ENB @ UNFF (UN Headquarters, New York, June 11-22 2001)

United Nations Forum on Forests
First Substantive Meeting
UN Headquarters, New York, USA 11-22 June 2001

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Update for Thursday, 21 June

On the penultimate day of UNFF-1, delegates met in parallel working groups throughout the day and into the night to continue negotiations on draft decisions on the Plan of action (PoA) and the Multi-year programme of work (MYPOW).

PLENARY

Nitin Desai (Center) Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs, announced finalized provisions for funding the UNFF Secretariat from the regular UN budget. He stressed the importance of the UNFF's contribution to the operationalization of Agenda 21 and to the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
Plenary statement of Nitin Desai Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs

The US announced it will contribute an additional US$800,000 to the UNFF.

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WORKING GROUP 1

MYPOW: Preamble: Delegates agreed to a paragraph referencing a paragraph from ECOSOC resolution 2000/35 on considering financial support and technology transfer. Regarding a paragraph stating that the MYPOW should embody the ECOSOC resolution, the EU (Right) proposed adding text on providing a forum for policy guidance and coordination.

Thematic Focus and Categories: Delegates agreed to rename the section "Structure." They debated at length a paragraph deciding that the MYPOW should reflect the three pillars of SFM, the tenets of sustainable development and broad criteria for SFM used in various regional processes, in particular the 16 programme elements based on UNCED, IPF and IFF proposals for action. The G-77/CHINA proposed that the MYPOW reflect and address the 16 programme elements, as well as means of implementation and common items for each UNFF session as identified in an attached table.

The US opposed the reference to means of implementation and the common items, and requested that their alternative text, deciding that each UNFF session will address implementation of the IPF/IFF proposals for action as clustered into the elements, be reflected in the revised text.

Scope of the MYPOW: Delegates agreed to delete this section.

Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting (MAR):On the areas comprising the UNFF's MAR function, the EU, AUSTRALIA (Left) and CANADA opposed the US' proposal for progress in implementation "by countries" of the proposals for action. Delegates agreed to "progress toward sustainable management of all types of forests."

High-level segments: On a paragraph deciding that the first ministerial segment at UNFF-2 will endorse the PoA as a contribution to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, text on adopting the PoA at UNFF-1 remains bracketed. Delegates did not agree on text regarding the ministerial segment at UNFF-2 as an opportunity for countries to declare their commitment to implementing the IPF/IFF proposals for action. The US bracketed text welcoming the offer by Costa Rica to host UNFF-2 and its ministerial segment.

Involvement of Major Groups: Delegates agreed to paragraphs stressing the importance of involvement by major groups, as identified in Agenda 21, and noting the importance of transparent and participatory practices. The US, supported by NEW ZEALAND (Left) and opposed by the G-77/CHINA, proposed to allow for NGOs to be accredited directly by the UNFF on an exceptional basis.

Enhancing Cooperation and Coordination: Delegates agreed to include a reference to the UN Financing for Development process in a paragraph discussing synergies with the CPF.

WORKING GROUP 2:

PoA: Delegates agreed to AUSTRALIA's (Left) proposal to develop a short decision adopting the PoA, with the PoA itself as an annex. In the draft decision, delegates agreed to text inviting ministers to endorse the PoA at UNFF-2 as input to the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

In the "Targets" section, CANADA (Right) opposed text stating countries should set targets for each proposal for action, noting that this was unrealistic.

The G-77/ CHINA preferred stating they "are an appropriate basis," and delegates agreed to "important tools" for such implementation. An informal group was established to discuss financing, technology transfer, trade and capacity building as "means of implementation."