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Forest Day 2 at UNFCCC COP 14:
Shaping the Global Agenda for Forests and Climate Change
Poznań, Poland | 6 December 2008
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L-R: Frances Seymour, CIFOR; Jan Heino, Cooperative Partnership on Forests (CPF); Maciej Nowicki, Minister of the Environment, Poland; Sunita Narain, Center for Science and Environment, India; Martin Parry, Center for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London; Pavan Sukhdev, Author of the EC report "The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity." At rear: The "Venator" Hunting Buglers Band.
The second Forest Day event was held at the University of Adam Mickiewicz, in Poznań, Poland, on Saturday, 6 December 2008. It took place in parallel with the fourteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 14) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the fourth Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP 4), held in Poland from 1-12 December 2008. It was convened in order to facilitate discussions on the potential to incorporate forests into climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies at both the global and national level.
Forest Day 2 was co-hosted by the Centre for International Forest Research (CIFOR), the Government of Poland and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF). Following on the positive response to the first Forest Day held on 8 December 2007 in Bali, Indonesia during UNFCCC COP 13, Forest Day 2 brought together nearly 900 participants from a diverse range of forest stakeholders, academics and decision makers from around the world, to discuss key issues that link forests with climate change. Cross-cutting themes that were considered included: adaptation of forests to climate change; addressing forest degradation through sustainable forest management; capacity building for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD); and options for integrating REDD into the global climate regime. In addition, participants took part in nearly 40 related side events.
A drafting committee representing members of the CPF produced a summary of key messages that emerged in the course of the day, to be forwarded to the UNFCCC Secretariat:
http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/publications/pdf_files/cop/cop14/Summary-Forest-Day-2.pdf
On Sunday, many participants participated in a field trip organized by the Polish State Forests National Forest Holding to observe a local sustainable forest management project.
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Opening Plenary
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Frances Seymour, Director General, CIFOR.
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Maciej Nowicki, Minister of the Environment, Poland.
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Jan Heino, Chair, Collaborative Partnership on Forests/FAO.
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Sunita Narain, Center for Science and Environment, India.
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Martin Parry, Center for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London.
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Pavan Sukhdev, Study Leader, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity.
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Sub Plenary: Cross Cutting Themes
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Sub-plenary 1, organized by IUFRO, CIFOR, ICRAF and PROFOR-World Bank, discussed the cross-cutting theme "adaptation of forests to climate change." Panelists included (L-R): Bruno Locatelli, CIFOR; Gerhard Dieterle, World Bank; Markku Kanninen, CIFOR; Balgis Osman-Elasha, IUFRO; and Dennis Garrity, World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF).
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Sub-plenary 2, organized by the ITTO, the IUCN Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration, FAO and CBD, heard presentations on issues surrounding forest degradation and cases of forest enhancement and restoration projects in several areas of the world. Panelists included (L-R): Eduardo Mansur, ITTO, translating for Carlos Duarte, Governor, State of Acre, Brazil; Steward Maginnis, IUCN; Jürgen Blaser, Intercooperation, Switzerland; Margaret Skutsch, "Kyoto: Think Global, Act Local" (K:TGAL) Programme; and Yasumasa Hirata, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Japan. |
Sub-plenary 3, organized by the World Bank and the UN-REDD Programme (FAO, UNEP and UNDP), discussed the theme "Getting Ready for REDD: Capacity Building for REDD Strategy Planning and Monitoring in Three Countries."
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In Sub-plenary 4, organized by CIFOR and ICRAF, discussion focused on the theme "Global REDD Architecture - Options for Integrating REDD into the Global Climate Regime." L-R: Arild Angelsen, Norwegian University of Life Sciences; James Griffiths, WBCSD; Virgilio Viana, Amazonas Sustainable Foundation; Ruben Lubowski, Environmental Defense Fund; Doug Boucher, Union of Concerned Scientists; Bob O'Sullivan, Climate Focus; and Michael Dutschke, Biocarbon Consult.
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Side Events
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Participants also attended a poster exhibition and nearly forty side events with themes including: REDD for rural development; indigenous and local community perspectives on forests and climate change; the business case for REDD mechanisms for biodiversity conservation and human well-being; REDD and peatland conservation and restoration; and improving global forest monitoring using accurate satellite imagery. For more information on the side events, see:
http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/Events/COP14-ForestDay/Side+Events.htm |
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Closing Plenary
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L-R: Frances Seymour, CIFOR; Yvo de Boer, UNFCCC; Don Koo Lee, IUFRO; Dennis Garrity, ICRAF; Warren Evans, World Bank; Jan McAlpine, UNFF. At rear: The State Forests Wind Orchestra.
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Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC.
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Dennis Garrity, ICRAF.
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Jan McAlpine, UNFF.
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Four Polish foresters watched the closing ceremony from the balcony.
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Reception
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A grand feast awaited participants.
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One chef lit pyrotechnics atop a roast.
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Participants enjoyed the reception.
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Around Forest Day
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The State Forests Wind Orchestra, from the Technical Forestry School in Tuchola, provided music before and after the closing Plenary.
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Jan Heino and Jan McAlpine chatted during the reception.
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A nighttime view of Collegium Minus, Adam Mickiewicz University.
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