Information

Forest biological diversity

The Conference of the Parties

Expert group meetings and other inter-sessional meetings

1. Welcomes the report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Forest Biological Diversity established by the Conference of the Parties at its fifth meeting⁽⁴¹⁾, and takes note of the assessment of status and trends of, and major threats to, forest biological diversity contained in the report;
2. Expresses its gratitude to the Government of Canada and to the Government of the United Kingdom for their financial support to the work of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Forest Biological Diversity, and to the other Governments and international organizations for the participation of their representatives;
3. Also expresses its gratitude to the Co-Chairs, the experts and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity for their work regarding the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Forest Biological Diversity;
4. Welcomes the report of the Workshop on Forests and Biological Diversity, held in Accra from 28 to 30 January 2002⁽⁴²⁾ and takes note of the recommendations of the Workshop for an effective collaboration on forests and biodiversity among the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Forum on Forests, and their partners contained in the report;
5. Expresses its gratitude to the Government of Ghana for hosting the Workshop on Forests and Biological Diversity and the Government of the Netherlands for its financial support, and to the other Governments and international organizations for the participation of their representatives;
6. Expresses its gratitude to the Co-Chairs, the experts and the Secretariats of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Forum on Forests for their work regarding the Workshop;
7. Welcomes the report of the first meeting of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Biological Diversity and Climate Change, held in Helsinki from 21 to 25 January 2002⁽⁴³⁾, and expresses its gratitude to the Government of Finland for hosting the workshop and the Government of Switzerland for financial support, and to the Co-Chairs and the experts;
8. Takes note of the report of the Expert Meeting on Harmonization of Forest-related Definitions⁽⁴⁴⁾, held in Rome from 23 to 25 January 2002, under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Center for International Forestry Research, and other partners;
9. Welcomes the establishment of the liaison group of the secretariats of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and encourages the activities of the group in promoting complementarity and synergies in their activities on forests and forest ecosystems;

Expanded programme of work

Noting that the elements for an expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity developed by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, as annexed to its recommendation VII/6, constitute a comprehensive set of goals, objectives and activities required for the conservation of forest biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of forest genetic resources,

Underlining the sovereign rights and responsibilities of countries over their forests and the biodiversity within them;

10. Adopts the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity as contained in the annex to the present decision;
11. Recognizes that Parties should implement the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity in the context of their national priorities and needs. Activities implemented domestically by Parties will be prioritized based on country and regionally specific needs, national determination, legislation, circumstances and priorities concerning forest-related issues, and their national forest and biodiversity strategies. Inclusion of an activity in the work programme does not mean relevance of that activity to all Parties;
12. Invites Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to take note of the information pertaining to potential actors, timeframes, performance measures and indicators of progress contained in the note by the Executive Secretary on the subject⁽⁴⁵⁾;
13. Expresses the need for action to ensure conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of utilization of genetic resources, and arising from the utilization of traditional knowledge, innovations and practices from indigenous and local communities, in accordance with Article 8(j) and related provisions, of all types of forests, considering the need for urgent action for forests that are ecologically significant and/or most important for biological diversity on national and regional scales and according to national priorities, where forest biodiversity loss or threats of loss are significant or of great concern, and in areas with greatest potential for conservation, sustainable use and benefit-sharing;
14. Recognizes that all the activities in the work programme are important, though not equally for all Parties, and as a package of mainly nationally prioritized activities, will contribute significantly to advancing the Convention's objectives as stated in Article 1 of the Convention;
15. Recognizes the important role of international and regional organizations and processes in supporting Parties in their implementation of the work programme, agrees that these organizations and processes are important in the implementation of the programme of work, and invites their participation in its implementation;
16. Urges donors and the international community to contribute through financing and technology transfer to country-identified or regionally-identified priorities for forest biodiversity, with an understanding of the impact of scarce resources on the effective implementation of the objectives of the Convention;
17. Agrees that the availability of new and additional financial resources from public, private, domestic or international sources, with the transfer of technology and capacity-building is necessary to facilitate the effective implementation of the expanded work programme by developing countries, in particular the least developed and small island developing States among them, and in countries with economies in transition;
18. Recognizes that the work programme contains a number of activities that call for regional and international actions and collaboration and encourages Parties, other Governments and international and regional organizations and processes to collaborate on the implementation of regional and international activities;
19. Requests the Executive Secretary to initiate the following actions addressing some initial focus areas which are identified as important first steps towards the implementation of regional and international activities of the expanded programme of work, which should facilitate or complement national implementation. The initiation of these actions should not delay implementation of other activities within the expanded work programme at international, regional or national level:
    1. Ecosystem approach. In collaboration with the Coordinator and Head of Secretariat of the United Nations Forum on Forests to:
       1. Carry out a comparative study to clarify the conceptual basis of the ecosystem approach in relation to the concept of sustainable forest management with adequate consideration for regional conditions;
       2. Undertake a synthesis of case-studies on the ecosystem approach provided to the Convention on Biological Diversity by Parties;
       3. Invite the Collaborative Partnership on Forests members to provide a discussion paper, drawing on concrete national or regional experiences and inter-sessional meetings for consideration by the Convention on Biological Diversity.

