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Canada's Involvement in the International Forest Policy DialogueCanada has been involved in policy deliberations both nationally and internationally on how forests should be managed for many years, as have most countries of the world. From an international perspective, forest policy dialogue is complex as it involves many instruments and processes addressing various facets of forest management in individual countries, and around the world. The issues addressed are numerous and varied. They include sustainable forest management, biodiversity, combatting deforestation and forest degradation, international trade, economic growth, climate change, national security, land use, and land conservation. International forest policy dialogue espouses a participatory process to ensure that a full range of perspectives on forest values and benefits are considered, e.g. economic, environmental, social, spiritual and recreational. Within the international policy dialogue, formal discussions or negotiations on forests can take place between two countries (bilateral) or among three or more countries (multilateral). As a result of bilateral dialogue, technical cooperation and assistance may be initiated to advance common interests. Multilateral negotiations take place under many international fora, the majority of which are convened through the United Nations (UN). Most of these fora are members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), formed to foster increased cooperation and coordination on forest issues. When countries involved in bilateral or multilateral negotiations reach a consensus, their agreement becomes either binding, with a legal basis and subsequent obligation, or non-binding, with the weight of international consensus but not international law. The Canadian Forest Service (CFS) of Natural Resources Canada champions Canadian forest interests and expertise in these international policy deliberations in collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, other federal departments and interested parties (e.g. industry, Aboriginal peoples, environmental groups).
Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Adopted in 1973, CITES was established to regulate the export, transit and import of rare or threatened wildlife animal and plant species. CITES Parties regulate trade of wild fauna and flora through controls and regulations on species listed in three appendices. Appendix I lists species endangered due to international trade. Their exchange is permitted only in exceptional circumstances. Appendix II species are not currently threatened, but could become threatened if their trade is not regulated. Appendix II also contains species that cannot be easily distinguished from species that are or could become threatened by their trade (“look alike species”). Appendix III species are subject to regulation in the country of a Party who requires the cooperation of other Parties to control their international trade. Trade is permitted provided the species was obtained legally. Canada is a party to the Convention. In recent years, there has been considerable international debate concerning the additions of certain tree species, e.g. the proposal to monitor trade in Bigleaf Mahogany, the first major commercial timber species to be actively considered for listing under CITES. At the 12th Conference of the Parties (COP 12) to CITES in November 2002, a proposal to list Bigleaf Mahogany on Appendix II was adopted. It will come into effect one year after its adoption. Appendix II listing requires each of the mahogany range states to ensure that all exports are sustainable and covered by CITES export permits.
Adopted in 1983 and extended in 1994, the ITTA commodity agreement focusses on the management of tropical forests whose products are traded internationally. The agreement has been extended for two years until 2002. It is currently being re-negotiated and could possibly be extended to all types of forests – temperate and boreal as well as tropical forests. The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) stems from the ITTA. The agreement created two categories of membership in the ITTO: producing members and consuming members of tropical forest resources. Canada is a consuming member.
Adopted in 1992, the FCCC calls on countries to control greenhouse gases (GHG). Canada is a party to the Convention. In December 1997, Canada and more than 160 other countries met in Kyoto, Japan, and agreed to targets to reduce GHG emissions. The Kyoto Protocol makes specific reference to forests as sinks and reservoirs of GHG and calls for the promotion of sustainable forest management practices, afforestation and reforestation. The Government of Canada released the Climate Change Plan for Canada on November 21, 2002. The result of intensive consultation with the provinces and territories as well as with stakeholders and individual Canadians, the Plan reflects the Government of Canada’s commitment to action on climate change while ensuring our economic competitiveness and growth.
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Adopted in 1992, the CBD calls on countries to conserve biological diversity in a number of areas, including forest ecosystems. Canada is a party to the Convention. At the 4th Conference of the Parties (COP 4) to the CBD in 1998, a programme of work for forest biological diversity was adopted, calling on countries to integrate biological diversity considerations into their forest management systems and programs. At COP 6 in April 2002, an expanded programme of work for forest biological diversity was adopted. The expanded programme of work contains 130 activities.
Adopted in 1994, the CCD calls on countries to combat the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations. Desertification does not refer to the expansion of existing deserts. It occurs because dryland ecosystems, which cover more than one third of the world's land area, are extremely vulnerable to overexploitation and inappropriate land use. Poverty, political instability, deforestation, overgrazing, and bad irrigation practices can all undermine the land's productivity. The CCD aims to promote effective action through innovative local programmes and supportive international partnerships. Canada is a party to the Convention.
The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. There are presently 136 Contracting Parties to the Convention, with 1263 wetland sites, totalling 107.5 million hectares, designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. Canada is a party to the Convention. Currently, Canada has more than 30 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance, with a surface area of more than 13,000,000 hectares.
Intergovernmental Panel on
Forests (IPF) (1995-1997) Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) (1995-1997) The IPF was established in 1995 for a two-year period by the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) to continue the intergovernmental forest policy dialogue started at the 1992 Earth Summit (or the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development). The IPF produced over 100 proposals for action related to sustainable forest management including national forest programs, forest assessment, criteria and indicators, traditional forest-related knowledge and underlying causes of deforestation. Matters requiring further consideration – either because consensus could not be reached or because further analysis was required – included issues related to finance and transfer of technology, trade and environment, and institutions and legal instruments.
