Summary report, 27 February 1995

When the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) came to a close in June 1992, most participants agreed that the Agenda 21 chapter on forests and the Statement of Forest Principles had little to show for the amount of time and energy devoted to forests during the UNCED preparatory process. However, despite the lack of progress on forests during UNCED, there has been an increase in momentum and political will to address international forest policy over the past year. Some meetings have focused on a specific type of forests, such as temperate and boreal forests. Other meetings have developed criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management and use. The FAO, national governments and non-governmental organizations have all hosted meetings. Many of these meetings will present reports to the April 1995 session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), which, as part of its multi-year thematic programme of work, will review implementation of Chapter 11 of Agenda 21 and the Statement of Forest Principles.

This special three-part series of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin will provide a concise source of information on recent meetings on international forest policy. This first issue will summarize the current state of play on international forest issues on the eve of the CSD's ad hoc open-ended working group on sectoral issues. The second issue will summarize the FAO's Committee on Forestry meeting in March 1995. The third issue will summarize the CSD's treatment of forests during its April 1995 meeting. Funding for this special series has been provided by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the United Nations Development Programme.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL WORKING GROUP ON FORESTS (MALAYSIAN/CANADIAN INITIATIVE)

The first meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group on Global Forests (the word "global" was subsequently dropped from the title), jointly organized and sponsored by the Governments of Canada and Malaysia, was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 18-21 April 1994. Approximately 100 representatives from 15 governments, as well as several IGOs and NGOs, attended the meeting. The objective of this session was to begin a series of meetings of experts and officials from key forest countries to facilitate dialogue and consolidation of approaches to the management, conservation and sustainable development of the world's forests. The participants discussed five issue papers: (a) forest conservation, enhancing forest cover and the role of forests in meeting basic human needs; (b) criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management; (c) trade and environment; (d) approaches to mobilizing financial resources and technology transfer; and (e) institutional linkages. At this meeting, particularly in response to concerns from the non-governmental sector, two additional issues were identified as needing further consideration: (f) participation and transparency in forest management; and (g) comprehensive cross-sectoral integration, including land use planning and management and the influence of policies external to the traditional forest sector.

The second meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group on Forests (IWGF) was convened in Hull, Canada, from 10-14 October 1994. Interest in this process had grown between the two sessions and participation in the second meeting was expanded to cover technical and policy experts from 32 countries including Brazil, the US, Indonesia, Finland, Sweden, the Russian Federation, Japan, Gabon, five intergovernmental organizations and 11 NGOs. During the five days of meetings the participants met in two working groups to discuss the seven issue papers. The Rapporteur responsible for each of the discussion papers produced a synthesis document that included the key points raised in debate and a set of approaches, options and opportunities for each of the topics. While the syntheses documents do not represent a consensus, the final report of the meeting notes that they take into account the wide range of views expressed on many of the complex forest issues.

The final report from this session will be presented to the CSD. Some of the options in the final document include: the CSD should consider appropriate arrangements and means to foster greater dialogue and coordination; the FAO should convene meetings of forest ministers on a regular basis; nations should build on the Model Forest Sites initiative; the CSD could encourage an appropriate body to undertake a series of studies; the CSD could expand the guidelines for country reports on forests to include approaches to participation in forest management; and countries should continue the work done in various processes to develop criteria and indicators for the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests.

THE HELSINKI PROCESS — CRITERIA AND INDICATORS FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF EUROPEAN FORESTS

The Helsinki Process, which began in 1990, developed the general guidelines for the sustainable management of forests in Europe. The Process has sought to identify measurable criteria and indicators for the evaluation of how European countries have progressed in their efforts to follow the principles of sustainable forest management and conservation of the biological diversity of European forests. There have been four meetings in this process, two at the ministerial level and two at the expert level.