       The study should evaluate the link between the concepts in their application and the differences and similarities with a view to improve the conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, taking an integrated approach, and in accordance with Article 8(j) and related provisions. The study should be reported to and provide recommendations to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice for consideration as part of its work on the ecosystem approach and to the United Nations Forum on Forests at its fourth session for information;

    2. Collaboration with other bodies/enabling environment. In collaboration with the Coordinator and Head of the Secretariat of the United Nations Forum on Forests, Collaborative Partnership on Forests members, and other relevant bodies, institutions and processes to undertake an assessment of the relationship between the proposals for action of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests/Intergovernmental Forum on Forests and the activities of the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity. The purpose of this assessment is to enable better implementation of common objectives in the context of national forest programmes and national biodiversity strategies and action plans. The assessment should consider, inter alia, the existing national forest programmes and national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and the way countries promote their implementation in an integrated manner. This should lead to more effective and cost-efficient implementation, with better synergies between sectors concerned with the conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity. This assessment should be reported to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice and to the United Nations Forum on Forests at its fourth session for information and be disseminated through the clearing-house mechanism ;
    3. Cross-sectoral integration. To compile best practices available to promote and support integrated approaches to reduce negative impacts and enhance positive impacts of other sectoral policies on forest biological diversity with a view to developing a tool kit for building capacity in integrated approaches and planning. The best practices and proposed components of the tool kit should be made available to Parties;
    4. Protected areas. To collaborate with the United Nations Forum on Forests, IUCN and other relevant member of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, and other relevant bodies, institutions and processes, non-governmental organizations, indigenous and local communities, and other relevant stakeholders to prepare and hold an international workshop on protected areas as a measure to conserve and sustainably use forest biological diversity. Results of regional workshops or international workshops, including the IFF International Experts Meeting on Forest Protected Areas (March 1999 in Puerto Rico) as well as the World Parks Congress scheduled for September 2003, on this subject should be taken into account. The purpose of the international workshop on protected areas is to exchange current knowledge and experience on opportunities and challenges to establishing and ensuring long-term sustainability of protected forest areas. Participants from Parties and other Governments should include senior officials from forest and environment ministries, the decision makers and other stakeholders. This workshop should provide recommendations for the further implementation of activities relevant to protected forest areas in the work programme (element 1, goal 3, objective 3), and should be held for three days just prior to the ninth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, to report to the Subsidiary Body at its ninth meeting under the agenda item on protected areas;
    5. Forest law enforcement and related trade. In collaboration with Collaborative Partnership on Forests members and relevant bodies, to develop at least two case-studies from each region, with voluntary participation by countries, on the effects on forest biological diversity of insufficient forest law enforcement. The studies and resulting report would address, inter alia the following issues:
       1. Assessment of the unauthorized harvesting of forest biodiversity on:
          1. Fauna (including bushmeat) and flora;
          2. Indigenous and local communities;
          3. Revenue loss, at the national and local level;

       2. Identify the relationship between consumption in consumer countries and unauthorized harvesting activities, including through international trade, noting the decisions and pending work of International Tropical Timber Organization, and identifying and analysing how market access measures can be used to support conservation of forest biodiversity, sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, and also identifying and analysing market access obstacles for legally-obtained forest biodiversity products;

       The resulting report should be submitted to the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties for its consideration. The report should include recommendations for further implementation of the relevant areas of the work programme (element 1, goal 4, objective 2 and element 2, goal 1, objective 4), and should be provided for use by the liaison group on non-timber forest resources agreed in paragraph 42 of the present decision;

    6. Sustainable use / benefit-sharing. In collaboration with United Nations Forum on Forests and Collaborative Partnership on Forests members, and other relevant bodies including indigenous peoples organizations, institutions and processes to compile a report, with recommendations, addressing the management of forest biological diversity, sustainable use to derive products and services, and benefit-sharing. The purpose of this report is to help implement the activities under element 1, goal 4, objective 1 of the programme of work, by looking at how Parties consider long-term sustainability and conservation of forest biological diversity in the context of the commerce and related harvesting of forest products. The report should be based on information provided by Parties and members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and should cover inter alia sustainable use and management of forests, including by indigenous and local communities, planning and modelling tools, criteria and indicators, economic valuation of forest biodiversity goods and services, monitoring unsustainable use, needs of indigenous and local communities and information pertaining to the consideration of the needs of future generations. This report should be submitted to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice for consideration as part of its work on sustainable use and to the United Nations Forum on Forests at its fourth session for information;
    7. Servicing capacity-building. The Executive Secretary shall provide through the clearing-house mechanism a service for Parties, including through an Internet portal, to seek and provide support and partnerships in order to facilitate implementation of the expanded work programme on forest biodiversity. To this end, the Executive Secretary shall encourage Parties to communicate their national priorities and shall invite other Governments, regional and international organizations, and non-governmental organizations to support the programme of work through capacity-building, technology transfer and provision of financial resources;

