Summary
The joint session of the UNECE Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry (COFFI) and the FAO European Forestry Commission (EFC) opened on Monday 9 October 2017, at the Novotel Hotel in Warsaw, Poland.
The week started with a High-Level Meeting chaired by Jan Szyszko, Polish Minister of the Environment. Addresses were held by: Eva Müller, Director of Forestry Policy and Resources Division, FAO; Andrey Vasilyev, UNECE Deputy Executive Secretary; Bishop Tadeusz Lityński, Polish national priest of the foresters; and Konrad Tomaszewski, Director General of the Polish State Forests.
Szyszko then chaired two high-level roundtables. The first addressed “Forests, our common good. Enhancing sustainable development in light of the Paris Agreement”, and drew attention to national initiatives relating to sustainable forest management. The second roundtable addressed the “Functional model of forests – national perspective. Challenges and expectations”, where participants outlined national challenges in relation to forest management, including forest fires, biodiversity loss and legal frameworks.
The High-Level Meeting was followed by the Opening of the European Forest Week (EFW). Short opening remarks were made by: Andrzej Konieczny, Undersecretary of State, Polish Ministry of the Environment; Konrad Tomaszewski, Director General of the Polish State Forests; and Michał Olszewski, Vice-President of Warsaw City.
In the afternoon, participants addressed joint COFFI/EFC matters, in a session co-chaired by COFFI Chair Marta Gaworska (Poland) and EFC Chair Kenan Kiliç . Updates were heard on: the report of the Working Party on Forest Statistics, Economics and Management; global forest policy matters; regional cooperation; the seventieth anniversary of the UNECE/FAO Partnership; the System for the Evaluation of Management of Forests (SEMAFOR); and the COFFI/EFC Integrated Programme of Work.
In the evening, a reception took place in the Palace of Culture and Science, hosted by the Minister of the Environment of Poland.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage and a summary report from Las2017. The summary report is now availavle in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB+ | Sean Wu
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High-level Roundtable on
"Forests, Our Common Good: Enhancing Sustainable Development in Light of the Paris Agreement"
Jan Szyszko, Minister of the Environment, Poland
Eva Müller, Director of Forestry Policy and Resources Division, FAO
Andrey Vasilyev, Deputy Executive Secretary of UNECE
(L-R) Konrad Tomaszewski, Director General of the Polish State Forests; Bishop Tadeusz Lityński, Polish national priest of the foresters; Andrey Vasilyev, Deputy Executive Secretary of UNECE); Jan Szyszko, Minister of the Environment, Poland; and Eva Müller, Director of Forestry Policy and Resources Division, FAO
Konrad Tomaszewski, Director General of the Polish State Forests; Bishop Tadeusz Lityński, Polish national priest of the foresters; and Andrey Vasilyev, Deputy Executive Secretary of UNECE
Mikhail Amelyanovich, Minister of Forestry, Belarus
(L-R) Akros Ugron, Deputy State Secretary, Ministry of Forestry, Hungary; Olga Trofimbseva, Deputy Minister of European Intergration of Agrarian Policy and Food, Ukraine; Istrate Ștețco, Ministry of Water and Forests, Romania; Jan Szyszko, Minister of the Environment, Poland; Mikhail Amelyanovich, Minister of Forestry, Belarus; Patrik Mlynar, Deputy Minister for Section of Forestry Management, Czech Republic; and Nizomidin Bakirov, Chief of Ukraine's State Committee on Forestry
Olga Trofimbseva, Deputy Minister of European Intergration of Agrarian Policy and Food, Ukraine
Patrik Mlynar, Deputy Minister for Section of Forestry Management, Czech Republic
Joint COFFI-EFC Session
(L-R) Moderator Aleksander Brzózka; Konrad Tomaszewski, Director General of the Polish State Forests; Andrzej Konieczny, Undersecretary of State in the Polish Ministry of the Environment; and Michał Olszewski, Vice-President of Warsaw City
Michał Olszewski, Vice-President of Warsaw City
Andrzej Konieczny, Undersecretary of State in the Polish Ministry of the Environment
Participants witnessed an award ceremony for the European Forest Week Art Contest and the European Forest week Photo Competition. Prizes were presented to several Polish high schools, artists and photographers.
View of the dais during the joint session
Maria Sokolenko, Russian Federation
Liubov Poliakova, Ukraine
View of the room during the joint session
Tree Planting
Katarzyna Łęgiewicz, Mayor of the Ochota Borough, City of Warsaw
Reception Hosted by the Polish Minister of the Environment
at the Palace of Science and Culture
Around the Venue
