April 2007: The seventh session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF-7) commenced this week at UN Headquarters in New York.

Participants adopted an agenda that calls for them to formulate and adopt a multi-year programme of work (MYPOW), including a description and scheduling of the tasks for the period 2008-2015, and to conclude and adopt a non-legally binding instrument (NLBI) on all types of forests. A multi-stakeholder dialogue is also scheduled to present stakeholders’ priority areas of action with respect to the MYPOW and salient themes and perspectives on the NLBI. Other agenda items include consideration of enhanced cooperation and policy and programme coordination, and provision of further guidance to the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF).

Preparatory meetings for UNFF-7 were held in Liberville, Gabon (3-4 April 2007) for African countries, and in Bogotá, Colombia (25-27 March 2007) for member countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO). Participants discussed the MYPOW, the NLBI, means of implementation and regional involvement. [IISD RS coverage][ECOSOC News Release, 13 April 2007]