Summary
On Wednesday morning, participants met in parallel thematic sessions to discuss valuing forest ecosystem services, and strengthening small-scale producers and their organizations.
In plenary, participants heard key messages from thematic sessions on: people-centred approaches to integrated landscape management; agroforestry and silvo-pastoral systems; forest management and landscape restoration; sustainable agricultural production approaches; achieving corporate commitments and zero deforestation initiatives for agricultural commodities; forest products value chains in the bio-economy; valuing forest ecosystem services; and strengthening small-scale producers and their organizations. Then, they heard keynote presentations.
Sharon Dijksma, Member of Parliament, the Netherlands, highlighted the need for transformative action, noting the international community has "the instruments, the processes, the political commitment and the goals to halt deforestation and increase forest area," and needs to make the shift towards action.
Presenting on a private sector perspective, Howard-Yana Shapiro, Mars, Incorporated, called for focusing on solely five performance standards: productivity, profitability, environmental stewardship, good governance and management, and social inclusion.
Salina Abraham, President, International Forestry Students Association (IFSA), urged to "shake the coconut" and shift the way in which international fora addresses deforestation, to reach broader audiences. She advocated considering youth and indigenous peoples as valuable partners, rather than just stakeholders to be consulted.
In the afternoon, parallel sessions addressed the theme of forest-smart policies and governance. Participants discussed issues related to cross-sectoral policy coordination, and improving land governance.
Later on, discussions turned to the role of different stakeholders, and implementing forest law enforcement, governance and trade instruments (FLEGT). In a keynote address on the lessons learned from FLEGT initiatives to halt deforestation, Charles Barber, World Resources Institute (WRI), highlighted the key role of effective multi-stakeholder participation, which requires adequate counsel and support. Challenges highlighted in the session included: addressing corruption; putting in place effective land tenure arrangements; and expanding collaboration across demand-side countries to ensure a level-playing field in the timber market.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage and a summary report from the International Conference on “Working Across Sectors to Halt Deforestation and Increase Forest Area - From Aspiration to Action.” The summary report is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page
Plenary Session
Chun Lai, Moderator, Independent Environmental Services Professional
Howard-Yana Shapiro, Chief Agricultural Officer, Mars, Incorporated, with Eva Müller, Director, Forestry Department, FAO
Sheam Satkuru, Assistant Director of Operations, International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO)
Sharon Dijksma, Chair, Forest Alliance Initiative, Member of the Dutch Parliament
Howard-Yana Shapiro, Chief Agricultural Officer, Mars, Incorporated
Clayton Campanhola, Strategic Programme Leader, FAO
Salina Abraham, Youth Coordinator, Global Landscapes Forum - President, International Forestry Students' Association (IFSA)
Valuing forest ecosystem services
From L-R: Ravi Prabhu, Deputy Director-General, World Agroforestry Centre; Bhaskar Vira, Professor of Political Economy, University of Cambridge; Alexander Buck, Executive Director, International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO); Jorge Mario Rodriguez Zuñiga, Executive Director, National Fund for Forest Finance, Costa Rica; and Gerhard Dieterle, Executive Director, International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO)
Ravi Prabhu, Deputy Director-General, World Agroforestry Centre
Gerhard Dieterle, Executive Director, ITTO
Alexander Buck, Executive Director, IUFRO
Strengthening small-scale producers and their organizations
From L-R: Ben Valk, Head, Food and Agriculture Partnerships, Rabobank; Peter deMarsh, Chair, International Family Forestry Alliance (IFFA); Monica Gabay, Planning and Environmental Policy Secretariat, Argentina; James Mayers, Director, Natural Resources, International Institute for Environment and Development; Jeffrey Y. Campbell, Team Leader, Manager, Forest and Farm Facility, FAO; Vu Le Y Voan, Vice Director, International Cooperation Department, Viet Nam National Farmers Union; Marcedonio Cortave, President, Association of Forest Communities of Petén (ACOFOP), Guatemala; and Tint Swe, Director of Forestry, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, Myanmar
James Mayers, Director, Natural Resources, International Institute for Environment and Development
Jeffrey Y. Campbell, Team Leader, Manager, Forest and Farm Facility, FAO
Vu Le Y Voan, Vice Director, International Cooperation Department, Viet Nam National Farmers Union
Tint Swe, Director of Forestry, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, Myanmar
Marcedonio Cortave, President, ACOFOP, Guatemala
Cross-sectoral policy coordination
View of the dais during the session
Catalina Santamaria, Programme Officer, Forests, United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat
Anthony McKenzie, Director of Environmental Management and Conservation, National Environment and Planning Agency, Jamaica
Sidney Medeiros, Rural Inspector, Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and Food Supply, Brazil
Mehmet Mustafa Gozukara, Director-General of Combating Desertification and Erosion, Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, Turkey (right), with his translator
Improving land governance
From L-R: Pablo Pacheco, Principal Scientist, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR); Nie Fengying, Deputy Director-General of Agriculture Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Chun Lai, Independent Environmental Services Professional; Carin Smaller, Advisor on Agriculture and Investments, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD); and Dominique Reeb, Team Leader, Social Forestry Team, FAO
Nie Fengying, Deputy Director-General of Agriculture Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Chun Lai, Independent Environmental Services Professional
Carin Smaller, Advisor on Agriculture and Investments, IISD
Role of different stakeholders
Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, Conservation International
Cécile Ndjebet, President, African Women's Network for Community Management of Forests (REFACOF)
Lamin B. Dibba, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources, The Gambia
Marco Albani, Director, Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, World Economic Forum
Role of forest law enforcement, governance and trade (FLEGT) instruments
Christopher Stewart, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, OLAM
Charles Barber, Director, Forest Legality Initiative in the Forests Program, World Resources Institute (WRI)
Robert Busink, Senior Policy Advisor, Government of the Netherlands
Emmanuelle Maire, Head of Unit, Multilateral Environmental Cooperation, Directorate General for the Environment, European Commission
Between Sessions
James Mayers, Director, Natural Resources, International Institute for Environment and Development, with Monica Gabay, Planning and Environmental Policy Secretariat, Argentina
Jeffrey Y. Campbell, Team Leader, Manager Forest and Farm Facility, FAO, with Peter Csoka, Senior Forestry Officer, FAO
Hanta Rabetaliana, World Mountain People Association, and Ulrich Apel, Global Environment Facility
Teodardo Calles, Plant Production and Protection Division (AGP), FAO, with Chun Lai, Independent Environmental Services Professional
Around the venue
