Regional and Subregional Input to UNFF9

Transcription

1 Regional and Subregional Input to UNFF9 Regional/ Sub-regional Organization: The Montreal Process Working Group on Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests (The Montreal Process) Name: Richard W. Guldin (Dr.), Director, Quantitative Sciences, USDA Forest Service, Research & Development Title: Chair of the Montreal Process Address: 1601 North Kent Street, 4th Floor; Arlington, VA Phone/Fax: (phone), (fax) Person to contact concerning the submission (if different from name above): Name: Yuichi Sato (Mr.) Title: The Montreal Process liaison officer, Address: c/o Planning Division, Forestry Agency, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 1-2-1, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, , Japan Phone/Fax: (phone), (fax) Sections for Consideration This Note has been prepared to highlight aspects for consideration when submitting regional and sub-regional input to the UNFF Secretariat. It consists of two sections: Section I: Substantive matters of the Forum (See Annex 3: Provisional Agenda of UNFF9) 1. Forests for people, livelihoods and poverty eradication: i. Community-based forest management; ii. Social development and indigenous and other local and forest-dependent communities, including forest land tenure; iii Social and cultural aspects. 2. Assessment of progress made on the implementation of the non-legally binding instrument on all types of forests and towards the achievement of the four Global Objectives on Forests. 3. International Year of Forests a. Please indicate major developments and challenges, discussions and/or analyses carried out in relation to the topics above. b. Please indicate regional/ sub-regional level experiences on the application of any of the following cross-cutting issues: finance, transfer of environmentally sound technologies, capacity-building, awareness-raising, education, information-sharing and forest law enforcement and governance, in relation to the four topics above. c. In view of challenges identified, please mention key issues which need to be tackled in the near future, to help contribute to the implementation of the topics above. d. In what relates specifically to the International Year of Forests 2011, please share any eventual information on your ongoing and planned activities in support of the IYF. 1

2 Response on Section I 1. Forests for people, livelihoods and poverty eradication (in general) 1. i. Community-based forest management The Montreal Process member countries (Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Russian Federation, United States of America and Uruguay) published in 2007 the Second Edition of Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forest. This Second Edition contained a range of indicators related to community-based forest management. Specifically the indicators covering the: resilience of forest-dependent communities (Indicator 6.3.c), area and percent of forests used for subsistence purposes (Indicator 6.3.d) and distribution of revenues derived from forest management (Indicator 6.3.e). Each individual Montreal Process member country, in preparing their second Montreal Process Country Reports, has the option of reporting against these indicators, trends in forests and progress toward sustainable forest management. The Montreal Process Country Reports and the Second Edition of the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forest are available at: and 1. ii. Social development and indigenous and other local and forest-dependent communities, including forest land tenure The Montreal Process member countries, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Russian Federation, United States of America and Uruguay in 2007 published the Second Edition of Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forest. This Second Edition contained a range of indicators related to Social development and indigenous and other local and forest-dependent communities, including forest land tenure. Specifically the indicators cover the issues of resilience of forest-dependent communities (Indicator 6.3.c), property rights, land tenure arrangements, customary and traditional rights of indigenous people and means of resolving property disputes by due process (Indicator 7.1.a). Each individual Montreal Process member country, in preparing their second Montreal Process Country Reports, has the option of reporting against these indicators, trends in forests and progress toward sustainable forest management. The Montreal Process Country Reports and the Second Edition of the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forest are available at: and 1. iii Social and cultural aspects 2

