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Recent Meetings
Forests, Deserts, Land
BEIJING CONFERENCE ON DESERTIFICATION PREPARES FOR CSD-16
The Beijing International Conference on Combating Desertification, which was co-organized by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the State Forestry Administration of the People’s Republic of China (SFA), convened from 22-24 January 2008 in Beijing, China. The Conference was convened as an intersessional event in contribution to the 16th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-16), which will address the issue of desertification, along with agriculture, land, drought, rural development, and Africa, in May 2008. The objective of the Conference was to provide opportunities for ministerial statements and panel discussions in thematic sessions and to guide and facilitate an in-depth review of barriers and constraints as well as policy options and practical measures in combating desertification. Sha Zukang, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Minister Francis Nhema, CSD 16 Chair, Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Anada Tiega, Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Minister Jia Zhibang, State Forestry Administration of China, and ministers from other countries participated in the meeting. China’s Vice Premier Hui Liangyu addressed the opening ceremony of the Conference, which was attended by over 250 representatives from 60 countries and 18 UN organizations, as well as representatives from NGOs, regional and international organizations. Hui emphasized the need to: effectively implement the UNCCD and fulfill the commitments made under the Convention; formulate and implement national strategies to combat desertification and incorporate them into national plans for social and economic development; and change production and consumption patterns and follow the path of sustainable development.
Participants adopted a Beijing Statement on combating desertification. Based on Sha Zukang’s presentation during a press conference at its conclusion, Conference participants’ common understandings included: the need to strengthen the implementation of the Ten-year Strategic Plan and Framework adopted at UNCCD COP-8 as well as the coordination of implementation of the UNCCD, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity; forests play an important role in preventing and controlling land degradation and restoring degraded land; National Action Plans offer an effective tool in combating desertification and should be implemented in coordination among relevant government agencies, including central government agencies and local governments; multilateral and bilateral regional cooperation should be strengthened; partnerships and strategic alliances are critical instruments; and international development cooperation, including ODA, can play an important role in investing in addressing land degradation, while central and local governments should take effective measures to mobilize financial resources (IISD RS Sources).
Links to further information
Meeting website
Beijing Statement
CONFERENCE ADDRESSES TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE
A conference entitled “Sustainable Forest Management and Poverty Alleviation: Roles of Traditional Forest-related Knowledge (TFK)” was held in Kunming, China from 17-20 December 2007. With a focus on Asia, 150 conference participants from 20 countries identified opportunities for the forest science community to contribute to the revitalization of traditional forest-related knowledge, including by: documenting TFK in close partnership with holders and users of this knowledge; researching traditional forest management and conservation practices that help to elucidate the ecological underpinnings of TFK; and integrating TFK into forestry curricula. This conference was jointly organized by the Chinese Academy of Forestry, the International Union of Forest Research Organizations’ (IUFRO) Task Force on Traditional Forest Knowledge, and the Asia-Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutions (APAFRI) with the cooperation of and funding from several other organizations.
Link to further information
The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) Scientific Summary No. 39, 2008
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UNCCD ESCOP ADOPTS BUDGET
The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), at its eighth meeting in Madrid, Spain, agreed to hold an Extraordinary Session of the COP (ESCOP) to complete consideration of agenda item 6 on the programme and budget for the biennium 2008-2009. The ESCOP convened at UN headquarters in New York, US, on 26 November 2007. Delegates undertook extensive consultations and adopted a decision that increases the budget by 4% (euro value) for the biennium 2008-2009, with 2.8% to be assessed from all parties and 1.2% to be contributed a voluntary contribution. The ESCOP was gaveled to a close at 3:58 am.
Link to further information
IISD RS coverage
SCIENTISTS CALL FOR CROP RESEARCH ON ADAPTATION
The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) organized an International Symposium on Climate Change from 22-24 November 2007, to coincide with the 35th Annual Day celebrations of the Institute. The symposium brought together experts from the 15 international agricultural research centers under the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) as well as other scientists to discuss their research on adaptation needs related to their mandate crops. Martin Parry, Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), delivered the keynote address on ‘The Implications of Climate Change for Crop Yields, Global Food Supply and Risk of Hunger.’ Parry and William Dar, Director-General of ICRISAT and current Chair of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification’s Committee on Science and Technology, emphasized the need to focus crop research on adaptation to environmental stress, such as rising temperatures and water scarcity.
Link to further information
ICRISAT press release, 22 November 2007
AFRICAN WORKSHOP ADDRESSES ROLE OF WOMEN IN FORESTRY
Representatives of national forest services, international organizations and universities attended a workshop on gender in forestry in Africa, held from 12-13 November 2007, in Accra, Ghana. The workshop, organized by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the University of Ghana, the Center for International Forestry Research and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations, reviewed studies carried out on gender in forestry in ten African countries, formulated recommendations for better inclusion of women in forest management and discussed the creation of local networks of women in forestry.