FIRST MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ON THE PROTECTION OF FORESTS IN EUROPE: Ministers from 31 European countries, the European Community and four international organizations met in Strasbourg, France, in December 1990, under the chairmanship of France and Finland, to consider measures toward cooperation on protection and sustainable use of forests. They passed six resolutions and a General Declaration. Resolution S1 established a European Network of Permanent Sample Plots for Monitoring of Forest Ecosystems; S2 addressed conservation of forest genetic resources; S3 organized a decentralized European data bank on forest fires; S4 adapted the management of mountain forests to new environmental conditions; S5 expanded the Eurosilva Network of Research on Tree Physiology; and S6 established a European network for research into forest ecosystems. Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the EC, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Russian Federation, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and Yugoslavia have signed all the Strasbourg resolutions.

SECOND MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ON THE PROTECTION OF FORESTS IN EUROPE: The second Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe met in Helsinki, Finland, from 16-17 June 1993. The Conference produced a General Declaration and four resolutions: H1) general guidelines for the sustainable management of forests in Europe; H2) general guidelines for the conservation of the biodiversity of European forests; H3) forestry cooperation with countries with economies in transition; and H4) strategies for a process of long-term adaptation of forests in Europe to climate change. Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, the EC, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the UK signed all four Helsinki resolutions. France and Sweden did not sign H4. The second Ministerial Conference also reviewed progress and implementation of the Strasbourg resolutions. Participants adopted a French proposal assigning each of the resolutions to an international agency or agencies.

FIRST EXPERT LEVEL FOLLOW-UP MEETING OF THE HELSINKI CONFERENCE: A core set of criteria and indicators was adopted at the first expert level follow-up meeting to the Helsinki Process, which was held in Geneva on 23-24 June 1994. The criteria and indicators are the tools for gathering and assessing information on how the signatory States have succeeded in implementing the general guidelines for sustainable forest management, as described in the Helsinki Resolutions. The six European criteria are: (1) maintenance and appropriate enhancement of forest resources and their contribution to global carbon cycles; (2) maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality; (3) maintenance and encouragement of the productive functions of forests (wood and non-wood); (4) maintenance, conservation and appropriate enhancement of biological diversity in forest ecosystems; (5) maintenance and appropriate enhancement of protective functions in forest management (notably soil and water); and (6) maintenance of other socio-economic functions and conditions. The indicators associated with each of the criteria were designed to be scientifically applicable and technically and financially feasible measures to observe the fulfillment of the criteria. A General Coordinating Committee, consisting of Finland, Portugal, Austria and Poland, designed the criteria assisted by the Scientific Advisory Group, an informal advisory unit of scientists from these countries, and input from other experts.

SECOND EXPERT LEVEL FOLLOW-UP MEETING OF THE HELSINKI CONFERENCE: The second expert level follow-up meeting of the Helsinki Process was held in Antalya, Turkey, from 23-24 January 1995. Twenty-nine European country signatories, 10 non-European governments and nine intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations attended the meeting. Participants produced the Antalya Statement as their contribution to the FAO Committee on Forestry (FAO/COFO), reviewed European experiences in using the six criteria and associated indicators adopted in June 1994, and agreed to convene the Third Ministerial Conference, co-chaired by Portugal and Austria, in 1998.

The Antalya Statement recognized that the FAO/COFO and CSD meetings will provide an opportunity to examine proposals and seek consensus on new instruments and arrangements for forest policy. Participants in Antalya, however, decided against including specific suggestions on future European activities under the Helsinki Process, specific recommendations to the CSD for next steps at the global level, or an endorsement of a binding instrument on forests. On criteria and indicators, participants emphasized the previously adopted quantitative indicators, but began to consider more qualitative, descriptive indicators. The Antalya Statement accepted some descriptive indicators for possible use along with the quantitative indicators, but some participants argued that the qualitative indicators did not merit the same consideration as quantitative ones. The experts also reviewed reports of the various indicators associated with each criterion from national questionnaires. They agreed that data collection methods must be clarified before publishing results, and that it was premature or undesirable to identify individual countries in statistical charts.

