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Timber Committee |  |
European Forestry Commission | ||||||||||
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who work together to promote sustainable forest management in Europe, the CIS and North America |
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UNECE TIMBER COMMITTEE AND THE FAO EUROPEAN FORESTRY COMMISSION OCTOBER 2004 |
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Objective
To
contribute to achieving sustainable forest management, including the
sound and legal use of
wood, other forest products and services, throughout the UNECE region,
and to
ensure measurement of that progress. Strategy
for 2005-2008
In order to support forest management, including the use of wood, other forest products and services, that is ecologically, economically, and socially sustainable, it is necessary to maintain a good balance between these three aspects. This balance should be based on a strong consensus on the goals and methods among all stakeholders, and well integrated into the policy framework for other sectors (the cross-sectoral approach). Achieving sustainable forest management is primarily a sovereign national responsibility. However, regional international cooperation, through the integrated UNECE/FAO programme and its partners, will contribute by developing and disseminating concepts and information, sharing experience and defining standard measurement tools (indicators). The main contribution of the programme is
through developing and applying tools to analyse and monitor both
policy and
developments on the ground, collecting, validating and disseminating
information and analysis, as well as stimulating the exchange of
experience, and joint efforts to measure progress.
While all countries benefit from
international cooperation, the programme recognizes the special needs
of the
countries of the CIS and south east Europe, where forest sector
problems tend to be more
acute and national capacity weaker. Expected accomplishments and indicators of achievement1.
Improved
practice of sustainable forest management, supported by an increased
ability to measure sustainable forest management at the national and
regional
levels. 1.1.
Percentage
of UNECE countries with national
forest programme (nfp) or
similar holistic forest sector policy framework 1.2.
Percentage
of UNECE countries able to provide
satisfactory data on
indicators of sustainable forest management to the Fifth Ministerial
Conference on the protection of Forests in Europe 2.
Improved
policies to promote the sound use of wood, and increased monitoring
ability . 2.1.
Percentage of UNECE countries with policies
in place on sound use of
wood, whether or not in the context of national forest programmes 2.2.
Percentage of UNECE countries able to provide
satisfactory responses to
UNECE/FAO/ITTO/Eurostat joint forest sector questionnaire 3.
Increased
capacity of countries in CIS and south-east Europe to achieve
sustainable
forest management at the national level, notably through developing
appropriate
policy measures 3.1.
Number of experts from CIS and south-east
Europe participating in
subprogramme workshops and seminars, and considering these activities
of
adequate relevance and quality 3.2.
Improvement in administrative capacity of CIS
and south east European
countries, as evidenced by the number of these countries adopting
national
forest programmes
Programme elements
The programme has five work
areas and 23 programme elements as follows:
Main
activities and outputs, methods of
work
The proposed main activities, outputs and
methods of
work, as well as partnerships and the allocation of Geneva based
secretariat
resources are attached. However, this operational information does not
necessitate formal approval by intergovernmental bodies.
Formal
structures:
UNECE Timber
Committee
Meets annually in Geneva, as a forum for
policy
discussion and for discussion of market trends and outlook. It also reviews implementation of the work
programme. Every four years, it meets
in joint session with the European Forestry Commission, to carry out a
strategic review of the whole integrated programme.
The next joint session after 2004 will be in 2008 in
Rome.
FAO European
Forestry Commission
Meets every two years, alternately in a HQ
location
(Geneva or Rome) and a member country.[1] It reviews recent developments in policy and
institutions and acts as a policy forum. It
identifies emerging policy issues in the region for
the FAO Committee
on Forests (COFO). It also reviews
implementation of the work programme.
Bureaux
The Bureaux consist of the office-holders
(Chairman
and Vice-Chairs) of the TC and the EFC and the Chair of the Working
Party. They meet at least annually,
usually with
representatives of MCPFE. The Bureaux
decide on how the work programme is to be implemented.
Joint FAO/ECE
Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics
Meets annually in Geneva to provide guidance
to
activities in work areas 1, 2 and 3, as well as any other linked
activity.
Teams of
specialists
Several activities are implemented or guided
by
teams of specialists, which are time limited, and voluntary groups of
experts
who work with the secretariat to achieve specified goals.
Each team has time limited, specific terms
of reference in a standard format. Drafts of these mandates are
attached,
although some await input from other partners, and are not final. The
integrated programme has 7 teams as follows:
Joint FAO/ECE/ILO
experts network to
implement sustainable forest management The network contributes to the implementation
of the
work programme, notably area 4, social and cultural aspects of forestry.
Partnerships
The
TC and the EFC work wherever possible in partnership with other
organisations. As of 2004, there are
operational partnerships in place with MCPFE, Eurostat and ITTO, and
cooperation with a very wide range of organisations. There is scope for
developing and strengthening partnerships with several other
organisations,
including, among intergovernmental organisations the EU (DGs ENV, AGRI
and
INDUSTRY, COST Actions), European
Environment Agency (EEA), International Labour Office
(ILO), and a
wide range of NGOs, including European Forest Institute (EFI), World
Wide Fund
for Nature International (WWF), The World Conservation Union (IUCN),
Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI), European
Confederation of
Woodworking Industries (CEI-Bois), Confederation of European Forest
Owners
(CEPF), European National Forestry Information Network (ENFIN). The modalities of cooperation should be
determined and reported by programme element. [1] An invitation to host the
next
session of the EFC in 2006 was received from Slovakia.
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