3 The Montreal Process member countries, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Russian Federation, United States of America and Uruguay in 2007 published the Second Edition of Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forest. This Second Edition contained a range of indicators related to the Social and cultural aspects of forests. Specifically the indicators cover the issues of the area and percent of forests managed primarily to protect the range of cultural, social and spiritual needs and values (Indicator 6.5.a), the importance of forests to people (Indicator 6.5.b) and management of forests to conserve special environmental, cultural, social and/of scientific values (Indicator 7.1.e). Each individual Montreal Process member country, in preparing their second Montreal Process Country Reports, has the option of reporting against these indicators, trends in forests and progress toward sustainable forest management. The Montreal Process Country Reports and the Second Edition of the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forest are available at: and 2. Assessment of progress made on the implementation of the non-legally binding instrument on all types of forests and towards the achievement of the four Global Objectives on Forests While the Montreal Process, a non-legally binding process launched in 1994, predates the 2007 UNFF declaration on the non-legally binding instrument on all types of forests, the Montreal Process compliments the intent of the NLBI. Montreal Process member countries represent about 90 per cent of the world's temperate and boreal forests which equates to 60 per cent of all of the forests of the world. In 1995 member countries developed 7 criteria and 67 indicators as guidelines for assessing forest trends and progress toward sustainable forest management. Based on these criteria and indicators members published in 2003 their first country reports and a collective Montreal Process Overview Report. In 2007 member countries revised the set of indicators as a basis for countries preparing their second country report. From early 2009 Montreal Process member countries started publishing their second country reports, based on the revised 2007 set of indicators. Montreal Process member countries affirmed in the 2003 Québec City Declaration: the value of the Montréal Process Working Group as a forum for international collaboration, including catalyzing national efforts, promoting a shared view of sustainable forest management and how to measure it, and fostering bilateral and regional partnership and cooperation among Members to build capacity. Montreal Process countries continue to work on the implementation of the Montreal Process criteria and indicators and, through this process, support the intent of the UNFF non-legally binding instrument on all types of forests. 3

4 The first and second Montreal Process Country Reports and the different editions of the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forest are available at: and 4

5 3. International Year of Forests 2011 The Montreal Process at its 21 st Working Group Meeting held in June 2010 in USA agreed to increase the Montreal Processes visibility during the 2011 Year of Forest. The Montreal Process is working towards; 1) holding a side event on MP activities at UNFF9 in January 2011; 2) exploring the possibility of a joint meeting with members of other criteria and indicator processes; 3) creating a power point presentation outlining the contribution of the Montreal Process to forestry issues for viewing by a wide audience; and 4) improving the Montreal Process website to increase functionality and easy of use. Section II: Characteristics of regional and sub-regional cooperation and partnerships a. Please provide examples of how existing regional and/or sub-regional cooperation, including the following cross-cutting issues: financial support, technology transfer, capacity building and education, have played a catalytic role in supporting the efforts of countries to achieve sustainable forest management. Kindly indicate any relevant lessons learned related to the application of these cross-cutting issues. As a result of reporting on common indicators adopted by the Montreal Process member countries, the national forest inventories of many member countries are collecting similar, and in some cases, standardized inventory data. For example, the North American Forest Commission (NAFC) made up of Canada, Mexico and the United State has commenced work to produce continental forest information products. Communication and capacity building has been a great strength of the Montreal Process since its inception. Sharing of experiences and knowledge has enabled the development and application of MP C&I framework used by all member countries. For example, through the International Model Forest Network, Argentina, Canada, Chile, China and Russia are collaborating on methods to demonstrate sustainable forest management using MP C&I. Since 2009 Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay are working together with Paraguay and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO) on a Technical Cooperation Project (TCP) to strengthen national capacities for the implementation of criteria and indicators using Montreal Proces as a base framework. One desired output from this Project is to improve use and administration of regional information on conservation and sustainable forest management. One of the characteristics of the Montreal Process is that the membership and activities are on a voluntary basis. Understanding different natural, social and institutional conditions of the member countries, the experts have freely discussed challenges and have exchanged the views for further development of sustainable forest management. For example, the use of C&I for monitoring and reporting of forest degradation and visualization of data/information are currently being discussed for further consideration and will be studied by the interested member countries. b. Please indicate how you have addressed multi-stakeholder dialogues and participation Multi-stakeholder dialogues and participation in these dialogues have been recognized as a crucial issue for the Montreal Process. 5