Additional information and reports from the Helsinki Process, including proceedings of the ministerial conferences, reports of the expert meetings and a review of implementation of the Strasbourg resolutions, is available from the Liaison Office of the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe, P.O. Box 232, FIN-00171 Helsinki, Finland; tel. +358-0-160-2405; fax +358-0-160-2430.

THE MONTREAL PROCESS — WORKING GROUP ON CRITERIA AND INDICATORS FOR THE CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF BOREAL AND TEMPERATE FORESTS

The Montreal Process began as an initiative of the Government of Canada, which hosted a meeting in Montreal (under the aegis of the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe) in September 1993. The goal of the Montreal meeting was to develop a scientifically rigorous set of criteria and indicators (C&I) that could be used to measure forest management. In order to ensure effective follow-up, Canada hosted a small meeting at its embassy in Washington, DC, in December 1993. At the time, both Canada and the US were interested in bringing the European (Helsinki) and the post-Montreal C&I processes together, but were surprised when representatives from the Governments of France, Germany and the UK expressed their preference to remain primarily within the Helsinki Process. From that point forward the Montreal and Helsinki Processes developed in parallel, but with observers invited from governments in each group to attend each other's meetings. After several months of informal meetings (Kuala Lumpur in May 1994, Geneva in June 1994, and New Delhi in July 1994), the process was formalized and renamed the Working Group on Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests. Work to further develop the draft Montreal C&I continued during these meetings, which involved a core group of government representatives from Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, the Russian Federation and the United States.

The first open meeting in the process took place in September 1994, when the US hosted a meeting in Olympia, Washington. The meeting was attended by more than 70 representatives from the core countries and observers from European and tropical countries, intergovernmental organizations, industry and NGOs, who continued work on the C&I. The small core group met once again at a one-day meeting in Ottawa in October 1994, and the larger group reconvened at a meeting in Tokyo on 17-18 November, 1994, to develop a nearly final draft of the C&I.

FINAL MEETING OF THE WORKING GROUP ON CRITERIA AND INDICATORS FOR THE CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF TEMPERATE AND BOREAL FORESTS: The final meeting of the Working Group took place in Santiago, Chile, from 2-3 February 1995. Participants produced two documents: the Santiago Statement and the final version of the seven criteria and associated quantitative and qualitative indicators. A set of rationales for five of the indicators are still being developed and will be added to the final set of documents. The Statement, formally titled "Statement on Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests" endorses the Working Group's legally non-binding criteria and indicators, recommends that other countries also adopt the criteria and indicators, notes that changes in scientific understanding will require review and revision of the criteria and indicators, and submits the endorsement to the FAO/COFO and CSD meetings.

The introduction emphasizes that the criteria address national level policy and sustainability, but are not intended to directly assess sustainability at the forest management unit level, and will be applied and evaluated according to various countries' needs and conditions. Six of the criteria deal with forest conditions, attributes or functions, and the values or benefits associated with the environmental and socio-economic goods and services that forests provide: (1) conservation of biological diversity; (2) maintenance of productive capacity of forest ecosystems; (3) maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality; (4) conservation and maintenance of soil and water resources; (5) maintenance of forest contribution to global carbon cycles; and (6) maintenance and enhancement of long-term multiple socio-economic benefits to meet the needs of societies. The seventh criterion — legal, institutional and economic framework for forest conservation and sustainable management — addresses the broader societal conditions and processes often external to the forest itself but that support their sustainable management.

