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sdmast.jpg (21763 bytes) FINALE MEETING OF THE
Costa Rica-Canada Initiative

6 - 10 December 1999; Ottawa, Canada
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Briefing

The Final Meeting of the Costa Rica-Canada Initiative (CRCI) convened in Ottawa, Canada, from 6-10 December 1999. Sponsored by the Governments of Costa Rica and Canada, in partnership with 21 countries and international organizations, the Meeting was attended by approximately 110 participants from governments, intergovernmental bodies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), indigenous groups, the private sector and women's groups from more than 50 countries. The Initiative supports Category III of the programme of work of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF), which addresses international arrangements and mechanisms to promote the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests. Its provides a process for clarifying issues, identifying commonalities in understanding, facilitating exchanges of views and opening the dialogue to enhance the consideration and identification of elements necessary to build a global consensus on the issue of international arrangements and mechanisms, and, in particular, to identify possible elements of and work toward a consensus on the usefulness of having international arrangements and mechanisms, for example, a legally binding instrument (LBI) on all types of forests.

This meeting was the last of three stages comprising the Initiative. Its objectives were to: provide the basis for informed decision-making on Category III at the fourth and final session of the IFF (IFF-4), which will be held from 31 January-11 February 2000 in New York; gain a better understanding of the arguments for and against three options for future arrangements and mechanisms--existing legally binding instruments (ELBIs), legally binding instruments (LBIs) and legally non-binding instruments (LNBIs); and consider the possible outcomes of IFF-4 and the form(s) and mandate(s) of possible future arrangements. The outcome of the Initiative was a set of findings from the Meeting and “key messages” for IFF-4, which were compiled in a draft Report of the Meeting and discussed in Plenary on the closing day. The Report of the Meeting will be amended to incorporate these discussions and will be submitted to IFF-4, along with supporting documents from the entire Initiative.  

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Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Ralph Goodale and Yvan Hardy, after Minister Goodale's speech to the CRCI participants

Ajit Krishnaswamy (IISD) presenting his executive summary of the regional meetings

Deliberations in Working Group Three

Deliberations in Working Group Four

Working Group Two
Lynda Mujakachi, Rapporteur of Working Group One, summarizing the Group's discussion in Plenary

Yoji Natori and Kenji Fujita (Japan), in Plenary

Christian Mersmann (Germany) reports on the Croydon workshop in Plenary as IFF Co-Chair Bagher Asadi looks on
(Left to right) Jorge Rodriguez (UNDP), Nigel Bankes (Canada), Jag Maini (IFF Co-Chair) and Luis Rojas (CRCI Co-Chair), at the opening Plenary
Plenary hall
Malick Diallo (Senegal), Jusoh Saleh (Malaysia), David Gwaze (Zimbabwe) and Philip Kariwo (Zimbabwe), in Plenary hall
Cristina Resico (Argentina) speaks in Plenary as Ricardo Ulate (CRCI Secretariat) listens
Ulrich Hoenisch (Germany, left) and Lynda Mujakachi (Africa Resources Trust, right) take notes in Plenary
Evgeny Kuzmichev (IFF Vice-Chair) and Alexey Kornienko (Russia) attend the final Plenary

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