Summary
On Wednesday, 27 April, the UN Forum on Forests’ (UNFF) Open-ended Intergovernmental Αd Ηoc Expert Group (AHEG1) Established Pursuant to Paragraph 48 of ECOSOC resolution 2015/33 convened for its final day. In the morning, Co-Chair Hans Hoogeveen invited views on the possible structure/table of contents for the Strategic Plan 2017-2030, considering the two proposals for this: one put forward in the background paper prepared by independent consultants, the other by the expert panel held in Tokyo, Japan, in March 2016.
In the afternoon, the Co-Chairs invited comments on the draft Co-Chairs’ Summary of discussions on the Strategic Plan, the quadrennial Programme of Work (4POW) for 2017-2020, and plans for follow-up work leading to AHEG2, including the production of a “zero draft” of the Strategic Plan and 4POW that will serve as the basis of AHEG2 work. The Co-Chairs explained that the discussion on the recommendations would be reflected in a new draft to be completed after AHEG1 ends. The AHEG then reviewed and adopted the report of the meeting.
In closing the meeting, UNFF Secretariat Director Sobral Filho said the AHEG had exceeded expectations and provided substantial progress. Co-Chairs Hoogeveen and Dehghani thanked participants for their constructive engagement and energy throughout AHEG1, and expressed the hope that they bring the same to AHEG2.
The meeting was gavelled to a close at 5:48 pm.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web updates and a summary and analysis from AHEG1 which is available in HTML and PDF formats.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon
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The dais. L-R: Hossein Moeini-Meybodi, UNFF Secretariat; Co-Chair Hans Hoogeveen (Netherlands); Co-Chair Gholamhossein Dehghani (Iran); and Manoel Sobral Filho, Director, UNFF Secretariat.
Stephanie Caswell, independent consultant
Mahendra Joshi (left), UNFF Secretariat, conferring with Peter Csoka, FAO