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IISD Reporting Services (IISD RS) Coverage
IISD RS has provided daily digital coverage and a summary and analysis from AHEG2. To download the report, kindly click on the HTML/PDF icons below. |
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Second Meeting of the Open-ended Intergovernmental Ad Hoc Expert Group on the International Arrangement on Forests (AHEG2) of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF)
12-16 January 2015 | UN Headquarters, New York, US
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Highlights for Monday, 12 January 2015
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The second meeting of the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Αd Ηoc Expert Group on the International Arrangement on Forests (AHEG2) of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) opened in New York, USA. In their opening remarks, Co-Chairs Charles Barber, US, and Raymond Landveld, Suriname, highlighted the intersessional work completed since the last UNFF meeting and the role of AHEG2 to inform a decision on the future of the intergovernmental arrangement on forests (IAF) at the eleventh meeting of the UNFF (UNFF11). Many opening statements remarked on what UNFF Director Manoel Sobral Filho called the “rare political opportunity” presented by the sustainable development goals (SDGs) process. In his statement, Ambassador Noel Nelson Messone, UNFF11 Bureau Chair, underscored the need for forests to be high on the SDG agenda to help achieve sustainable development. Thomas Gass, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, highlighted that the SDGs place special emphasis on vulnerable groups, which is also important for forests.
Also during the morning, AHEG2 heard a presentation on the findings and suggestions of the IAF Independent Assessment. Members engaged in a discussion with the Team of Independent Consultants, which prepared the report and recommendations, and, in particular, discussed the suggestions related to the future institutional arrangements of the IAF.
In the afternoon, AHEG members heard a presentation on the China Country-Led Initiative workshop on the IAF beyond 2015 and an update on the post-2015 sustainable development agenda process. Members also discussed the views of member states, organizations and stakeholders put forward in their submissions.
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| Room view during the Plenary |
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| Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, UN DESA |
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| Saiful Azam Martinus Abdullah, Malaysia, Co-facilitator, Independent Assessment of the IAF |
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| Ricardo Martinez Umali, the Philippines, Independent Assessment of the IAF |
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| Co-Chair Charles Barber with Hossein Moeini-Meybodi, UNFF Secretariat |
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| Keith Ripley, ENB and Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland |
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