The establishment of the IFF in 1997 for a three-year period was endorsed by the CSD and subsequently by the UN General Assembly to continue the dialogue on a number of topics upon which the IPF was unable to reach consensus. These topics included finance and transfer of technology, trade and environment, and institutions and legal instruments. The IFF process resulted in the elaboration of a number of additional recommendations, as well as a call for the CSD to create a more permanent arrangement for the multilateral forest policy dialogue. United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) In October 2000, the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) adopted a resolution outlining an international arrangement on forests and establishing the UNFF as a subsidiary body of the ECOSOC. The UNFF succeeded a five-year period (1995-2000) of forest policy dialogue facilitated by the IPF and the IFF. The purpose of the UNFF is to facilitate implementation of the IPF/IFF proposals for action, provide a forum for policy dialogue, enhance coordination of work of international organizations, foster international cooperation, monitor and assess progress, and enhance political commitment to sustainable forest management. Through this process, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests was established to support the work of the UNFF and to foster increased cooperation and coordination on forests. By 2005, the UNFF will consider recommending the parameters of a mandate for developing a legal framework on all types of forests.
The 1992 Earth Summit, or the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, called upon nations to ensure sustainable development, including the management of all types of forests. The Summit produced a Statement of Forest Principles, conventions on biodiversity, climate change and desertification, and a plan of action for the 21st century called Agenda 21, all of which have implications for forest management. In 1993, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe sponsored an International Seminar of Experts on Sustainable Development of Boreal and Temperate Forests, in Montréal. The seminar focussed specifically on criteria and indicators and how they can help define and measure progress towards the sustainable development of forests. Subsequently, an initiative known as the Montréal Process was launched among non-European temperate and boreal countries to develop and implement internationally agreed upon criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management. Canada operates the Montréal Process Liaison Office through the Canadian Forest Service of Natural Resources Canada.
At the G8 Summit in Denver in 1997, an action programme on forests complimentary to the IPF/IFF proposals for action was proposed and subsequently approved by G8 Heads of State. The action programme committed G8 countries to take specific actions in five areas: monitoring and assessment; national forest programmes; protected areas; private sector; and illegal logging. As host of the G8 Summit 2002, Canada has led the preparations by G8 forest experts of the Final Report on the G8 Action Programme on Forests, which was presented to G8 Foreign Ministers in June 2002. Overall, the G8 Action Programme on Forests has increased the understanding and political commitment to forests and advanced individual and collaborative action in the five priority areas. In the context of illegal logging, it has resulted in forest law enforcement and governance initiatives in Asia and Africa. While the action programme has formally ended, G8 forest experts continue to meet informally in international forest-related fora and to work together to advance priority forest issues. The final report and backgrounders on the five priority areas are available
at the following addresses:
Founded in 1945, the FAO is one of the largest specialized agencies in the UN system and the lead agency for agriculture, forestry, fisheries and rural development. An intergovernmental organization, the FAO has 183 member countries plus one member organization, the European Community. COFO is the premier FAO Forestry Statutory Body. Its biennial sessions bring together heads of forest services and other senior government officials to identify emerging policy and technical issues, to seek solutions and to advise FAO and others on appropriate action. Canada is a member of COFO. The North American Forest
Commission (NAFC) of the FAO More information on the NAFC can be found at the following addresses:
The Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) Process Widespread failure of forest governance and law enforcement directly undermines any nation’s attempt to achieve sustainable economic growth, societal equity, and environmental protection. Internationally, governments are beginning to acknowledge the deep costs of illegal logging, associated illegal trade and corruption in the forest sector. While not a G8 initiative, the FLEG process has strong links to the G8 Action Programme on Forests, as the Programme highlighted the need to eliminate illegal logging and related forest products trade. The FLEG process is managed by the World Bank and consists of initiatives in Africa and East Asia. The East Asia FLEG - The East Asia FLEG is a partnership among the World Bank, Indonesia, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (U.S.) that culminated in the East Asia Ministerial Conference on FLEG in Bali, Indonesia, September 11-13, 2001. The Conference adopted a Ministerial Declaration, whereby participating countries commit themselves to intensify national efforts and strengthen bilateral, regional and multilateral collaboration to address forest crime and violations of forest law, and to create a regional task force on forest law enforcement and governance to advance the Declaration’s objectives. Canada is a member of the East Asia Task Force on FLEG. The Africa FLEG - The governments of France and Switzerland as well as
the European Commission have joined the UK and the U.S. in co-sponsoring
the Africa FLEG. Designed to fit within the umbrella of the New Partnership
for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the Africa FLEG aims to galvanize
international and multi-stakeholder commitment at high political levels
to strengthen capacity for forest law enforcement in Africa, in particular
with regard to illegal logging and associated trade. |
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| Last Updated: 2006-07-20 |  |
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