The 17th session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF17) spent its third day in closed-door informal consultations discussing the provisions of the draft omnibus resolution proposed by the UNFF Bureau.
To dive deeper, read the daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin report.
The draft resolution featured sections on:
- Implementation of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests (UNSPF);
- Means of implementation, including operations and resources of the Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network (GFFFN);
- Monitoring, assessment, and reporting; and
- Preparations for the midterm review (MTR) of the effectiveness of the International Arrangement on Forests (IAF) in 2024.
An annex detailed proposed actions in preparation for the MTR as prepared by an expert group that convened in 2021.
Among the issues discussed during the informal consultation were:
- how to frame references to the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use;
- how to acknowledge challenges faced by developing countries, particularly due to the pandemic;
- language on Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and women and girls;
- how to reference private and philanthropic sources of financing;
- whether to insert a reference to payment for environmental services of forests;
- whether to request the UNFF Secretariat to evaluate the impact of the 2021 flagship publication;
- whether to insert a statement, in the plans for a global workshop on reporting on progress towards global forest goals and targets, that convening the workshop would be dependent on voluntary contributions;
- whether to invite the Secretariat or, alternatively, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), to initiate work on tier 3 indicators for measuring the contribution of forests and trees to food security and nutrition;
- whether to request the Secretariat to submit its proposed changes to the national reporting format to the Forum for approval before implementing them in a pilot phase;
- whether to include in amendments to the national reporting format explicit links to the global core set of indicators; and
- how to ensure the independence and transparency of the MTR process.
Delegates also discussed whether to amend portions of the annex to strengthen interlinkages between the UNFF and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and whether to reference some or all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Negotiations will continue on the omnibus resolution in Thursday’s session.
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All ENB photos are free to use with attribution. For UNFF17, please use: Photo by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon.