The Secretariat of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) hosted a series of briefing sessions on the UNFF Strategic Work Plan on Forest Financing on 10 March 2010, at UN Headquarters in New York, US. The Strategic Work Plan was recently endorsed by the UNFF 9 Bureau as a means to pave the way for full implementation of the UNFF 9 Special Session’s Resolution on means of implementation, and outlines a four-year roadmap including two official ad hoc expert group (AHEG) meetings and the UNFF Facilitative Process. The Strategic Work Plan follows the Resolution’s vision on forests – a cross-cutting and multi-sectoral approach that involves substantive inputs from member States, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, regional processes and other stakeholders and encompasses resources from international, regional and national sources.
Discussions at the briefing also focused on the first phase of the activity of the Facilitative Process, launched to identify gaps, obstacles and opportunities in forest financing. The first phase of the Process is focused on small island developing States and low forest cover countries. Depending on additional funding, it would then expand to other groups of countries and provide its inputs on issues referred to it by the Forum.
Delegates also discussed logistical and substantive preparations for the upcoming first meeting of the Open-Ended Intergovernmental AHEG on Sustainable Forest Management Financing, scheduled to take place in Nairobi in September 2010. The AHEG will discuss forest financing actions, analyses and experiences at all levels, as well as some features of forest financing strategies and mechanisms. [Background information] [UNFF website]