20. Invites Parties, other Governments and funding organizations to provide adequate and timely financial support to facilitate the international and regional actions. These actions should not prejudice the financing and support for other international and regional actions in the work programme including projects by Parties and other Governments in the context of their national priorities;
21. Requests Parties to report on progress in implementing relevant objectives and related activities of the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity, through their national reports, starting with the third national report, bearing in mind the national reporting cycles of Parties;
22. Requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with Collaborative Partnership on Forests members, to develop a format for the section on implementation of the expanded work programme on forest biological diversity in the third and subsequent national reports, and to consider the need to minimize the reporting burden on Parties by taking into account reporting under the United Nations Forum on Forests and other international mechanisms;
23. Requests the Executive Secretary in consultation with the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice and the clearing-house mechanism focal points and using appropriate mechanisms, to identify and/or foster partners, partnerships, and regional and international cooperative initiatives to undertake or support implementation activities under the programme of work;
24. Requests the Executive Secretary to compile information on the implementation of the programme of work, including information on the actors involved in the implementation, disseminate this through the clearing-house mechanism, and provide progress reports on implementation to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at each meeting;
25. Requests the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice to review implementation of the programme of work, with a view to identifying appropriate amendments that will further implementation of the Convention in relation to forest biological diversity, and to report thereon to Conference of the Parties at its eighth meeting;
26. Agrees to establish an ad hoc technical expert group to provide advice to the Executive Secretary and to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice in the review of the implementation of the programme of work, with the following terms of reference:
    1. Tasks:
       1. To provide advice on the way in which the review of the implementation of the programme of work would be undertaken;
       2. To provide technical input to the review of the implementation of the programme of work;
       3. To provide scientific and technical information on successes, challenges and obstacles to implementation of the programme of work;
       4. To provide information on the effects of the types of scientific and technical measures taken and tools used in implementing the programme of work;

    2. Duration. The work of the group will be completed before the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, and its duration should not exceed two years;
    3. Membership. In appointing members in accordance with the modus operandi, the Executive Secretary is requested to ensure geographical balance and representation of indigenous peoples;

27. Agrees that a voluntary thematic national report will be called for in relation to implementation of the programme of work on forest biological diversity by Parties, to elicit information on:
    1. Priority actions that Parties have identified under the programme of work;
    2. Successes in implementing the programme of work;
    3. Challenges and impediments to implementing these priority actions and, as appropriate, the programme of work;
    and requests the Executive Secretary to prepare a format for that thematic national report for approval by the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties, after consultation with the national focal points and the Bureau of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, and urges Parties to submit the thematic national report by the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention;

    National level

28. Urges Parties and other Governments to incorporate relevant objectives and related activities of the programme of work into their national biodiversity strategies and action plans and national forest programmes and promote compatibility and complementarity between these plans/programmes and other related initiatives;
29. Invites Parties to undertake national-level implementation and to coordinate their work relating to forest biological diversity at an international level, particularly in respect of work relating to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Forum on Forests, as well as other relevant bodies, and to achieve greater integration and collaboration between their implementing agencies at the national level through, for example, joint strategies or policies, and coordinating committees at political and/or technical levels;
30. Urges Parties and other governments to address the effectiveness of forest and forest-related laws and their enforcement and implementation of policies and related trade as a matter of urgency, recognizing the negative impacts on biodiversity in the absence of these actions;
31. Recognizes the important role that indigenous and local communities can play in the implementation of the programme of work and, in addition, encourages the development of community-based approaches for the conservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity, integrating traditional forest-related knowledge and benefit-sharing considerations, in accordance with Article 8(j) and related provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity;
32. Urges Parties to recognize in particular the vital role that women in indigenous and local communities play in the sustainable use and conservation of forest biological diversity, especially but not limited to the sustainable use and conservation of non-timber resources, and values;
33. Encourages Parties and other Governments to develop closer collaboration for the conservation and sustainable use of transboundary forest ecosystems and populations of species;
34. Recognizes existing criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management including forest biological diversity at the national and regional levels, and agrees that these should be applied where criteria and indicators are needed for the purposes of the expanded work programme, and recognizes the need for further development and selection of criteria and indicators for the assessment of the status and trends of forest biological diversity at the national and regional levels;

    Collaboration on specific issues

    Noting that both the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Forum on Forests have important and complementary roles in addressing the problem of forest biological diversity loss, that collaboration between the United Nations Forum on Forests and the Convention on Biological Diversity can strengthen their ability to support and guide immediate and effective action by governments and other bodies, and that such collaboration will also facilitate the integration of forest biodiversity considerations in national development programmes, which will be vital for effective implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity,

    Recognizing that there are many other bodies addressing issues of relevance to forest biodiversity (for example, other members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests including in particular the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification), and collaboration with these bodies is also important,

35. Invites Parties to foster cooperation and synergies between the expanded work programme on forest biological diversity under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Multi-Year Programme of Work and Plan of Action of the United Nations Forum on Forests;
36. Requests the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, as a member of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests , to continue its active support for and participation in the work of the United Nations Forum on Forests and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests in their promotion of the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests and in the strengthening of the political commitment to this end;
37. Requests the Executive Secretary to implement collaborative actions for selected items in the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity, in collaboration with the Coordinator and Head of the Secretariat of the United Nations Forum on Forests, and taking into account the need for effective collaboration on forests and biological diversity among the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Forum on Forests, and their partners, recognizing the work done by the Workshop on Forests and Biological Diversity held in Accra from 28 to 30 January 2002⁽⁴⁰⁾;
38. Invites the members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests to support the implementation of the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity, recognizing that the Collaborative Partnership on Forests provides a mechanism for enhancing collaboration on activities addressing common goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Forum on Forests;
39. Urges the Collaborative Partnership on Forests to consider the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity to be the focal point for forest biological diversity within the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, in addition to its role as the focal point for traditional forest-related knowledge, and requests the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, in collaboration with the Collaborative Partnership on Forests members, inter alia:
    1. To identify the proposals for action of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests/Intergovernmental Forum on Forests directly related to the conservation of forest biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from genetic resources;
    2. To identify the relationship between these proposals for action and the expanded work programme; and
    3. To facilitate coordination and cooperation of Collaborative Partnership on Forests members in the implementation;

40. Also invites the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, in the context of its global change and terrestrial ecosystems global transect programme, and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment to enhance collaboration in research and monitoring activities on forest biological diversity and climate change, and explore possibilities of establishing an international network to monitor and assess the impact of climate change on forest biological diversity;
41. Further invites the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Biological Diversity and Climate Change to consider issues related to interlinkages between biological diversity and climate change in the report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Forest Biological Diversity and the note by the Executive Secretary on consideration of specific threats to forest biological diversity, prepared for the seventh meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice(47, as well as the outcome of the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties with respect to forest biological diversity, including the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity;
42. Requests the Executive Secretary, on the basis of goal 4, objective 2, of programme element 1 for an expanded work programme on forest biological diversity, to establish a liaison group on non-timber forest resources, including members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, IUCN, and other relevant organizations. On the basis of the work of the liaison group, the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice will prepare recommendations on this matter for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its seventh meeting;
43. Invites members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and its network to explore possibilities for enhancing the integration of non-timber forest resources in the forest inventory and management, and to report on progress to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice prior to the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties;
44. Invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Tropical Timber Organization and the Global Fire Monitoring Center, as well as other relevant organizations, to include forest biodiversity in their assessments of fire impacts; to explore possibilities for a joint work programme with the Convention on Biological Diversity, including, inter alia, fire impact assessments, development of guidelines on fire management, and community-based approaches to fire prevention and management; and to report on progress to the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice prior to the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties;
45. Requests the Executive Secretary to transmit the report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Forest Biological Diversity to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and their bodies, to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and to ensure follow-up through the liaison group between the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Annex

EXPANDED PROGRAMME OF WORK ON FOREST BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

In undertaking this expanded programme of work, Parties, Governments, international and regional organizations and processes, civil society organizations and other relevant bodies and all relevant implementers are invited to take into account the following considerations:

1. The need to focus on key priorities for sustainable use of forest resources and the equitable sharing of benefits;
2. The need to facilitate adequate participation of indigenous and local communities and the need to respect their rights and interests;
3. The need for urgent conservation action for forests that are ecologically significant and/or most important for biological diversity on national and regional scales, in accordance with national priorities, where forest biodiversity loss or threats of loss are significant or of great concern, but also to work to enhance conservation in all types of forests, both within and outside protected areas;
4. The need to achieve synergies and avoid duplications between the work of the key international instruments and bodies, such as the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the other members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests;
5. The need to ensure capacity-building and the provision of adequate financial, human and technical resources to allow implementation of the work programme by all relevant stakeholders;
6. The need to ensure that relevant activities be effectively incorporated into national and subnational forest and biological diversity strategies and programmes;
7. The need for clarification of the links between the ecosystem approach and sustainable forest management.

PROGRAMME ELEMENT 1. CONSERVATION, SUSTAINABLE USE AND BENEFIT-SHARING

GOAL 1

To apply the ecosystem approach to the management of all types of forests

Objective 1

Develop practical methods, guidelines, indicators and strategies to apply the ecosystem approach adapted to regional differences to forests both inside and outside protected forest areas as well as both in managed and unmanaged forests.

Activities

1. Clarify the conceptual basis of the ecosystem approach in relation to sustainable forest management.
2. Develop guidance for applying the ecosystem approach in forest ecosystems.
3. Identify key structural and functional ecosystem elements to be used as indicators for decision-making and develop decision-support tools on a hierarchy of scales.
4. Develop and implement guidance to help the selection of suitable forest management practices for specific forest ecosystems.
5. Develop and implement appropriate mechanisms for the participation of all stakeholders in ecosystem-level planning and management.
6. Develop an informal international network of forest areas for piloting and demonstrating the ecosystem approach and exchange related information through the clearing-house mechanism.
7. Hold workshops to train and familiarize decision makers and managers with the foundations, principles and modalities of the ecosystem approach.
8. Promote research and pilot projects to develop understanding of the functional linkages between forest biological diversity and agriculture with the aim to developing practices that could improve the relations between forest management and other land use methods. Promote assessment of functional linkages between mining, infrastructure and other development projects and forest biodiversity, and develop best practice, guidelines for such development projects to mitigate adverse impacts on forest biodiversity.
9. Promote activities that minimize the negative impacts of forest fragmentation on forest biodiversity, including afforestation, forest restoration, secondary forest and plantation management, and agroforestry, watershed management and land use planning aimed at providing a combination of economic and environmental goods and services to stakeholders.

GOAL 2

To reduce the threats and mitigate the impacts of threatening processes on forest biological diversity

Objective 1

Prevent the introduction of invasive alien species that threaten ecosystems, and mitigate their negative impacts on forest biological diversity in accordance with international law.

