11 March 2013: The UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) has released concept notes for each of the High-level Ministerial Roundtables to be held during its tenth session (UNFF 10) in Istanbul, Turkey. The Ministerial Roundtables, scheduled for 9 April, will address the themes of “Forests and Economic Development” and “Rio+20 Outcome and Post-2015 UN Development Agenda.”

The Roundtable on “Forests and Economic Development” will examine the full scope of forest products and services, including both cash and non-cash contributions, with the notion that if the full value of forests can be realized, then its links to many other sectors, such as agriculture, soil protection and water and biodiversity conservation, can be understood and factored into policy. The Roundtable will also address the role of forests as safety nets that increase the resilience of the communities that rely on them and reduce the risks of natural disasters, such as floods and landslides.

The Roundtable on “Rio+20 Outcome and Post-2015 UN Development Agenda” will discuss how forests can be integrated into both the sustainable development goals, an outcome of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), and the post-2015 UN development agenda. The UNFF will address the question of a “future international arrangement on forests” at its eleventh session in 2015.

Overall, the Roundtables are meant to facilitate discussions at the highest level on sustainable forest management (SFM) and its contribution to economic development. [Publication: Concept Note – Ministerial Roundtable on Forests and Economic Development] [Publication: Concept Note – Ministerial Roundtable on Rio+20 Outcome and Post-2015]