See more coverage of this event on the main IISD ENB website

We have launched a new website to better share our reports of global environmental negotiations.

As well as current coverage of new negotiations, you can find our original reports from this event by clicking here.

Linkages: a multimedia resource for environment and
development policy makers
FAO 19th Session of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Committee on Forestry
Rome | 16-20 March 2009
United Nations
 
Daily Web Coverage
Monday, 16 March
Tuesday, 17 March
Wednesday, 18 March
Thursday, 19 March
Friday, 20 March
Summary
HTM
HTM
PDF
PDF
Click for additional translations...

Delegates Find Work and Fun at COFO

Above: Native Canadian champion hoop dancer Quentin Pipestem performed to the delight of participants at the evening reception, hosted by FAO.

On Tuesday, delegates met for the second day of the 19th session of the FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO) at FAO headquarters in Rome. The morning plenary focused on linking forest management and the climate change agenda. Participants listened to several keynote speeches and were given the opportunity to present their views on the relationship between forests and climate change, and the role of FAO in this regard.

Gro Harlem Brundtland, UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Climate Change, outlined the importance of including forests in a post-Kyoto climate agreement, and said that reducing deforestation and forest degradation are cost-effective ways of addressing climate change. Emmanuel Ze Meka, Executive Director, International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), called for attention to the conditions, financial and technical support, capacity-building and good governance that are necessary to ensure the integration of forest management into national climate strategies. Frances Seymour, Director-General, Centre for International Forest Research (CIFOR), underscored the importance of forests to climate change initiatives and reviewed CIFOR's activities related to its involvement in the Collaborative Partnership on Forests.

At lunch, a special event on Growing Forest Partnerships (GFP) was put on by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), allowing participants to discuss GFP goals and strategy, and a recent pilot study in Ghana.

At the afternoon plenary session delegates addressed the issues of adapting forest institutions to change and the FAO's Results-based Programme Framework. Concurrently, World Forest Week special events were held on: the state of the world's forest genetic resources, focusing on the importance and unique challenges of collecting information on these resources; and Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) reporting on sustainable forest management (SFM) and climate change.


Tuesday, 17 March
COFO Plenary

Gro Harlem Brundtland, UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Climate Change.

Emmanuel Ze Meka, Executive Director, ITTO.

Frances Seymour, Director-General, CIFOR.

Su Ming, China.

Ambassador Ramli Naam, Malaysia.

Democratic Republic of the Congo.


Eva Müller, Chief, Forest Policy Service, FAO.

Astère Bararwandika, Burundi.

Boyd Haight, Office of Programme, Budget and Evaluation, FAO.

Rolf Manser, Switzerland.

Catherine Karr-Colque, US.

Moshibudi Rampedi, South Africa.
World Forest Week Special Events

Growing Forest Partnerships: Improving investments in locally controlled forests.

State of the world's forest genetic resources.

FRA reporting on SFM and climate change.
Reception Hosted by FAO

Food and drink awaited delegates.

Quentin Pipestem began his performance with a flute.

Participants gathered around the "COFO Chair."
Around COFO

FAO's Michael Martin and Emmanuel Ze Meka of ITTO shook hands after the morning plenary.

A participant visited the World Forestry Congress XIII booth.

Related Links

FAO Forestry web site
FAO Committee on Forestry
Schedule of Events
Conference Documents

Related IISD-RS Coverage

Linkages Forests, Desertification and Land
Linkages Introduction to Forests Processes
ENB Coverage of COFO 18
ENB Coverage of COFO 17
ENB Coverage of COFO 16

DigiMarc