Activities

1. Reinforce, develop and implement strategies at regional and national level to prevent and mitigate the impacts of invasive alien species that threaten ecosystems, including risk assessment, strengthening of quarantine regulation, and containment or eradication programmes taking into account the guiding principles on invasive alien species if adopted at the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.
2. Improve the knowledge of the impacts of invasive alien species on forest ecosystems and adjacent ecosystems.

Objective 2

Mitigate the impact of pollution such as acidification and eutrophication on forest biodiversity

Activities

1. Increase the understanding of the impact of pollution, e.g., acidification and eutrophication, and other pollutants (such as mercury and cyanide) on forest biodiversity; at genetic, species, ecosystem and landscape levels.
2. Support monitoring programmes that help evaluate the impacts of air, soil and water pollution on forest ecosystems, and address the impacts of changing environmental conditions on forest ecosystems.
3. Encourage the integration of forest biodiversity consideration into strategies and policies to reduce pollution.
4. To promote the reduction of pollution levels that adversely affect forest biodiversity and encourage forest management techniques that reduce the impacts of changing environmental conditions on forest ecosystems.

Objective 3

Mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on forest biodiversity

Activities

Taking into account the work of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Climate Change and Biodiversity:

1. Promote monitoring and research on the impacts of climate change on forest biological diversity and investigate the interface between forest components and the atmosphere;
2. Develop coordinated response strategies and action plans at global, regional and national levels;
3. Promote the maintenance and restoration of biodiversity in forests in order to enhance their capacity to resist to, and recover from and adapt to climate change;
4. Promote forest biodiversity conservation and restoration in climate change mitigation and adaptation measures;
5. Assess how the conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity can contribute to the international work relating to climate change.

Objective 4

To prevent and mitigate the adverse effects of forest fires and fire suppression

Activities

1. Identify policies, practices and measures aimed at addressing the causes and reducing impacts on forest biological diversity resulting from human-induced uncontrolled/unwanted fires, often associated with land clearing and other land use activities.
2. Promote understanding of the role of human-induced fires on forest ecosystems and on species, and of the underlying causes.
3. Develop and promote the use of fire management tools for maintaining and enhancing forest biological diversity, especially when there has been a shift in fire regimes.
4. To promote practices of fire prevention and control to mitigate the impacts of unwanted fires on forest biological diversity.
5. Promote development of systems for risk assessment and early warning, monitoring and control, and enhance capacity for prevention and post-fire forest biodiversity restoration at the community, national and regional levels.
6. To advise on fire-risk prediction systems, surveillance, public education and other methods to minimise human-induced uncontrolled/unwanted fires.
7. Develop strategies to avoid the negative effects of sectoral programmes and policies which could induce uncontrolled forest fires.
8. Develop prevention plans against devastating fires and integrate them into national plans targeting the biological diversity of forests.
9. Develop mechanisms, including early warning systems, for exchange of information related to the causes of forest biodiversity loss, including fires, pests and diseases, and invasive species.

Objective 5

To mitigate effects of the loss of natural disturbances necessary to maintain biodiversity in regions where these no longer occur.

Activities

1. Develop and promote management methods that restore or mimic natural disturbances such as fire, wind-throw and floods.

Objective 6

To prevent and mitigate losses due to fragmentation and conversion to other land uses

Activities

1. Encourage the creation of private reserves and private conservation methods where appropriate, respecting the rights and interests of indigenous and local communities.
2. Establish ecological corridors on a national and regional basis.
3. Promote cost-benefit analysis of development projects that might lead to the conversion of forest into other land uses incorporating the impacts on forest biological diversity.
4. Implement policies, practices and measures aimed at addressing the causes and reducing impacts on forest biological diversity resulting from human-induced uncontrolled clearing or other uncontrolled land-use activities

GOAL 3

To protect, recover and restore forest biological diversity

Objective 1

Restore forest biological diversity in degraded secondary forests and in forests established on former forestlands and other landscapes, including in plantations.

Activities

1. Promote the implementation of systems and practices for restoration in accordance with the ecosystem approach
2. Promote restoration of forest biological diversity with the aim to restore ecosystem services.
3. Create and improve where appropriate international, regional and national databases and case-studies on the status of degraded forests, deforested, restored and afforested lands.

Objective 2

Promote forest management practices that further the conservation of endemic and threatened species.

Activities

1. Determine status and conservation needs of endemic or threatened species and the impacts of current forest management practices on these species.
2. Develop and implement conservation strategies for endemic and threatened species for global or regional application, and practical systems of adaptive management at national level.

Objective 3

Ensure adequate and effective protected forest area networks.

