Highlights and images for 8 May 2019

Summary

Highlights for Wednesday, 8 May 2019

Photos from "The World in Faces" photo project capturing portraits of various indigenous and forest peoples

On Wednesday, delegates at UNFF14 resumed discussions on the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) Reform Pertaining to UNFF. Delegates asked for clarification on:

the options proposed for restructuring the UNFF Secretariat;

implications that these options would have on the operations of the Forum, budget and human resources;

how the reforms would affect UNFF’s capacity to fulfill its mandates; and

when the position of the UNFF Director would be filled.

Juwang Zhu, Officer-in-Charge, UNFF Secretariat, assured delegates that the operation and functions of UNFF would not be affected by UN DESA reforms, and that the UNFF’s Secretariat’s capacity to deliver on the Forum’s mandates would be strengthened. He also assured the Forum that the Director’s position is still under consideration.The Forum then addressed Means of Implementation, noting progress on the activities of the Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network (G3FN). They also heard from the Co-Chairs of the Expert Group Meeting on the Clearing House of the G3FN held in January 2019, where the core elements of the Clearing House Mechanism were decided.Governments discussed at length the procedure for setting up of a satellite G3FN office in Beijing, China, urging for information on operational and budgetary arrangements. They requested consultation with Member States on this issue.Throughout the day, the Forum also engaged in interactive discussions in the following panels:

Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting (MAR), which discussed the challenges associated with data collection on socioeconomic and financing indicators for the global core set of indicators, as well as related challenges in national and regional reporting on Global Forest Goals (GFGs); and

Means of Implementation for Sustainable Forest Management (SFM), which addressed G3FN priority 4, “serve to contribute to the achievement of the GFGs and targets as well as priorities contained the Quadrennial Programme of Work (4POW) for 2017-2020”.

The third day of the Forum, begun with discussions on UN DESA reforms, and ended on Means of Implementation. Both issues ignited spirited discussions on the impacts these reforms would have on the UNFF Secretariat and on the G3FN office in China. Grievances were aired by the Forum Members with regards to the lack of information and transparency in both issues, with one major donor to G3FN announcing that they would freeze their contributions until this information deficit is resolved.

IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) meeting coverage, has provided daily web coverage and a summary and analysis report from UNFF14, which is available in HTML and PDF.

Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon

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L-R: Hossein Moeini Meybodi, UNFF Secretariat; Juwang Zhu, Officer-in-Charge, UNFF Secretariat; Boris Greguška, Slovakia, UNFF14 Chair; and Jori Jorgensen, UNFF Secretariat

Boris Greguška, Slovakia, UNFF14 Chair

Juwang Zhu, Officer-in-Charge, UNFF Secretariat

Helge Elisabeth Zeitler, EU

Maureen Whelan, Canada

Juwang Zhu, Officer-in-Charge, UNFF Secretariat, addressing the UNFF14 plenary

Catherine Karr-Colque, US

Mathias Schwoerer, Germany

Yoshiko Motoyama, Japan

Emma Hatcher, Australia

Mamadou Fall, Senegal, speaking for the African Group

Ian Naumkin, Russian Federation

Steffen Dehn, International Forestry Students' Association (IFSA), speaking for Major Groups

Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria

Panel on Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting

Khalid Cherki, Morocco, Rapporteur and Vice-Chair UNFF14

Roman Michalak, UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)-Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), Forestry and Timber Section, Moderator

L-R: Davia Carty, Jamaica; Peter Csoka, FAO; and Afsa Kemitale-Rothschild, UNFF Secretariat

Afsa Kemitale-Rothschild, UNFF Secretariat

Davia Carty, Jamaica

Kofi Affum-Baffoe, Ghana

Patrick Kariuki, Kenya

L-R: Roman Michalak, UNECE-FAO, Forestry and Timber Section, Moderator; Patrick Kariuki, Kenya; and Kofi Affum-Baffoe, Ghana

Liubov Poliakova, Ukraine

Tom Okello, Uganda

Means of Implementation

L-R: Khalid Cherki, Morocco, UNFF14 Rapporteur; John Leigh, National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR), Peru; Thomas Baldauf, Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Germany; Peter Gondo, UNFF Secretariat; Javad Momeni, Iran, Vice-Chair UNFF14; and Lesley Brough, UNFF Secretariat

Peter Gondo, UNFF Secretariat

Hossein Moeini Meybodi, UNFF Secretariat

Thomas Baldauf, Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Germany

John Leigh, National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR), Peru

Panel on Means of Implementation for SFM

Marilyn Headley, Jamaica

Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland

Lourdes Ferrer, the Philippines

Avhashoni Renny Madula, South Africa

During the panel, Moderator Sibylle Vermont asked everyone to stand up and imitate trees.

Delegate from Indonesia imitating a tree

Jan McAlpine, former UNFF Director, and Hosny El-Lakany, former Chair of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF)

L-R: Panelists from the side event on "The role of forests ecosystem restoration and biodiversity to achieve the global forest goals" with Eunho Choi, National Institute of Forest Science, Republic of Korea; Kyungmi Oh, Korea Forest Service; Myungkil Kim, National Institute of Forest Science, Republic of Korea; Lisa Janishevski, Convention on Biological Diversity; Lydie Norohanta Raharimaniraka, Ministry of Environment, Madagascar; and Ibro Adamou, Ministry of Environment, Niger

Participants

Negotiating blocs: African Group; European Union