ITTO's STATUS OF TROPICAL FOREST MANAGEMENT 2011 Report in Berne, Switzerland
ITTO, with support from the Swiss Government/State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), released the report "Status of Tropical Forest Management - 2011", which is documenting the continuing progress towards sustainable forest management (SFM) and the many changes that have occurred and are relevant to tropical forests during the past five years. [more]
7 February 2011
9th session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF9)
UNFF9 was just another stop in the financing road that will lead to a
decision at UNFF10, but it was a significant one, since Forests 2011 and
Rio+20 promise to give momentum to forests and SFM, paving the way for
a forest financing outcome in 2013 that secures adequate resources for
SFM. UNFF9 not only provided concrete guidance to ensure the discussions
on finance are substantive, but also specific measures to translate the
“people-centered” approach to SFM into action. Implementing
these measures in all countries, however, will continue to present considerable
challenges. [more]
13 December 2010
46th Session of the International Tropical Timber Council and Associated
Sessions of the Committees, Yokohama, Japan
Daniel Birchmeier (Switzerland), Chair of the forty-sixth session of
the International Tropical Timber Council, opened the Council session
on Monday, 13 December 2010. He emphasized the urgent need for ITTA, 2006
to enter into force. Acknowledging that Consumer countries have met the
necessary threshold for ratification to occur automatically, he encouraged
additional Producer countries to follow suit. He further underscored the
importance of: curbing forest degradation, a message reinforced by the
sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP 16); confronting problems
associated with tropical timber forests, such as climate change, poverty
and the decline of biodiversity; and determining a mechanism for holding
future sessions outside of Headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. [more]
4 September 2010
Oaxaca workshop on forest governance, Decentralization and REDD+ in
Latin
America and the Caribbean
The Oaxaca Workshop on Forest Governance, Decentralization and REDD+
in Latin America and the Caribbean took place in Oaxaca, Mexico, from
Tuesday, 31 August to Friday, 3 September 2010. It aimed to identify trends,
and facilitate sharing of experiences and lessons learned from sustainable
forest management (SFM), forest governance and decentralization, and reducing
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, as well as the role
of conservation, sustainable management of forests and
enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries (REDD+).
International Conference on Biodiversity in Transboundary Tropical
Forests
The conference has be held in Quito, Ecuador, 14-17 July 2010. His objective
was to review the status and ways ahead for the conservation, management
and financing of biodiversity in tropical TBCAs. On behalf of SECO, James
Gasana of Intercooperation contributed actively to the conference doing
presentations and moderating panel discussions.
Joint project to expand Pulong Tau National Park by 24,000ha
This rehabilitation project was being initiated to rehabilitate a degraded
area for the park’s expansion between ITTO, the Forest Department
and Samling Timber. The first phase would see the 60,000ha national park
being increased by 24,000ha and encompass a prominent feature of the highlands,
the twin peaks of Batu Lawi.
Intercooperation Bern, Oktober 2009
Zum SECO Engagement im Tropenwald und der Förderung des Handels mit
Tropenholz und anderen Tropenwaldprodukten aus nachhaltiger Bewirtschaftung
Annual Report 2009 of FCFP: Demonstrating activities that reduce emissions
from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries
With the first full year of FCPF operations completed on June 30, 2009,
this Annual Report focuses primarily on the progress and financial status
of the Readiness Fund, as the first fund of the FCPF.
DIALOGUE on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
(REDD) and The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF)
The meeting with international and Swiss Stakeholders led to establish
a dialogue with international experts and decision-makers. Representatives
from the Society for Threatened Peoples, Bruno-Manser-Fonds, Helvetas,
WWF International, the Swiss College of Agriculture SHL in Zollikofen,
the ETHZ, the FOEN, SDC, private sector, and SECO participated in this
half day of presentations and discussions. The debate came across an intense
interest.
18 June 2009
3rd meeting of the Participants Committee of FCFP
The first two of three Readiness Plans have been accepted. Panama and
Guyana are the first to benefit from World Bank official grant in order
to implement their REDD-Plans. The Readiness Plans and useful information
are open to the public on the website of forest
carbon partnership
The discussion about the 3 Readiness Plans Panama, Guyana and Indonesia
raised many issues like land tenure, consultation and consensus procedure
with indigenous people and marginalized groups, compensatory measures,
definition and measurement of baselines, integration of Carbon values
(Biodiversity, sustainable forest management, etc). NGO and indigenous
peoples representatives demanded clear governance safeguards, which should
apply equally to all countries, and the private sector and provide simple
and clear rules and procedures. More information
15 June 2009
UN-REDD Meeting & 2nd Policy Board Meeting
The United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from
Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD
Programme) held its second policy board meeting on 14th and 15th of June
2009 in Montreux, Switzerland. The meeting marked the first time that
the full membership of the board had been in session, notably with full
and broad participation of indigenous people and civil society organizations,
together with representatives of the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change, the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility and
potential new donors. More
information
08 Apr 2009
Preparatory Meeting for UNFF8
The African Forest Forum (AFF), with funding from Sida, SADC/GTZ and
the Intercooperation, organized a preparatory meeting of African delegates
to the United Nations Forum on Forests Session 8 (UNFF8) in Nairobi, Kenya.
The objectives of the meeting were to:
Discuss and form an African consensus on the draft agenda items for
UNFF8.
Develop a common approach to the deliberations at UNFF8.
Develop ways and means for raising forestry concerns at the UNFCCC,
COP 15, Copenhagen in December 2009.
Begin the process of building African capacity for international negotiations.
Jürgen Blaser as consultant from Intercooperation, Switzerland,
made some presentations:
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