NEW DELHI WORKSHOP ON REPORTING GUIDELINES

The UK and India jointly hosted a workshop in New Delhi, from 25-27 July 1994, to develop guidelines for reporting on forest management to the CSD. Representatives from 39 countries, as well as observers from most of the major international agencies involved in forest matters and a few Indian NGOs, attended the workshop. Participants agreed on a standard framework for countries to use in reporting to the CSD's 1995 session. The workshop found the following headings to be useful in these reports: (1) promotion and implementation of the conservation, management and overall sustainable development of forests; (2) promotion and implementation of the sustainable use of forests and related aspects of economic development, including harvesting and processing of wood and non-wood forest products, recycling of waste, recreation and tourism; (3) the role of major groups and social aspects of forests; (4) institutional building and capacity building; and (5) international and regional cooperation and support. The workshop also noted the work being undertaken on the development of internationally agreed criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management.

CIFOR/INDONESIA POLICY DIALOGUE ON SCIENCE, FORESTS AND SUSTAINABILITY

The Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Government of Indonesia co-hosted a policy dialogue on science, forests and sustainability in Indonesia from 10-16 December 1994. The dialogue brought together 50 scientists, key persons from the post-Rio forest initiatives, and representatives from NGOs, industry, government and development agencies. The primary objective was to review the results of the various forest initiatives, determine if they adequately incorporate the latest scientific information and determine their implications for future research and information needs. Participants agreed that the challenge for forest research is to provide knowledge and information to assist decision making that will sustain and enhance the benefits of forests to all people, including future generations. Participants concluded that forest research must be broader and more holistic.

The group identified a series of urgent research priorities that include: criteria and indicators for the assessment and prediction of impacts of management, conservation and sustainable development of forests; linkages between trees and forest ecosystems and the general health of the environment, including the impact of human activities; periodic measurement and assessment of the state of forests, which requires standardized techniques and methodologies and means to share the information; reliable methodologies and mechanisms for assessing the contribution of forests to sustainable national development; documentation on the role of local communities in maintaining healthy forests; and the impact of forest management on biological diversity. The meeting produced a resolution and a report, "Forest Research: A Way Forward to Sustainable Development," which will be forwarded to the FAO/COFO and the CSD. Participants also agreed that forest science should be reoriented to provide more complete information for decision makers to better sustain and enhance the benefits and conservation of forests.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION ON FORESTRY

The European Commission on Forestry met in Antalya, Turkey, from 25-28 January 1995. The meeting was attended by representatives of the 19 member countries of the European Commission, four other countries, three NGOs and representatives of FAO and the Economic Commission for Europe. The final report requested that the FAO prepare a forest strategy based on the UNCED Forest Principles, identifying the main global policy issues and possible actions. The report recommended that FAO/COFO prepare proposals for the March FAO ministerial level meeting in the following areas: future arrangements for continued development and possible convergence of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management at global, regional and national levels; future arrangements for timber certification; the costs of sustainable forest management; a clearer and more efficient means of handling forest issues; and clearer definition of responsibilities of international organizations. Participants also recommended establishing appropriate long-term, internationally-agreed arrangements for dealing with forests in a holistic and balanced manner and considering the need to set up a step-by-step, non-confrontational process to discuss future legally-binding instruments. Other recommendations to FAO/COFO include highlighting the importance of non-wood goods and services, and strengthening the role of Regional Forestry Commissions.

THE NFAP INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON FORESTRY

The Governments of Canada and the Netherlands convened a meeting of the coordinators of National Forestry Action Plans (NFAPs) in The Hague, from 13-17 February 1995. This meeting produced a document titled, "The Hague NFAP Commitment: A New Commitment to Sustainable Forestry Development," which addressed five questions: (1) Are NFAPs the best process for planning and funding forestry development? (2) Which international agencies are the best to assist in this process? (3) Is there sufficient coordination at the national, regional and international level? (4) Is funding by, and commitment of, domestic, multilateral and bilateral agencies a problem? (5) Have the necessary reforms been put in place at the national level? This document makes a series of recommendations that will be forwarded to the CSD.

