Participants in the TC session will be able to review,  discuss and contribute to a paper on forests and economic development, which synthesises and elaborates on the main studies developed by ECE-FAO in 2011-12 such as the state and outlook of European and North American forests and the Forest Product Annual Market Reviews. The final paper will be presented at the 10th session of the United Nations Forum of Forest in April 2013 and will provide an important contribution to the discussion on the subject taking place at the global level.
This will be followed by market discussions. These will focus on sustainable forest products and their contribution to the green economy, covering the broad market and policy developments related to innovative and sustainable forest products, and how they support a more environmentally friendly and stronger economy.
The Committee session will also welcome delegates from the European Forestry Commission to discuss three important issues for the future of the joint ECE-FAO work on forests in the region:
1.    The results of the 2013 Strategic Review of the joint programme of work and its supporting ECE/FAO bodies;
2.    The draft elements of the new joint ECE/FAO programme of work for the period 2014-17;
3.    The draft Action Plan for the Forest Sector in a Green Economy, which after several consultations with different stakeholders has reached an advanced stage and should be thoroughly discussed by the Committee and the Commission’s members in order to finalize it.
Finally, the meeting will discuss the organization of the European Forest Week (EFW)  in 2013, and hear about preparations of Metsä2013, the joint session of the ECE Timber Committee and the European Forestry Commission to take place in Rovaniemi , Finland, next year. The EFW and  Metsä2103 will address the importance of forests and forest products in a green economy.
Taking into account  the focus of this year’s TC session, representatives of the private sector are also invited to join the meeting to share experiences,  information and recommendations on the sector. The meeting will offer an opportunity to strengthen the partnership between the United Nations and the forest sector in order to further promote and implement best practices for sustainable forest management and for a dynamic forest sector that could lead the transition towards a green economy. 

The invitation letter can be found here

Contact Paola Deda for more information.