Activities

1. Assess the comprehensiveness, representativeness and adequacy of protected areas relative to forest types and identify gaps and weaknesses.
2. Establish (in accordance with Article 8(j)) with the full participation and with respect for the rights of indigenous and local communities, and other relevant stakeholders, comprehensive, adequate, biologically and geographically representative and effective networks of protected areas.
3. Establish, in a similar manner, restoration areas to complement the network of protected areas where needed.
4. Revise in a similar manner and ensure the comprehensiveness, adequacy, representativeness and efficacy of existing protected area networks.
5. Assess the efficacy of protected forest areas for the conservation of biological diversity.
6. Ensure that relevant protected areas are managed to maintain and enhance their forest biodiversity components, services and values;

GOAL 4

To promote the sustainable use of forest biological diversity

Objective 1

Promote sustainable use of forest resources to enhance the conservation of forest biological diversity

Activities

1. Support activities of indigenous and local communities involving the use of traditional forest-related knowledge in biodiversity management.
2. Develop, support and promote programmes and initiatives that address the sustainable use of timber and non-timber forest products.
3. Support regional cooperation and work on sustainable use of timber and non-timber forest products and services, including through technology transfer and capacity-building within and between regions.
4. Improve forest management and planning practices that incorporate socio-economic and cultural values to support and facilitate sustainable use.
5. Promote cooperative work on the sustainable use of forest products and services and its relation to biodiversity conservation with the other members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests.
6. Encourage implementation of voluntary third-party credible forest certification schemes that take into consideration relevant forest biodiversity criteria and that would be audited, taking into consideration indigenous and local community rights and interests.
7. Set up demonstration sites that would illustrate forest conservation and on-ground delivery of goods and services through sustainable forest management, which are also representative of various types of forest, themes and regional needs, through case-studies.
8. Facilitate and support a responsible private sector committed to sustainable harvesting practices and compliance with domestic laws through effective development and enforcement of laws on sustainable harvesting of timber and non-timber resources.

Objective 2

Prevent losses caused by unsustainable harvesting of timber and non-timber forest resources.

Activities

1. Establish a liaison group with an associated workshop to facilitate development of a joint work plan with relevant members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests to bring harvesting of non-timber forest products (NTFP)s, with a particular focus on bush meat, to sustainable levels. This group should have a proportionate regional representation, giving special consideration to subregions where bush meat is a major issue and representation of relevant organizations such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The mandate of this group is to:
   1. Consult in a participatory manner with key stakeholders to identify and prioritize major issues pertaining the unsustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products, particularly of bushmeat and related products;
   2. Provide advice on the development of policies, enabling legislation and strategies that promote sustainable use of, and trade in, non-timber forest products, particularly bushmeat and related products;
   3. Provide advice on appropriate alternative sustainable livelihood technologies and practices for the affected communities;
   4. Provide advice on appropriate monitoring tools.

2. Promote projects and activities that encourage the use and supply of alternative sources of energy to prevent forest degradation due to the use of firewood by local communities.
3. Develop any necessary legislation for the sustainable management and harvesting of non-timber forest resources.
4. Solicit input from Parties, other countries and relevant organizations on ways and means to encourage and assist importing countries to prevent the entry of unsustainably harvested forest resources, which are not covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and consider this information as a basis for further steps on this issue.

Objective 3

Enable indigenous and local communities to develop and implement adaptive community-management systems to conserve and sustainably use forest biological diversity.

Activities

Taking into account the outcome of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Inter-Sessional Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity:

1. Strengthen the capacity of, and provide incentives for, indigenous and local communities to generate opportunities for sustainable use of forest biodiversity and for access to markets;
2. Strengthen the capacity of indigenous and local communities to resolve land rights and land use disputes in order to sustainably manage forest biodiversity;
3. Encourage the conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity by indigenous and local communities through their development of adaptive management practices, using as appropriate traditional forest-related knowledge;
4. Provide incentives for the maintenance of cultural diversity as an instrument to enhance forest biological diversity;
5. Develop and implement education and awareness programmes on traditional uses of forest biological diversity in accordance with Article 8(j);
6. Create an environment that fosters respect, and stimulates, preserves and maintains traditional knowledge related to forest biological diversity, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities.

Objective 4

Develop effective and equitable information systems and strategies and promote implementation of those strategies for in situ and ex situ conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic diversity, and support countries in their implementation and monitoring.

Activities

1. Develop, harmonize and assess the diversity of forest genetic resources, taking into consideration the identification of key functional/keystone species populations, model species and genetic variability at the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) level.
2. Select, at a national level, the most threatened forest ecosystems based on the genetic diversity of their priority species and populations and develop an appropriate action plan in order to protect the genetic resources of the most threatened forest ecosystems.
3. Improve understanding of patterns of genetic diversity and its conservation in situ, in relation to forest management, landscape-scale forest change and climate variations.
4. Provide guidance for countries to assess the state of their forest genetic resources, and to develop and evaluate strategies for their conservation, both in situ and ex situ.
5. Develop national legislative, administrative policy measures on access and benefit-sharing on forest genetic resources, taking into account the provisions under Articles 8(j), 10(c), 15, 16 and 19 of the Convention on Biological Diversity and in conformity with future decisions of the Conference of the Parties, as appropriate.
6. Monitor developments in new biotechnologies and ensure their applications are compatible with the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity with respect to forest biological diversity, and develop and enforce regulations for controlling the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) when appropriate.
7. Develop a holistic framework for the conservation and management of forest genetic resources at national, subregional and global levels.
8. Implement activities to ensure adequate and representative in situ conservation of the genetic diversity of endangered, overexploited and narrow endemic forest species and complement the in situ conservation with adequate ex situ conservation of the genetic diversity of endangered, overexploited and narrow endemic species and species of economic potential.