The workshop concluded that the NFAPs are the most appropriate planning processes leading toward forestry development and implementation of Agenda 21. It recommended that donors should accept NFAPs and that governments should continue to update their forest strategies. Regarding the question of international agencies, the workshop concluded that there needs to be better cooperation among the NFAP partners and that governments should prevail on the World Bank and World Resources Institute to rejoin UNDP and FAO in the NFAP process. On the question of coordination, the workshop recommended that each country should immediately initiate a process of assessing and resolving obstacles to coordination and that a task force should be established to: study ways to improve coordination between partners; determine the feasibility of establishing a representative advisory body; review international institutional arrangements and provide recommendations for the creation of a world forest body, a forest convention and a global forest fund. The Hague Declaration concluded that the NFAP process is threatened by serious funding problems and recommended use of innovative domestic funding instruments, reallocation of aid agency funding for forestry and the establishment of a UN-led working group of NFAP partners to address the funding gap. Finally, the workshop concluded that reforms should be viewed as part of an ongoing national, multiparty process, recommending that each country evaluate its own forest policy to determine what reforms are necessary to advance forestry development.

TREATY ON AMAZONIAN COOPERATION WORKSHOP TO DEFINE CRITERIA AND INDICATORS OF SUSTAINABILITY IN THE AMAZON FOREST

The Treaty on Amazonian Cooperation and World Resources Institute co-sponsored a meeting in Tarapoto, Peru, from 23 to 25 February 1995. The meeting considered reviews of other regional consultations on criteria and indicators, as well as a consultant's study of criteria and indicators for the upper Amazon Basin. A full report on this meeting will be included in the next issue of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin special series on forests.

FAO/ITTO EXPERT MEETING ON THE HARMONIZATION OF CRITERIA AND INDICATORS FOR SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT

The FAO/ITTO expert meeting on the harmonization of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management took place in Rome from 13-16 February 1995, to examine the potential for concurrence between various regional consultations on criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management. Participants included experts from countries and organizations involved in the ITTO, the Montreal and Helsinki Processes, the CIFOR initiative and a representative from WWF, as well as representatives of those regions and/or ecological zones that presently are not involved in any post-UNCED forest initiatives. Participants suggested identifying an appropriate forum to promote convergence of initiatives and comparability of criteria. They recommended that FAO, ITTO, UNEP, UNDP and IUCN be facilitators and that FAO, as task manager for forests in the Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development (IACSD), be the focal point for the forum. Participants agreed that the diversity of national methods and approaches to criteria and indicators means that "convergence, equivalence, correspondence and commonality" were more appropriate goals than consistent harmonization. They endorsed global criteria with indicators developed only for national or forest management unit levels. Participants emphasized the need to broaden participation in development of criteria and indicators to include forest-poor countries and countries that have not yet taken part in the regional initiatives, including a potential effort to develop indicators for desertification control or management and sustainable use of wildlife. For more information, contact Richard Lydiker, Director of FAO's Information Division, at +39-6-5225-3510.

OTHER FAO ACTIVITIES

The FAO has held three regional workshops on forests to develop recommendations to be submitted to the FAO/COFO and the CSD. The Latin America and Caribbean meeting was held in Santiago, Chile, in late 1994. The Asia-Pacific meeting was held in Bangkok, from 16-19 January 1995. The African meeting was held in Accra, Ghana, from 23-25 January 1995. The meetings were attended by regional experts and addressed the regional implications of Agenda 21 and the Forest Principles on sustainable forest management.

The FAO also held a Special Meeting of Bureaus of Regional Forestry Commissions in preparation for the 12th session of the Committee on Forestry (COFO), which was held in Rome from 19-21 September 1994. A high-level panel of External Experts in Forestry was held in Rome from 19-21 October 1994, which addressed the revitalization of FAO's normative activities and in particular in connection with the role of FAO's Forestry Department in the post-UNCED period.

