The second Forest Day event, held in Poznan, Poland, on 6 December 2008, brought together nearly 900 participants from a diverse range of forest stakeholders, academics and decision makers from around the world, to facilitate discussions on the potential to incorporate forests into climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies at both the global and national level.

Taking place in parallel with the fourteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP14) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Forest Day 2 was co-hosted by the Centre for International Forest Research (CIFOR), the Government of Poland and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), a partnership of 14 forest-related international organizations, chaired by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
Following on the positive response to the first Forest Day held on 8 December 2007, in Bali, Indonesia, during UNFCCC COP 13, Forest Day 2 considered cross-cutting themes such as: adaptation of forests to climate change; addressing forest degradation through sustainable forest management; capacity building for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD); and options for integrating REDD into the global climate regime. A drafting committee representing members of the CPF produced a summary of key messages that emerged in the course of the day, to be forwarded to the UNFCCC Secretariat. Key messages included: that climate change adaptation and mitigation are linked, particularly in the context of forests; that it is important to involve women, the poor, and indigenous peoples in the design and operation of forest-related climate change policies; and that forests provide significant co-benefits beyond carbon storage. Differing views were expressed on whether and how these benefits should be monetized and included in a potential regime for REDD.
Links to further information
IISD RS coverage of Forest Day 2
Forest Day 2 Homepage