GOAL 5

Access and benefit-sharing of forest genetic resources

Objective 1

Promote the fair and equitable sharing of benefits resulting from the utilization of forest genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge

Activities

Based on the Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Benefits Arising out of their Utilization, as adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting⁽⁴⁸⁾:

1. Establish mechanisms to facilitate the sharing of benefits at local, national, regional and global levels.
2. Strengthen capacity of indigenous and local communities to negotiate benefit-sharing arrangements.
3. Promote dissemination of information about benefit-sharing experiences through the clearing-house mechanism and appropriate means at the local level.

PROGRAMME ELEMENT 2: INSTITUTIONAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC ENABLING ENVIRONMENT

GOAL 1

Enhance the institutional enabling environment.

Objective 1

Improve the understanding of the various causes of forest biological diversity losses

Activities

1. Each Party to carry out, in a transparent and participatory way, thorough analysis of local, regional, national and global direct and underlying causes of losses of forest biological diversity. A distinction should be made between broad socio-economic causes such as demographic growth and more specific causes such as institutional weaknesses and market or policy failures.
2. Each Party on the basis of the above analysis to implement their recommendations.
3. Parties to report through the clearing-house mechanism of the Secretariat on successful experiences involving control and mitigation of the underlying causes of deforestation, which would make it possible to understand lessons learned.

Objective 2

Parties, Governments and organizations to integrate biological diversity conservation and sustainable use into forest and other sector policies and programmes.

Activities:

1. Parties to formulate appropriate policies and adopt sets of priority targets for forest biological diversity to be integrated into national forest programmes, national sustainable development strategies, poverty reduction strategy papers, related non-forest programmes and national biological diversity strategies and action plans. Ensure that there is coherence and direct interaction between the different programmes.
2. Seek ways of streamlining reporting between the different forest-related processes, in order to improve the understanding of forest quality change and improve consistency in reporting on sustainable forest management.
3. Develop a set of indicators that might be used in assessing progress in implementing the national biodiversity strategies and action plans and relevant work programmes;
4. Donor bodies and other financial institutions to incorporate forest biological diversity and sustainable use principles and targets into forest and related programmes, including watershed management, land-use planning, energy, transport, infrastructure development, education and agriculture, mineral exploitation, and tourism.
5. Seek to harmonize policies at regional and subregional levels in the area of forest biological diversity.
6. Develop strategies for effective enforcement of sustainable forest management and protected area regulations, including adequate resourcing and involvement of indigenous and local communities.
7. Parties and donor bodies to develop and implement, strategies, in particular national financing strategies in the framework of national biodiversity strategies and action plans and national forest programmes, and provide adequate financial, human and technical resources.
8. Encourage the Executive Secretary to coordinate and seek synergies between Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Forum on Forests and the members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, including establishment of memoranda of understanding, as appropriate, between the Convention on Biological Diversity and the other members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, and recommend such an memorandum of understanding with the International Tropical Timber Organization and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as a first step.
9. Increase emphasis on capacity-building, research and training, public education and awareness, access to and transfer of information and technology, technical and scientific cooperation, with focus on capacities required to address forest biodiversity-related issues.

Objective 3

Parties and Governments to develop good governance practices, review and revise and implement forest and forest-related laws, tenure and planning systems, to provide a sound basis for conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity.

Activities

1. Develop appropriate measures and regulations to secure a permanent forest area sufficient to allow for the conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity.
2. Seek to resolve land tenure and resource rights and responsibility, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders including for indigenous and local communities, in order to promote the conservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity.
3. Encourage Parties and countries to ensure that forest and forest-related laws adequately and equitably incorporate the provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the decisions of the Conference of the Parties.
4. Implement effective measures to protect traditional knowledge and values in forest laws and planning tools.
5. Develop legislation, administrative or policy measures on access and benefit-sharing for forest genetic resources, taking into account the draft Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Benefits Arising out of their Utilization.
6. Invite Parties, Governments and other relevant organizations to submit case-studies and research on the role of performance bonds in forest concessions, in the conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity; and request the Secretariat to make these available.
7. Parties, Governments and relevant stakeholders to develop mechanisms and processes to work toward good governance to promote conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity.
8. Develop and apply environmental and socio-economic impact assessment methods as appropriate prior to land-conversion decisions.

Objective 4

Promote forest law enforcement and address related trade

Activities

1. Invite Parties, Governments and relevant organizations to provide information on a voluntary basis to enable a better comprehension of the effects of unsustainable harvesting, exploitation of other forest resources and associated trade, as well as on the underlying causes, on forest biological diversity. On the basis of dissemination of this information countries may decide to take relevant measures such as enforcement actions.
2. Evaluate and reform, as required, legislation to include clear definition of illegal activities and to establish effective deterrents.
3. Develop methods and build capacity for effective law enforcement.
4. Develop codes of conduct for sustainable forest practices in logging companies and the wood-processing sector to improve biodiversity conservation.
5. Encourage and support the development and implementation of tracking and chain-of-custody systems for forest products to seek to ensure that these products are legally harvested.
6. Invite Governments and relevant organizations to develop and forward to the Secretariat case-studies and research on the impacts of unsustainable timber and non-timber harvesting and related trade.

GOAL 2

Address socio-economic failures and distortions that lead to decisions that result in loss of forest biological diversity.

Objective 1

Mitigate the economic failures and distortions that lead to decisions that result in loss of forest biological diversity.

