17 September 2010: The open-ended intergovernmental Ad Hoc Expert Group (AHEG) on Forest Financing held its first meeting from 13-17 September 2010, in Nairobi, Kenya.

The AHEG is mandated to make proposals to the 10th Session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF), in 2013, on strategies to mobilize resources from all sources to support implementation of sustainable forest management (SFM), the achievement of the global objectives on forests and the implementation of the non-legally binding instrument on all types of forests, including, inter alia, strengthening and improving access to funds and establishing a voluntary global forest fund.

The Co-Chairs’ Summary of the meeting includes proposals for intersessional actions and activities including requesting the UNFF Facilitative Process to implement all its functions and to continue with its current work on low forest cover countries and small island developing States. The report of the meeting, which takes note of the Co-Chairs’ Summary, will be submitted to UNFF 9, to be held in January 2011. [http://www.un.org/esa/forests/adhoc-forestfinance.html; IISD RS Sources]