Fax: +358-0-1602400.
  • Conference on Certification and Labeling of Sustainably Produced Forest Products. Australia will sponsor this conference, which is tentatively scheduled for the first half of 1996. For more information, contact the Australian Mission to the UN, Tel: +1-212-836-4100; Fax: +1-212-836-4110.
  • Study on the Work of International Organizations and Multilateral Institutions in the Forest Sector. Switzerland and Peru will co-sponsor the work of this group, tentatively scheduled to meet between November 1995 and September 1996. For more information, contact either the Swiss Observer Mission to the UN, Tel: +1-212-421-1480; Fax: +1-212-751-2104; or the Mission of Peru to the UN, Tel: +1-212-687-3336; Fax: +1-212-972-6975.
  • Certification of Forest Products and Trade. Germany will sponsor this meeting, which may take place in August 1996.
  • Intersessional Meeting on Forest Valuation. France will sponsor this meeting. The date and venue are yet to be determined.
  • Long Term Supply and Demand of Forest Products. Norway will sponsor this initiative, although the details are yet to be determined.
  • Seminar on Demonstration of Sustainable Forest Management with the Use of Criteria and Indicators. Japan is considering sponsoring this seminar, although the dates and venue have not been determined.
  • Expert meeting on afforestation, reforestation and restoration of degraded forest systems. Portugal proposed co-sponsoring this meeting with a North African country. The dates and venue are yet to be determined.
  • Workshop/study on financial mechanisms. Denmark announced it will co-sponsor this workshop with UNDP and a country from the South, in cooperation with the World Bank. The workshop may be held in the summer of 1996.
SEVENTH MEETING OF THE MONTREAL PROCESS GROUP: The Montreal Process Group on the conservation and sustainable management of temperate and boreal forests will hold its seventh meeting in Auckland, New Zealand, from 30 October - 4 November 1995.

WORLD COMMISSION ON FORESTS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: The WCFSD was established by the InterAction Council of former Heads of State and Governments in 1994 and held its first meeting in June 1995. The Commissioners agreed to give high priority to identifying target areas for policy and institutional reform that are of crucial importance to sustainable management and conservation of global forests. As a starting point, the Commission established three Working Panels to cover the topics of: sustainable, equitable use and management of forests; trade and the environment; and financial mechanisms, international agreements and the role of international institutions. The Commission is in the process of establishing an independent Science Council and a Policy Advisory Group and plans to hold regional public hearings. For more information, contact Dr. Kilaparti Ramakrishna, Woods Hole Research Center; Tel: +1-508-540-9900; Fax: +1-508-540-9700; E-mail: krwhrc@mcimail.com.

FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL: The FSC was founded in 1993 by representatives of environmental organizations, the timber trade, the forestry profession, indigenous peoples' organizations, community forestry groups and forest product certification organizations from 25 countries. The FSC, which is headquartered in Oaxaca, Mexico, has begun to tackle its primary responsibility of accrediting certifiers of forest products. Its main task in the coming years is to ensure that accredited certifiers operate to the highest possible standards of integrity and technical competence, and that certification is based on forest management standards that are in accordance with the FSC's principles and criteria, as well as with locally developed forest management standards. For more information, contact, Timothy Synnott, Executive Director, Forest Stewardship Council, Tel: +52-951-46905; Fax: +52-951-62110; E-mail: FSC@laneta.apc.org.

CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY: The second meeting of the Conference of the Parties for the Convention on Biological Diversity will take place in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 6-17 November 1995.

INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER ORGANIZATION: The International Tropical Timber Council will hold its next meeting in Yokohama, Japan, from 8-16 November 1995.

FAO CONFERENCE: The 28th session of the FAO Conference will take place in Rome from 13-30 November 1995.

SECOND SESSION OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON FORESTS: The second session of the IPF is tentatively scheduled for up to two weeks between 11-22 March 1996, in Geneva. For information, contact the CSD Secretariat.

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