Link to further information
FAO Media Release, 12 November 2007
EUROPEAN MINISTERS ADOPT RESOLUTIONS ON ROLE OF FORESTS IN WOOD-BASED BIO-ENERGY AND WATER PROTECTION
At the Fifth Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE 5), held from 5-7 November 2007 in Warsaw, Poland, European ministers responsible for forests adopted the Warsaw Declaration and Resolutions on “Forests, Wood and Energy” and “Forests and Water.” The documents focus on the role of forests in energy production, mitigating climate change and protecting water quality and quantity. Ministers also adopted Ministerial Statements on the Southern European forest fires and on declaring 20-24 October 2008 as the Pan-European Forest Week 2008. The conference, centered on the theme “Forests for Quality of Life,” was attended by ministers and high-level representatives of 44 European countries and the European Community, as well as representatives of 14 observer countries and 31 observer organizations.
Link to further information
IISD RS coverage of the meeting
WORLD BANK AND IMF ANNUAL MEETINGS ADDRESS POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES, CLIMATE CHANGE AND AFRICAN AGRICULTURE
The Development Committee, a joint ministerial committee of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), met on 21 October 2007 in Washington DC, US, during the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF. Among the issues highlighted by the Committee were the “need to sharpen the focus of poverty reduction strategies on stronger, shared, private sector-led growth, to link these strategies better to budgetary frameworks, and to implement them effectively.” They also emphasized the importance of relying on country-based models and strong country ownership for improving aid effectiveness and harmonization, and called on donors to meet their respective commitments to scale up aid for development, improve aid predictability and address financing gaps for meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Regarding clean energy and climate change, the Committee asked the World Bank to increase its support for access to modern, cost-effective, clean energy, especially among the poorest and in Sub-Saharan Africa, and to develop a strategic framework for Bank Group engagement in climate change, including support for developing countries’ efforts to adapt to climate change and to achieve low-carbon growth while reducing poverty. World Bank President Robert Zoellick also told the Development Committee that “We need a 21st century ‘green revolution’ designed for the special and diverse needs of Africa,” and promoted initiatives to boost Africa’s agriculture sector by investing in land management, strengthening local markets and encouraging private investments in the sector.
Links to further information
IMF/World Bank Development Committee Communiqué, 21 October 2007
World Bank Clean Energy for Development Investment Framework Report, 28 September 2007
JapanToday.com News Story, 22 October 2007
FAO CONFERENCE ADDRESSES FUTURE OF ASIAN FORESTS
About two hundred and fifty experts from throughout the Asia-Pacific region participated in the conference “The future of forests in Asia and the Pacific: Outlook for 2020,” which took place from 16-18 October 2007 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Conference participants assessed the likely changes in the impact of societal demands on forests and how to address the emerging challenges and opportunities. During the meeting, UN forestry experts said that Asian countries would need to make dramatic adjustments in how they manage forests in the face of rapid globalization. The conference was organized as part of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission’s Forestry Sector Outlook Study.
Links to further information
FAO News Release, 16 October 2007
Meeting website
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SCIENTIFIC CONGRESS EXAMINES ROLE OF FORESTS IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT
The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) organized a European congress to help increase the understanding of the role of forests in rural development. The Congress, which convened in Warsaw, Poland, on 6-7 September 2007, focused on the role of research as a foundation for the development of forestry and rural development policies and the planning and management of natural resources. Four themes were addressed: policies supporting rural development; forests and rural development in light of global change; social aspects of forests and forestry; and the economic role of forests in rural development.
Link to further information
Congress website
FOREST CONFERENCE ADDRESSES POVERTY REDUCTION, TENURE REFORM
Three hundred representatives from 46 countries participated in the conference “Poverty reduction and Forests: Tenure, Market and Policy Reforms,” held from 3-7 September 2007, in Bangkok, Thailand. After Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister, HE Paiboon Wattanasiritham, delivered an inaugural speech highlighting the importance of tenure security, participants shared experiences and lessons learned from pro-poor forestry, and took part in sub-sessions on, inter alia, decentralization, payment for ecosystem services and forest land allocation.
Link to further information
Conference website
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UNCCD COP 8 ADOPTS TEN-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN, DELAYS BUDGET DECISION
The eighth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 8) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which convened in Madrid, Spain, from 3-14 September 2007, approved twenty-nine decisions before the final gavel at 7:43 am on Saturday, 15 September. The decision on the ten-year strategic plan attracted the most attention from COP 8 delegates, because they saw it as an opportunity to refocus the Convention’s institutions with the goal of furthering implementation. The decision on programme and budget, however, was not adopted. As a result, an Extraordinary COP will take place in New York, US, during the UN General Assembly to finalize this element of the decision.
Link to further information
IISD RS coverage
UNCCD COP 8 ASSESSING INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE
The eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 8) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is negotiating proposals that could alter its institutional structures. The meeting, which started on 3 September 2007, in Madrid, Spain, has already adopted a decision by its Committee on Science and Technology (CST) that calls for future sessions of the CST to be organized in a conference-style format, organized by the CST Bureau in consultation with a lead institution or consortium with experience related to the selected thematic focus. Decisions related to a ten-year strategic plan for the Convention, its Secretariat and Global Mechanism, as well as its national reporting process, are expected before the meeting ends on 14 September.
Links to further information
IISD RS coverage
Posted in Desertification, Ecology - environment, Forestry, UNCCD, poverty
