DECEMBER 2009
NORWAY LAUNCHES
CLIMATE GROUP ON FORESTS
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg announced, on 22 December
2009, that he would put together a group of rainforest countries,
including Brazil, Indonesia, Guyana, Gabon and Papua New Guinea, with
the goal of ensuring that efforts against deforestation will be central
in a climate agreement in Mexico in 2010.
In related news, during the Copenhagen
negotiations, Australia, France, Japan, Norway, the United Kingdom and
the United States collectively agreed to dedicate US$3.5 billion as
initial public financing between 2010-2012 for REDD+ (reducing emissions
from deforestation and forest degradation, including conservation,
sustainable forest management (SFM) and stock enhancement).
Links to further information
Norwegian Government website, 22 December 2009
UK Government press release, 16 December 2009
SEPTEMBER 2009
FOREST LAW
ENFORCEMENT AND GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE FOR AFRICA, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC
LAUNCHED
The Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Support Programme for
African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP-FLEGT) has been launched
and is issuing its first call for pilot projects and technical
assistance proposals. The Programme, a collaborative effort among the UN
Food and Agriculture Organization, the European Commission, and the
African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), is a four-year
initiative with two components: providing assistance to ACP countries to
put into practice the European Union's FLEGT Action Plan; and supporting
the collection, analysis and dissemination of FLEGT-related information
and lessons leaned among stakeholders in ACP countries.
Links to further information
ACP-FLEGT website
ACP-FLEGT call for proposals
AUGUST 2009
ITTO FUNDS PROJECTS ON FOREST GOVERNANCE AND
BUILDING A VOLUNTARY CARBON MARKET SCHEME
The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) has disbursed
funds to initiate implementation of two projects under its new thematic
programmes, Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (TFLET) and
Reducing Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Enhancing
Environmental Services in Tropical Forests (REDDES). The funded projects
aim to strengthen the capacity of local communities to manage their
forests in Chaiyaphum Province, Thailand, and to build a voluntary
carbon marketing scheme to promote SFM.
Link
to further information
ITTO media release, 19 August 2009
JULY 2009
ITTO AWARDS FELLOWSHIPS FOR FOREST-RELATED ACTIVITIES
The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) awarded
twenty-three fellowships in June 2009, offered through the Freezailah
Fellowship Fund. The fellowships aim to promote human resource
development and to strengthen professional expertise in member countries
in tropical forestry and related disciplines. Activities sponsored
through the fellowships include: attending various forest-related
conferences, including the 13th World Forestry Congress in Argentina in
October 2009; attending courses and undertaking post-graduate degrees
in, inter alia, forest ecosystem and climate change management,
climate change and desertification, and climate change and development;
and preparing and publishing documents. All together, the fellowship
recipients represent thirteen different countries and include seven
female fellows.
Link
to further information
ITTO media release
JUNE 2009
UNCCD MARKS WORLD DAY TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION,
DRYLANDS PROJECTS ANNOUNCED
The Secretariat of the UN Convention to
Combat Desertification (UNCCD) selected the theme "Conserving land and
water = Securing our common future" for the 17 June celebration of World
Day to Combat Desertification. The 2009 Day marks 15 years since the
Convention was adopted and opened for signature. To mark the Day, the
heads of a number of UN agencies discussed the linkages between efforts
to address desertification and climate change, agricultural
productivity, and the alleviation of poverty.
A number
of projects were also announced, including a joint statement, the UNCCD
and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) announcing that they have
agreed to develop a US$7.5 million project to support countries to meet
their obligations under the Convention. The project will be implemented
in collaboration with UNEP/GEF, and will assist parties to the UNCCD to
set up or strengthen national monitoring and assessment systems,
enabling them to report back to the COP on the status of implementation
of their National Action Programmes in the context of their national
sustainable development objectives.
The UN
Environment Programme (UNEP) announced the findings of the US$10 million
Desert Margins Programme (DMP), led by UNEP in partnership with the
International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
and with support from the GEF. This project has involved nine pilot
countries in Africa and has employed technologies that combine modern
science with traditional and indigenous knowledge in an effort to
identify anti-desertification strategies.
And
Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of the UN
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), highlighted
UNESCO's global research project "Sustainable Management of
Marginal Drylands" (SUMAMAD), which pools the expertise of dryland
scientists and environmental experts from Belgium, Bolivia, Burkina
Faso, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Jordan, Pakistan, Tunisia, Syria and
Uzbekistan to promote the conservation of soil and water resources in
drylands. He said the second phase of this project would cover
2009-2013, and will also develop climate change scenarios so that
policy-makers and dryland communities are better able to respond and
adapt to the challenges posed by climate change and desertification.
