The eighth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF8) was held from 20 April – 1 May 2008, at UN Headquarters in New York.

Over 600 participants attended the two-week session, to address: means of implementation for sustainable forest management (SFM); and forests in a changing environment, including forests and climate change, reversing the loss of forest cover and degradation, and forests and biodiversity conservation. After an all-night session on the last night of the session, delegates adopted a resolution on forests in a changing environment, enhanced cooperation and cross-sectoral policy and programme coordination, and regional and subregional inputs.
Delegates were not able to agree on a decision on financing for SFM. The principle contention from the outset were the disparate views of developing countries and donor countries: the G-77/China favored the establishment of a global forest fund as soon as possible; and JUSCANZ and the EU preferred to establish a facilitative process to, inter alia, enable easier access to current funding and create enabling conditions for private sector and other investment. Delegates almost reached agreement on setting up a process to consider recommendations on the establishment of the fund, but attempts to find compromise text did not result in a reconciliation of the needs of both donor and recipient countries. Delegates ultimately decided to forward bracketed negotiating text to the Forum’s next session.
Link to further information
IISD RS coverage of UNFF8