CITES

The most recent session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was held in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, from 7-18 November 1994. During the session, there were proposals to list several forest species on the Appendix II list of endangered plant species. Several species were withdrawn from consideration, while six tree species were accepted for listing. There was considerable debate over the listing of Brazilian mahogany, which led to an unprecedented secret vote for a species proposal. The proposal to place this species on the CITES Appendix II list was defeated. A resolution on implementation of CITES for timber species was passed, calling for the establishment of a working group to look at the process used to consider tree species for CITES listing.

CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

Delegates to the first Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity in December 1994, discussed forests issues in two areas: whether they would place consideration of a forest protocol into the COP's programme of work and when in the programme of work would forests be discussed. NGOs and some delegates felt that the Biodiversity Convention's emphasis on conservation and sustainable use could produce a more conservation-oriented forest agreement than one developed in another forum. Scheduling forests in the programme of work addressed a similar issue: early action would give the Biodiversity COP a stronger voice in the process, while the eventual decision to review the role of forests, which may be taken at the second meeting of the COP in late 1995, will fall after the anticipated decisions on a possible forest agreement.

INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER ORGANIZATION

The first substantive round in the post-UNCED forest debate was the renegotiation of the 1983 International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA), a process which began in the fall of 1992. The main issues in the renegotiation were whether the scope of the ITTA should be broadened to apply to timber originating not only from tropical but from all types of forests; whether the ITTO Council's non-binding commitment to achieve trade in tropical timber exclusively from sustainably managed forests by the year 2000 should be elevated into the text of the ITTA; and whether a formal commitment could be secured from consumer countries to provide more funds to assist producer countries in attaining sustainable forest management. The debate over broadening the scope of the ITTA grew contentious and dominated the negotiations, which lasted 18 months. Producer countries and NGOs supported broadening the ITTA and contended that it did not make sense in the post-UNCED era to maintain the agreement's original, narrow focus when the bulk of the timber trade was actually of temperate-country origin. Consumer (mostly temperate) countries opposed the idea and proposed a separate, non-binding "Consumer Statement" pledging that they would attain sustainable forest management in their own countries by the year 2000. In the end, the ITTA was renegotiated with little change. On 26 January 1994 the Successor Agreement to the International Tropical Timber Agreement was adopted. The Agreement was opened for signature on 1 April 1994.

Apart from the renegotiation process, the issue of timber certification has been the focus of increasing debate within the ITTO at its regular, semi-annual Council meetings. ITTO consultants have developed reports on certification and the Council has held special working group meetings. The primary issue of debate seems to be what role, if any, the ITTO should play in the certification arena, with the positions of ITTO member countries, and of ITTO staff ranging widely from no role at all to the ITTO actually doing certification. The debate is expected to continue at the Council's next meeting in Accra, Ghana, in May 1995.

FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an NGO-initiated effort to bring harmonization to the proliferation of forest product certification programmes around the world. Members include organizations and individuals from the forest products industry and related economic sectors, as well as NGOs, indigenous groups and social organizations interested in forest management.

The FSC has engaged in a four-year process of extensive international consultations with governments, industry, trade, NGOs and indigenous peoples' groups, including ten focused country and regional consultations and numerous meetings of expert working groups. The result was the creation of an independent, voluntary system of accrediting certifiers based on a strong set of forest management principles and criteria. Its goal is to give the forest-product-buying public an easily identifiable choice in the marketplace -- a product with an FSC-accredited certification mark. Formally constituted by a founding assembly in Toronto in October 1993, the FSC is engaged in accreditation consultations with all four of the world's major, operational forest management certifiers. The first accreditation decisions are expected within the next two months.

