Member States to the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) adopted a decision on means of implementation on 30 October 2009, during a special session of the ninth session of UNFF (UNFF 9), held at UN headquarters in New York, US. The special session of UNFF 9 was convened for the purpose of adopting this decision, after informal consultations had resulted in agreed text on means of implementation, an issue that had remained unresolved at the last UNFF session in April 2009.
The decision launches two initiatives to catalyze funding for sustainable forest management (SFM). The Forum will establish an intergovernmental process to conduct in-depth analysis of all aspects of forest financing over the next four years. An intergovernmental ad hoc expert group will analyze existing financing strategies for SFM, and explore ways to improve access to funds, including the option of establishing a voluntary global forest fund. The decision also launches a “facilitative process” on forest financing, to assist countries to mobilize funding from all sources.
The facilitative process addresses the special needs of countries that have faced a 20-year decline in forest financing. Specifically, these include least developed countries, low forest cover countries (LFCCs), high forest cover countries with low deforestation, low to medium income countries, small island developing States (SIDS), and low income countries in Africa. The facilitative process has received immediate support, including for a first project on “Facilitating Financing for SFM in SIDS and LFCCs,” from the Government of the United Kingdom. This project will be implemented by the UNFF Secretariat as the first phase of a larger project with other phases to be financed by a large multilateral donor. The immediate objective of this first component is to strengthen the capacity development of SIDS and LFCCs to better address the main obstacles and challenges in financing SFM, and associated global, national and local environmental public goods, and to improve the governance frameworks to secure a conducive policy environment for SFM. Jan McAlpine, UNFF Director, said that the facilitative process will develop innovative solutions by bringing together all actors including donors, governments, stakeholders and the private sector, and that 90 percent of the value of the process will be in the dialogue generated by this initiative.
Links to further information
IISD RS web coverage
Agreed text on means of implementation
UN media release, 30 October 2009