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Eighth Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests
United Nations Headquarters, New York | 20 April - 1 May 2009
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Eighth Session of UN Forum on Forests in New York
On Monday, 20 April, the eighth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF8) convened at UN Headquarters in New York. In a morning plenary session, delegates heard opening statements and addressed organizational matters, progress towards sustainable forest management (SFM), and enhanced cooperation. In the afternoon, a panel discussion was held on the financial crisis and SFM, and plenary addressed means of implementation.
Jan McAlpine, Director, UNFF Secretariat, presented on the Secretary-General's report on achieving the four Global Objectives on Forests and implementing the Forest Instrument, highlighting that further work is needed in addressing forest degradation.
Jan Heino, Chair of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), presented on enhanced cooperation and the CPF Framework 2008 and 2009, and outlined CPF joint initiatives and ongoing collaborations.
Delegates then heard opening statements from member States and regional groups, which continued into the afternoon.
McAlpine presented the Secretary-General's report on finance and other means of implementation for SFM, and called for implementation to start immediately following UNFF8. A brief discussion ensued.
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Monday, 20 April
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Plenary
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Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.
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UNFF8 Chairman Boen M. Purnama, Indonesia.
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Jan Heino, Chair of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests.
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André De Jesus Moda, Angola.
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Jan McAlpine, Director, UNFF Secretariat.
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Tomás Krejzar, Czech Republic for the EU.
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Ruth Turia, Papua New Guinea.
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Rajan Sehgal, India.
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Michael Jong Tjien Fa, Suriname.
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Fernando Coimbra, Brazil.
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John Matuszak, US.
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Moshibudi Rampedi, South Africa.
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John Talbot, Australia.
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Nancy Cespedes, Chile.
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Panel on The Financial Crisis and SFM: Threat and Opportunity
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Invited speakers from Conservation International, the World Bank and the ITTO outlined the negative effects of the global financial crisis on the world's forests and highlighted some tools for financing SFM. They also called for UNFF to convey to the UNFCCC that a future climate agreement needs to address the role of forests, and should include natural, intact forests.
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Russ Mittermeier, President, Conservation International.
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Warren Evans, Director, Environment Department, World Bank.
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Emmanuel Ze Meka, Executive Director, ITTO.
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Hiro Miyazono, Japan International Cooperation Agency.
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José Luis Sutera, Argentina.
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Side Events
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The NFP Facility and PROFOR presented a side event on forest financing strategies and country experiences.
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Rights and Resources and ACICAFOC presented a side event on community-based forestry for forest-based climate change mitigation.
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Around UNFF8
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A view of plenary in the afternoon.
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Tiina Vähänen, FAO, Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland, and other delegates chatted in the margins.
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Related Links
United Nations Forum on Forests
UNFF8
UNFF8
Provisional Agenda
Collaborative Partnership on Forests
Related IISD Coverage of Forest Meetings
19th Session of the FAO Committee on
Forestry, 16-20 March 2009, Rome
44th Session of the International Tropical Timber Council, 3-8 November 2008, Yokohama
UNFF CLI on Financing for Sustainable Forest Management, 8-12 September 2008, Paramaribo
Seventh Session of the
UN Forum on Forests (UNFF-7), 16-27 April 2007, New York
Sixth Session of the
UN Forum on Forests (UNFF-6), 13-24 February 2006, New York
Fifth Session of the
UN Forum on Forests (UNFF-5), 16-27 May 2005, New York
Fourth Session of the
UN Forum on Forests (UNFF-4), 3-14 May 2004, Geneva
IISD
Linkages - Forest, Desertification, Land
A
Brief Introduction to Global Forest Policy
Linkages Update
MEA-L - Newsletter on key MEAs and their secretariats
Africa Regional Coverage
Climate-L.org - A knowledge management project for international negotiations and related activities on climate change
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