The FSC Principles and Criteria will be used by accredited FSC certifiers to evaluate forest management practices of producers and others seeking certification. The Principles state that forest management shall: (1) respect local, national and international laws and treaties and the FSC principles and criteria; (2) legally establish and document long-term tenure and use rights to the land and forest resources; (3) respect indigenous peoples' use rights, including compensation for applications of indigenous knowledge of forest management or species use; (4) maintain or enhance the long-term social and economic well-being of forest workers and local communities; (5) encourage the efficient use of the forest's multiple products and services to ensure economic viability and a wide range of environmental and social benefits; (6) conserve biological diversity and its associated values, water resources, soils, and unique and fragile ecosystems and landscapes, and, by so doing, maintain the ecological functions and the integrity of the forest; (7) write and maintain a management plan; (8) conduct monitoring of forest conditions, product yields, chain of custody, management activities and their environmental and social impacts; and (9) conserve primary forests, well-developed secondary forests and sites of major environmental, social or cultural significance, not replacing them with plantations or other uses. A tenth principle, not yet adopted, states that plantations shall not replace natural forests but should relieve pressure on natural forests.

A set of guidelines have also been created for accrediting certifiers. They must adhere to FSC principles and criteria, remain independent from outside influence, and maintain rigorous evaluation standards and practices.

The FSC has accepted the invitation of the Government of Mexico to establish its headquarters in Oaxaca, where its Executive Director, Dr. Timothy Synnott, and staff are now based. Substantial financial support has been granted to the FSC from several philanthropic foundations, the Governments of Australia, Austria, Mexico and United Kingdom, and the World Wide Fund for Nature. The FSC can be contacted at tel: +52-951-46905, fax: +52-951-62110; and e-mail <<fsc@laneta.apc.org>>.

THE WORLD COMMISSION ON FORESTS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The impetus for the creation of an independent World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development (WCFSD) emerged from a seminar held at the Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts in 1992. After UNCED, the organizing committee, comprised of private citizens, was established at a meeting in Rome, from 24-25 July 1992. Subsequent meetings approved a possible mandate, strategy and work plan.

The organizing committee originally envisioned seeking a UN mandate for the WCFSD, however, it ultimately invited the InterAction Council of Former Heads of State and Government (IAC) to launch the Commission. In June 1994, the IAC indicated Prof. Emil Salim (Indonesia) and Amb. Ola Ullsten (Sweden) as the Co-Chairs of the Commission. The IAC has proposed that the Commission have three purposes: (1) to raise the level of understanding of the dual role that world forests have in preserving the natural environment and contributing to sustainable socio-economic development, particularly in developing countries; (2) to accomplish a widening of the consensus on data, science and policy in this still insufficiently explored area; and (3) to build confidence between North and South on forest matters with emphasis on the role of international cooperation. The point of departure for the WCFSD will be the Forest Principles document.

The Co-Chairs of the WCFSD are in the process of selecting the members of the Commission and setting up a Secretariat in Geneva, with the goal of beginning operations in March 1995. The Government of Switzerland has. Dr. Kilaparti Ramakrishna, Senior Associate for International Environmental Law at the Woods Hole Research Center, has been serving as the coordinator of the organizing committee and can be contacted at: P.O. Box 296, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA; tel: +1-508-540-9900; fax: +1-508-540-9700; e-mail: <<krwhrc@mcimail.com>>.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN THE COMING MONTHS

CSD AD HOC OPEN-ENDED WORKING GROUP ON SECTORAL ISSUES: The CSD ad hoc open-ended working group on sectoral issues will meet in New York from 27 February - 3 March 1995. The five-day meeting will discuss six sectoral chapters of Agenda 21, namely, integrated planning and management of land resources (Chapter 10); forests (Chapter 11 and "Forest Principles"); desertification and drought (Chapter 12); mountains (Chapter 13); agriculture and rural development (Chapter 14); and biodiversity (Chapter 15), and elaborate relevant recommendations and policy options for consideration by the CSD at its third session.

NGO FORUM — FOREST POLICY AT THE CROSSROADS: IUCN, the Biodiversity Action Network (BIONET), the Latin American Forest Network, the Global Forest Policy Project, the Environment Liaison Centre International, and the Centre for Science and the Environment will co-sponsor a forum on forest policy issues on Monday, 27 February 1995, from 6:00 - 9:00 pm in Conference Room 4 at UN Headquarters in New York. The forum will examine the merits of the various policy options available to achieve the conservation and sustainable management of forests. For additional information, contact BIONET at <<bionet@igc.apc.org>>.