Activities

1. Develop mechanisms to ensure that monetary and non-monetary costs and benefits of forest biodiversity management are equitably shared between stakeholders at all levels.
2. Develop, test and disseminate methods for valuing forest biological diversity and other forest ecosystem goods and services and for incorporating these values into forest planning and management, including through stakeholder analysis and mechanisms for transferring costs and benefits.
3. Incorporate forest biological diversity and other forest values into national accounting systems and seek to estimate such figures for subsistence economies.
4. Elaborate and implement economic incentives promoting forest biological diversity conservation and sustainable use.
5. Eliminate or reform perverse incentives, in particular subsidies that result in favouring unsustainable use or loss of forest biological diversity.
6. Provide market and other incentives for the use of sustainable practices, develop alternative sustainable income generation programmes and facilitate self-sufficiency programmes of indigenous and local communities.
7. Develop and disseminate analyses of the compatibility of current and predicted production and consumption patterns with respect to the limits of forest ecosystem functions and production.
8. Seek to promote national laws and policies and international trade regulations are compatible with conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity.
9. Increase knowledge on monetary and non-monetary cost-benefit accounting for forest biodiversity evaluation.

GOAL 3

Increase public education, participation, and awareness.

Objective 1

Increase public support and understanding of the value of forest biological diversity and its goods and services at all levels.

Activities

1. Increase broad-based awareness of the value of forest biological diversity through international, national and local public awareness campaigns.
2. Promote consumer awareness about sustainably produced forest products.
3. Increase awareness amongst all stakeholders of the potential contribution of traditional forest-related knowledge to conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity.
4. Develop awareness of the impact of forest-related production and consumption patterns on the loss of forest biological diversity and the goods and services it provides.
5. Increase awareness of the value of forest biological diversity amongst public authorities and decision makers through specific information and training actions.
6. Implement effective measures to recognize, respect, protect and maintain traditional forest-related knowledge and values in forest-related laws and forest planning tools, in accordance with Article 8(j) and related provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
7. Develop awareness of the value of forest biological diversity among forestry workers, owners of forest land, logging contractors, and consulting firms.

PROGRAMME ELEMENT 3: KNOWLEDGE, ASSESSMENT AND MONITORING

GOAL 1

To characterize and to analyse from forest ecosystem to global scale and develop general classification of forests on various scales in order to improve the assessment of status and trends of forest biological diversity.

Objective 1

Review and adopt a harmonized global to regional forest classification system, based on harmonized and accepted forest definitions and addressing key forest biological diversity elements.

Activities

1. Review and adopt a minimum forest classification for forest types, compatible with remote sensing technologies, that includes broad indicators of biodiversity that can be taken into account in all international and regional forest-related programmes, plans and activities.
2. Adapt frequency of forest resource inventory at regional and global scales, where resources permit, preferably at least to every ten years.
3. Review and contribute (from the biodiversity point of view) to standard forest definitions in cooperation with the United Nations Forum on Forests and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests to be used in global and regional reporting to the scale of forest types.

Objective 2

Develop national forest classification systems and maps (using agreed international standards and protocols to enable regional and global synthesis).

Activities

1. Review existing national forest ecosystem classification systems and maps.
2. Develop and apply national forest ecosystem classification systems and maps that include key components of forest biological diversity to be used in assessment reports on forest types including socio-economic and cultural aspects.
3. Use adapted technology, for example geographic information system, to develop a baseline for assessing levels of deforestation and impacts on biodiversity.

Objective 3

To develop, where appropriate, specific forest ecosystems surveys in priority areas for conservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity.

Activities

1. To identify and prioritize relevant areas to carry out these surveys.

GOAL 2

Improve knowledge on and methods for the assessment of the status and trends of forest biological diversity, based on available information.

Objective 1

Advance the development and implementation of international, regional and national criteria and indicators based on key regional, subregional and national measures within the framework of sustainable forest management.

Activities

1. Advance the development and implementation of international, regional and national criteria and indicators based on key measures within the framework of sustainable forest management.
2. Develop and select international, regional and national criteria and where appropriate quantifiable, indicators for forest biological diversity, taking into account, as appropriate, existing work and processes on criteria and indicators on sustainable forest management, as well as the knowledge held by indigenous and local communities. Such criteria and indicators should be used for assessment reporting at least 10-year intervals.

GOAL 3

Improve understanding of the role of forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

Objective 1

Conduct key research programmes on the role of forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

Activities

1. Develop and support focused research to improve understanding of the relationship between forest biological diversity and ecosystem functioning, taking into account forest ecosystem components, structure, functions and processes to improve predictive capability.
2. Develop and support research to understand critical thresholds of forest biological diversity loss and change, paying particular attention to endemic and threatened species and habitats including forest canopies.
3. Develop and apply forest ecosystem restoration techniques to address biodiversity loss at the ecosystem level.
4. Develop and support research on impact of current forest management practices for forest biodiversity within forests and on adjacent land.

GOAL 4

Improve the infrastructure for data and information management for accurate assessment and monitoring of global forest biological diversity.

Objective 1

Enhance and improve the technical capacity at the national level to monitor forest biological diversity, benefiting from the opportunities offered through the clearing-house mechanism, and to develop associated databases as required on a global scale.

Activities

1. Develop and implement a strategy and a plan of action and facilitate transfer of technology to provide infrastructure and training in developing countries, in order to monitor forest biological diversity and develop associated databases.