The management, conservation and sustainabie development of all types of forests is
a crucial
factor in economic and social development, in environmental protection and in the planet's life
support system. Forests are one of the major reservoirs of biological diversity; they act as carbon
sinks and reservoirs; and they are a significant source of renewable energy, particularly in the least
developed countries. Forests are an integral part of sustainabie development and are essential to
many indigenous people and other forest-dependent people embodying traditional lifestyles, forest
owners and local communities, many of whom possess important traditional forest-related
knowledge.
Since the adoption of the Forest Principles at the Rio Conference, tangible progress
has been
made in sustainable forest management at the national, subregional, regional and international
levels and in the promotion of international cooperation on forests. The proposals for action
contained in the report of the Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) (E/CN. 17/1997/12),
which were endorsed by the Commission on Sustainable Development at its fifth session,17
represent significant progress and consensus on a wide range of forest issues.
To maintain the momentum generated by the IPF process and to facilitate and encourage
the
holistic, integrated and balanced intergovernmental policy dialogue on all types of forests in the
future, which continues to be an open, transparent and participatory process, requires a long-term
political commitment to sustainable forest management worldwide. Against this background, there
is an urgent need for:
(a) Countries and
international organizations and institutions to implement the proposals for
action agreed by the Panel, in an expeditious and effective manner, and in collaboration and
through effective partnership with all interested parties, including major groups, in particular
indigenous people and local communities;
(b) Countries to
develop national forest programmes in accordance with their respective
national conditions, objectives and priorities;
(c) Enhanced international
cooperation to implement the Panel's proposals for action
directed towards the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of
forests, including provision for financial resources, capacity-building, research and the
transfer of technology;
(d) Further clarification
of all issues arising from the programme elements of the IPF
process;
(e) International
institutions and organizations to continue their work and to undertake
further coordination and explore means for collaboration in the informal, high-level Inter-
Agency Task Force on Forests, focusing on the implementation of the Panel's proposals for
action, in accordance with their respective mandates and comparative advantage;
(f) Countries to
provide consistent guidance to the governing bodies of relevant international
institutions and instruments to take efficient and effective measures, as well as to
coordinate their forest-related work at all levels, in incorporating the Panel's proposals for
action into their work programmes and under existing agreements and arrangements.
To help achieve this, it is decided to continue the intergovernmental policy dialogue
on forests
through the establishment of an ad hoc, open-ended Intergovernmental Forum on Forests . under
the aegis of the Commission on Sustainable Development to work in an open, transparent and
participatory manner, with a focused and time-limited mandate, charged with, inter alia:
(a) Promoting and
facilitating the implementation of the Panel's proposals for action;
(b) Reviewing, monitoring
and reporting on progress in the management, conservation and
sustainable development of all types of forests;
(c) Considering
matters left pending on the programme elements of the IPF, in particular
trade and environment in relation to forest products and services, transfer of technology and
the need for financial resources. The Forum should also identify the possible elements of
and work towards consensus for international arrangements and mechanisms, for example
a legally binding instrument. The Forum will report on its work to the Commission for
Sustainable Development in 1999. Based on that report, and depending on the decision of
the Commission at its eighth session, the Forum will engage in further action on
establishing an intergovernmental negotiation process on new arrangements and
mechanisms or a legally binding instrument on all types of forests.
The Forum should convene as soon as possible to further elaborate its terms of reference
and
decide on organizational matters. It should be serviced by a small secretariat within the
Department of Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development supported by voluntary
extrabudgetary contributions from governments and international organizations.
