Summary
The second meeting of the Open-ended Intergovernmental Ad Hoc Expert Group (AHEG2) on Matters Referred to in Paragraph 48 of UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resolution 2015/33 “International Arrangement on Forests Beyond 2015” met for its final day on Friday, 28 October 2016, at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand.
In the morning, participants were introduced to two documents prepared overnight by the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) Secretariat: AHEG2 Draft Co-Chairs’ Summary; and the Report on AHEG2. Participants commented on the Co-Chairs’ summary, underscoring, inter alia: the need to rely on existing data and baselines for formulation of global goals and targets; language on Voluntary Planned Contributions (VPCs) should be explicit on their voluntary nature; and the Strategic Plan 2017-2030 should build on, in addition to the 2030 Agenda, other forest-related agreements such as the Paris Agreement.
Participants then considered the AHEG2 report and addressed among other things the documents and analyses required to prepare for the UNFF Working Group and Special Session to be held in January 2017. Several participants suggested the current AHEG Co-Chairs continue as Working Group Co-Chairs, noting that the election of new Co-Chairs would only take place on the first day of the Working Group.
The meeting closed at 1:15 pm.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web updates from UNFF AHEG2. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis report in HTML and PDF.
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Boris Greguška, Slovakia
Anna Tyler, New Zealand
Emma Hatcher, Australia
Delegate reading the Co-Chairs’ summary report
Delegates in consultations