ECE Timber Committee and FAO European Forestry Commission Joint session
The 51st session of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Timber Committee, and the 26th session of the FAO European Forestry Commission were held jointly at FAO headquarters in Rome from 11 to 15 October 1993. The session was attended by representatives of 32 countries, the European Economic Community, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and five international non-governmental organizations. A summary of discussions and conclusions to the major agenda items is presented below.
Global Forest Resources Assessment 1990 The participants reviewed the main findings and policy implications of the temperate zone Forest Resource Assessment 1990. They concluded that:
· the design of the inquiry should be expanded in future assessments to address more specific policy questions and the information needs of policy-makers; in particular, the implications of the increasing interest in non-wood forest functions must be taken into account;· more information on the quality and location of forest resources (in addition to volume and area) should be included in future assessments;
· the oversupply of wood in many countries means new markets for wood, especially small-sized wood, must be developed urgently;
· forest owners should be encouraged to apply flexible, site-specific management strategies;
· substantial financial resources need to be dedicated to forest management to meet the varied needs of society, a fact which should be taken into account by public policy-makers, while all possible steps should be taken to reduce costs and increase incomes; the particular needs of the Mediterranean forests should continue to be addressed, notably through the Mediterranean Forest Action Plan and the work of Silva Mediterranea;
· it is important to inform, educate and involve the public in forest sector decision-making.
Regarding follow-up to the 1990 assessment and preparations for the forthcoming assessment in 2000, the participants noted that one of the main findings of the 1990 assessment for the industrialized countries was the increasing importance of the forest's multiple functions (in addition to being a source of timber). They emphasized the need to introduce efficient indicators to measure the relevant factors, such as biodiversity and forest vitality. Delegates also acknowledged that better comparability of the data generated by forest resource assessments in the various regions of the world was of paramount importance and gave general support to securing agreement worldwide on concepts and classifications for global forest resources assessments. To ensure that these assessments take full account of policy-makers' information needs, they encouraged use of the FAO Committee on Forestry, the FAO regional forestry commissions and the ECE Timber Committee as sources of advice.
Implications of UNCED
The participants recalled that the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) had stressed the need for all countries to prepare national forestry action plans and that the implementation of UNCED follow-up programmes was the responsibility of national governments. They noted the decision of the Inter-agency Committee on Sustainable Development (IACSD) to assign FAO the "... responsibility as task manager on chapters relating to land, management of land resources and forests".
The delegates underlined the need for interregional consultations and exchanges of information, particularly through the FAO regional forestry commissions. They noted, however, that not all regional forestry commissions were at the same level of efficacy and that some might require further support and a strengthening of their activities.
Assistance to Central and East European countries in transition
The meeting participants were informed of the activities that had been carried out in accordance with the programme of assistance to the transitional economies in Central and Eastern Europe. Many countries stressed the importance of this activity and provided proposals and recommendations on its development. For example, the delegation of Slovakia confirmed its government's proposal to organize a workshop on institution-building, framework conditions and policy infrastructure for sustainable development of the forestry sector under market economy conditions.
As regards the general outline of the programme, the delegates felt that it should continue to address the specific areas where FAO/ECE has relevant experience - notably institutional changes, sustainable management and privatization -and that it should keep close to countries' needs and priorities, as expressed in the report of the informal meeting on strategies for assistance to countries in transition (Osslach, Austria, October 1992) which was endorsed by EFC. It was noted that the scope of the programme was effectively limited by the availability of resources.
The full report of the ECE Timber Committee and FAO European Forestry Commission Joint session may be obtained by writing to the Meetings Officer, Forestry Department, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.