6 The Montreal Process has addressed this issue through activities such as the co-sponsorship of the Inter-Process Collaboration Workshop, which was held in Poland to explore possibilities for future collaboration among the C&I processes, which it co-sponsored with the MCPFE, ITTO, FAO and UNECE. The country hosting the Montreal Process Working Group meeting is encouraged to officially invite potential Montréal Process member countries to observe at forthcoming meetings and consider becoming members of the Montréal Process and the Montreal Process has a proud history of inviting other processes and relevant groups to participate in its meetings. Individual members of the Montreal process and groupings of members frequently work together to further understanding with regard to sustainable forest management and this is demonstrated through activities such as the International Model Forest Network which utilizes the Montreal Process criteria and indicators and the engagement of local participants at the working group meetings. At the most recent Montreal Process Working Group Meeting held on 1-4 June 2010 in the USA, the state foresters from different regions of the United States participated actively in the meeting and exchanged their progresses and challenges including multi-stakeholder dialogues at the subnational level with member countries.. Please describe any joint activity relevant to the Forum s work undertaken with member organizations of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests - CPF ( and/or major groups (as identified by Agenda 21) MP recognizes the importance of joint activities with relevant organizations including those of CPF. For example, at its 21 st Working Group Meeting held on 1-4 June 2010 in USA, MP invited the representative from ITTO and exchanged progresses and views in C&I international initiatives. Joint meeting with the other C&I processes is under consideration for the activities for International Year of Forest d. Please mention whether this input was prepared in consultation with government representatives, other regional bodies and stakeholder groups, and the extent to which they contributed. N/A e. Please provide information on lessons learned, challenges and the value added in preparing this input. 6

7 Annex 1 Summary of regional measures contained in the Non-Legally Binding Instrument on All Types of Forests VI. International cooperation and means of implementation (Para 7 g, h, i, n, p, q) 7. To achieve the purpose of this instrument, Member States should: (g) Enhance bilateral, regional and international cooperation, with a view to promoting international trade in forest products from sustainably managed forests harvested according to domestic legislation; (h) Enhance bilateral, regional and international cooperation to address illicit international trafficking in forest products through the promotion of forest law enforcement and good governance at all levels; (i) Strengthen, through enhanced bilateral, regional and international cooperation, the capacity of countries to effectively combat illicit international trafficking in forest products, including timber, wildlife and other forest biological resources; (n) Promote international technical and scientific cooperation, including South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation in the field of sustainable forest management, through the appropriate international, regional and national institutions and processes; (p) Strengthen forestry research and development in all regions, particularly in developing countries as well as countries with economies in transition, through relevant organizations, institutions and centres of excellence, as well as through global, regional and subregional networks; (q) Strengthen cooperation and partnerships at the regional and subregional levels to promote sustainable forest management; 7

8 Annex 2 Global Objectives on Forests (as contained in the Non Legally Binding Instrument on All Types of Forests) IV. Global Objectives on Forests 5. Member States reaffirm the following shared global objectives on forests and their commitment to work globally, regionally and nationally to achieve progress towards their achievement by 2015: Global Objective 1 Reverse the loss of forest cover worldwide through sustainable forest management, including protection, restoration, afforestation and reforestation, and increase efforts to prevent forest degradation; Global Objective 2 Enhance forest-based economic, social and environmental benefits, including by improving the livelihoods of forest dependent people; Global Objective 3 Increase significantly the area of protected forests worldwide and other areas of sustainably managed forests, as well as the proportion of forest products from sustainably managed forests; Global Objective 4 Reverse the decline in official development assistance for sustainable forest management and mobilize significantly increased, new and additional financial resources from all sources, for the implementation of sustainable forest management. 8

9 Annex 3 Provisional Agenda for the Ninth Session of UNFF 24 January - 4 February 2011 United Nations, UNHQ, New York Draft provisional agenda: UNFF NINTH SESSION 1) Election of officers. 2) Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters. 3) Assessment of progress made on the implementation the non-legally binding instrument on all types of forests and towards the achievement of the four global objectives on forests. 4) Regional and subregional inputs. 5) Forests for people, livelihoods and poverty eradication: a) Community-based forest management; b) Social development and indigenous and other local and forest-dependent communities, including forest land tenure; c) Social and cultural aspects. 6) International Year of Forests ) Emerging issue. 8) High-level segment. 9) Multi-stakeholder dialogue 10) Enhanced cooperation and policy and programme coordination, including the provision of further guidance to the Collaborative Partnership on Forests. 11) Means of implementation. 12) Forum trust fund. 13) Other matters. 14) Dates and venue for the tenth session of the Forum 15) Provisional agenda for the tenth session of the Forum 16) Adoption of the report of the Forum on its ninth session 9