SD @ UNFF Country-Led Initiative

UNFF COUNTRY-LED INITIATIVE

Lessons Learned in Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting on Implementation of IPF/IFF Proposals for Action

17-20 March 2003, Viterbo, Italy

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Tuesday, 18 March

On the second day of the UNFF Country-Led Initiative, working groups continued discussion on substantive issues. In the morning, delegates were asked to consider options for public, private, NGO, bilateral, regional, and multilateral collaboration to build country capability and capacity to monitor, assess and report. Rapporteurs presented their groups’ conclusions in a brief Plenary session, highlighting, inter alia: the high costs of facilitating stakeholder participation in MAR; the diversity of approaches utilized by countries; the need for streamlining reporting and harmonizing reporting requirements; lack of financial and human resources to complete reports; the importance for governments to collaborate with the private sector and NGOs; and the need for Proposals for Action (PFAs) to correspond with national policy.

In the afternoon, working groups considered how countries can most effectively make information available to UNFF and how the UNFF can use this information to facilitate implementation of the PFAs. Proposals included, inter alia: clarifying the purposes of reporting and its benefits to countries; establishing an international information system of national reports describing policy actions taken; structuring UNFF sessions to include segments for sharing information about national experiences with MAR; and highlighting the importance of UNFF side events in disseminating the exchange of information.

In an informal evening session, participants heard presentations by members of the CPF Task Force on streamlining reporting. Presenters included Tiina Vahanen, FAO; Michael Martin, FAO; Eva Mueller, ITTO; Susan Braatz, UNFF Secretariat; Stefan Hain, UNEP-WCMC; and Peter Holmgren, FAO.