Matsuura also announced the publication of a "Teaching Resource Kit for
Dryland Countries," that is available in Arabic, English, French and
Spanish, and targets secondary school environmental education by
stimulating pupils' curiosity and appealing to their artistic
sensibilities to better transmit scientific and environmental knowledge.
Links to
further information
UNCCD World Day to Combat Desertification webpage
UNEP World Day to Combat Desertification webpage
UNESCO Director-General's message
Joint statement by the GEF and UNCCD
WHITE PAPERS FOR UNCCD SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE OPEN FOR REVIEW
The Dryland
Science for Development Consortium (DSD), which is helping to organize
the first scientific conference for the UN Convention to Combat
Desertification's (UNCCD) Committee on Science and Technology (CST), has
invited scientific colleagues and stakeholders of the UNCCD to review
the drafts of scientific analysis papers that will feed into the 22-24
September 2009 conference on "Bio‐physical and socioeconomic monitoring
and assessment of desertification and land degradation, to support
decision-making in land and water management." The Conference, popularly
known under the shorter title "Understanding Desertification and Land
Degradation Trends," will take place at the ninth session of the UNCCD
Conference of Parties in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In preparation for the
Conference, three Working Groups have drafted 'white papers' summarizing
leading scientific knowledge relevant to the topic assigned by the
Convention that leads towards recommendations that can support decision
making in land and water management by the Convention and its Parties.
The drafts will be open for review by scientists and stakeholders
worldwide from 28 May-28 June 2009.
Link to further
information
DSD website
UNCCD First Scientific Conference website
APRIL 2009
UNCCD SEEKS COMMENTS ON DRAFT COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
The UN
Convention to Combat Desertification Secretariat is seeking comments on
the draft Communication Strategy that it has prepared, following
Decision 3 of the eighth Conference of the Parties, which took place in
September 2007. Comments are requested by 30 April 2009.
Link to further
information
UNCCD Draft Communication Strategy website
WORLD BANK CLIMATE INVESTMENT FRAMEWORK REQUESTS FEEDBACK ON FOREST
PROGRAM
The World Bank is seeking
feedback on the design documents for its Forest Investment Program (FIP),
a part of its Climate Investment Framework (CIF) that seeks to pilot and
demonstrate new approaches to forest management that lead to major
impacts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from forests. The deadline
for comments on the design documents is 6 April 2009. A revised document
will then be prepared for approval at the final design meeting, to be
held on 7-8 May 2009, in Washington DC, US.
Link to further information
World Bank CIF website
MARCH 2009
LIBERIA AND EC AGREE TO NEGOTIATE VPA ON FLEGT
Liberia and the European Community (EC) agreed to commence negotiations
on a voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) under the European Union's
Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade programme. A joint
statement from both governments, issued on 31 March 2009, notes that the
main objectives of the VPA will be to help Liberia maintain and secure
markets and to promote verified legal timber, in congruence with
Liberia's objective of ensuring sustainable forest management.
Link to further information
Liberia and EC Joint statement, 31 March 2009
FAO AND FINLAND
DEVELOP SFM PARTNERSHIP
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Government of
Finland have established a 14 million partnership titled "Sustainable
Forest Management in a Changing Climate."
The partnership aims to assist developing countries in protecting
forest resources and building livelihoods around sustainable forestry.
The programme will enhance the collection and analysis of forest data,
as well as bolster skills for sustainable forest management (SFM).
Spanning four years initially, the programme will be launched with three
to six developing countries as pilot cases, to be chosen in the coming
weeks. Lessons learned will then be disseminated among FAO global
networks.
Link to further information
FAO press release, 27 March 2009
EC RELEASES REPORT ON SOILS' ROLE IN CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION
The
European Commission (EC) has released a report that underlines the role
that soils can play in mitigating climate change. The report "Review of
existing information on the interrelations between soil and climate
change," is a synthesis of the best available information on the links
between soil and climate change, and highlights that soils contain
around twice the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and three times the
amount to be found in vegetation. The authors underline the need to
sequester carbon in soils, adding that the technique is cost competitive
and immediately available, requires no new or unproven technologies, and
has a mitigation potential comparable to that of any other sector of the
economy.
Links to further information
CLIMSOIL study
Europa press release, 5 March 2009
FEBRUARY 2009
EU, CHINA ESTABLISH BILATERAL FOREST LAW ENFORCEMENT
AND GOVERNANCE MECHANISM
China and the European Commission have signed an EU-China bilateral
coordination mechanism on Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG).