FAO MEETING WITH THE PRIVATE FOREST INDUSTRY SECTOR: A meeting between FAO and the private forest sector will be held in Rome on 8 March 1995. The provisional agenda for this meeting includes a review of the Secretary-General's Report on Forests, the role of industry in the implementation of UNCED decisions on forests, achievements toward sustainable forest management and environmentally friendly processing, problems encountered and proposals to alleviate these problems. The meeting is likely to review proposals for FAO's Programme of Work and Budget for 1996/1997 in forest management. Invited delegates include representatives of the private forest sector and the pulp and paper industry.

FAO MEETING WITH NGOS ON FORESTRY: A meeting with NGOs will be held in Rome on 10-11 March 1995. The agenda for this session includes discussion on the role of NGOs in the implementation of UNCED decisions on forests, a review of the Secretary-General's report on forests, FAO's Priorities and Activities, and collaboration between NGOs and the FAO. It is likely that NGOs attending the meeting will seek to convince FAO that changes in FAO procedures are needed to ensure the widest participation from all sectors and that a reprioritization is needed within FAO. NGOs at the meeting are likely to urge the FAO: to change its procedures to permit greater transparency and the participation of a wider diversity of NGOs and forest stakeholder groups in COFO and other FAO bodies; to re-orient FAO's forest-related priorities; and to work more collaboratively with other UN agencies.

FAO COMMITTEE ON FORESTS (TECHNICAL SESSION): The FAO Committee on Forests (COFO) will hold a technical session in Rome from 13-16 March 1995. Its agenda includes: major issues for CSD attention related to sustainable management and development of forests; regional perspectives on implementation of UNCED agreements for the attention of the CSD; a summary of post-UNCED initiatives on forests; efforts towards harmonization of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management; and a review of advantages and disadvantages related to initiating the evolution of the Forest Principles into a legally-binding international instrument or convention on forests.

FAO/COFO MINISTERIAL MEETING ON FORESTS: A meeting of over 30 ministers responsible for forests will take place 16-17 March 1995, immediately following the FAO/COFO meeting. Ministers will consider the recommendations of COFO on criteria and indicators and other major issues to be addressed at the CSD. This is the first time such a high-level meeting on forests will take place on the forest issue. For more information on the COFO or ministerial segments, contact Richard Lydiker, Director of FAO's Information Division, +39-6-5225-3510.

COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THIRD SESSION: The third session of the CSD will meet from 11-28 April 1995, at UN Headquarters in New York. Focus will be on the following cross-sectoral components of Agenda 21: Chapters 3 (poverty); 5 (demographics); 8 (integrating environment and development in decision-making);16 (biotechnology); 22-32 (major groups); and 40 (information). Financial resources and mechanisms (Chapter 33) and the chapters on transfer of environmentally sound technology, cooperation and capacity building (34), science (35) and education (36) will also be discussed. The sectoral cluster for this session includes: Chapters 10 (land management), 11 (forests); 12 (desertification and drought); 13 (mountains); 14 (sustainable agriculture); 15 (biological diversity); and the Forest Principles.

The proposed schedule is to open the session with a presentation of the work of the ad hoc open-ended working groups on finance and sectoral issues, followed by debate on the cross-sectoral and sectoral components of Agenda 21. On 18-19 April, there will be country presentations and exchanges of national experiences in the elaboration of sustainable development plans, presentations by local authorities and country presentations on integrated land management and sustainable agriculture.Three drafting groups will then be established to address the cross sectoral and sectoral issues under consideration. The High-Level Segment will take place from 26-28 April 1995. For more information, contact the CSD Secretariat at +1-212-963-5949; fax: +1-212-963-4260; e-mail: <<dpcsd@igc.apc.org>>.