The mechanism provides a framework for policy dialogue and joint
activities on timber legality verification, supply chain transparency,
and public and private procurement policies. The agreement was signed on
30 January 2009.
Link
to further information
ITTO Tropical Timber Market report, 1-15 February 2009
EC PARLIAMENT CONSIDERING ILLEGAL LOGGING PROPOSAL
The European Parliament and Council are currently considering
adopting proposals for new legislation designed to remove illegal timber
from the supply chains of products destined for the European market. The
proposed legislation places a direct obligation on European operators,
specifically primary producers and European importers, to implement a
"due diligence system" to minimize the risk of any illegal wood entering
their supply chain. Under the proposed legislation, the EC would provide
guidelines, but individual Member States would be responsible for
enforcement and imposition of sanctions. The proposed legislation has
received mixed reviews from EU politicians and environmental groups,
with some arguing that the proposals do not go far enough to combat
trade in illegally sourced wood, and that the systems might vary widely
between Member States.
Link
to further information
ITTO Tropical Timber Market report, 1-15 February 2009
UNFF TO HOLD CONSULTATIONS ON FOREST FINANCE, UNFF8
DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE
The UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) will hold an informal consultation to
further the work of the Open-ended Ad Hoc Expert Group to Develop
Proposals for the Development of a Voluntary Global Financial
Mechanism/Portfolio Approach/Forest Financing Framework. The
consultation will convene from 12-13 March 2009, at Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) headquarters in Rome, Italy, prior to FAO's 19th
meeting of the Committee on Forestry (COFO). The Expert Group had
originally met in 2008 to discuss proposals on financing sustainable
forest management, a principal agenda item for the Forum's eighth
session, to be held from 20 April-1 May 2009, in New York.
In other
UNFF news, the Secretariat has made available session documents in
preparation for UNFF8. The Secretariat has posted the provisional
agenda, a Secretariat note on forests in a changing environment, and
reports from countries, regions and multi-stakeholder dialogues.
Included also are responses from member States and major groups on
proposals for financing sustainable forest management.
Link
to further information
UNFF website
MCPFE EXTERNAL REVIEW BEGINS
The Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe
(MCPFE) is undergoing an external review in 2009. The aim of the review
is to provide a basis for decisions on the future strategic direction of
the MCPFE, and will involve signatories as well as stakeholders. The
report is expected before the next Expert Level Meeting, scheduled for
24-25 November 2009.
Link to further information
MCPFE Media Release
JANUARY 2009
IFAD ANNOUNCES FINANCING FOR RURAL,
LAND DEGRADATION PROJECTS
The Executive Board
of the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has
approved US$258 million in new funding to reduce rural poverty in 16
developing countries, as noted by IFAD President Lennart Båge. It is
estimated that 75% of the world's poorest people, around 1 billion, live
in rural areas and are dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods.
IFAD hopes to support economic activities for an estimated 60 million of
people through the projects. IFAD has also announced it will
provide US$16 million, in the form of a US$8 million loan and US$8
million grant, to support the second phase of a rural rehabilitation and
development project in Niger. The project will establish local funds to
finance the collective investments of 56 rural communes and empower them
to decide on their agricultural priorities, in-line with the
Government's push for greater decentralisation. The project also seeks
to reduce or reverse land degradation by promoting sustainable land
management.
Links to further
information
UN News Centre, 15 January 2009
UN News Centre, 19 December 2008
DIGITAL MAP OF AFRICA'S DEPLETED SOILS TO BE PRODUCED
The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), a research
center of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
(CGIAR), will produce a detailed digital soil map of 42 sub-Saharan
countries. The project, named the African Soil Information Service (AfSIS),
will provide information necessary to overcome soil depletion and
improve crop production through better soil management. AfSIS is
supported through a four-year grant of US$18 million from the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in
Africa. The project will use innovative technologies such as remote
sensing via satellite and infrared spectroscopy to analyze the chemical
and physical properties and organic matter of soil samples. This
information will be made available via the Internet and ultimately will
become part of a global soil mapping initiative called
GlobalSoilMap.net.
Links to further information
CIAT press release
AfSIS website
UNECE, FAO LAUNCH INDICATORS DATABASE FOR
SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF EUROPEAN FORESTS
The Timber and Forestry programme of the UN Economic Commission for
Europe (UNECE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)
have released a new web-based resource tool to enable researchers,
policymakers, practitioners and the general public to access data on
Europe's forests. The database includes information on the balance of
carbon in forest ecosystems, forest health condition, status of forest
biodiversity, aspects of production, and protected forest areas, as well
as social and economic aspects of the forestry sector.
The
database is a comprehensive research tool based on the report "State of
Europe's Forests 2007," and includes information collected by hundreds
of individuals and dozens of agencies. It makes information available
for 27 quantitative indicators, structured by six criteria for
sustainable forest management endorsed by the Ministerial Conference on
the Protection of Forests in Europe.
In line
with the structure of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest
management, the data illustrate trends of chosen variables for the years
1990, 2000 and 2005. It is expected that this series will be continued.
The interface enables online review and simple analysis, but also allows
selective extraction of the requested data in different formats.
Links
to further information
Indicators Database
UNECE Press Release
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