Forests cover about a third of the land area in the UNECE region and are
havens of rich biodiversity. The forest and timber sector also provides for
millions of jobs, and contributes to mitigating climate change by replacing
fossil fuels and improving energy efficiency. Europe’s forest area is
expanding by 700,000 ha per year, and several transition countries have based
part of their economic expansion on an export-oriented forest sector. At the
same time, the forest sector is quite susceptible to cross-sectoral policy
influences, especially from the energy and environment side, which are causing
major structural changes.
Public policymakers, private-sector decision-makers and policy-oriented
environmental or social NGOs need an objective source of comprehensive information
and analysis as well as a forum for the exchange of views. This role has been
fulfilled by the UNECE Timber Committee and its partner, the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) European Forestry Commission, since
1948. However, this role is becoming more demanding with the increasing complexity
of the issues and the need to find synergies with forest-related initiatives
in other areas. Competition between energy uses and traditional wood processing
industries for limited wood supplies and the trend in public procurement policies
to specify that wood has been produced sustainably are two issues that have
been the subject of UNECE forums/workshops in 2006 and early 2007. These events
not only facilitated the exchange of views between stakeholders from widely
differing backgrounds, they also provided inputs to other international policy
processes, notably the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests
in Europe, which will take place in November 2007.
The Timber subprogramme works to create a better regional understanding
of the forest resource and whether it is being managed sustainably, notably
by monitoring indicators of sustainable forest management. The joint UNECE/FAO
subprogramme plays a leading role in the collection, validation and analysis
of national information, as well as provides the necessary linkage between
this work at the pan-European level and global activity of FAO (for which
UNECE/ FAO is responsible for the European part). All effort is being made
to improve data quality and coverage, notably information on the environmental,
social and policy frameworks, while minimizing the reporting burden by coordinating
and harmonizing international data requests. The resulting analysis will be
presented to the Ministerial Conference mentioned above.
Another goal of the subprogramme is to provide a better understanding of
topical issues. The Joint FAO/ECE Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics,
with the European Commission, the International Energy Agency and private
sector bodies, seeks to improve the information base on wood energy, a major
part of wood consumption as well as a future key to energy security and sustainability.
Current enquiries have already shown that the size and nature of wood bioenergy
is larger and more complex than previously thought, and that the potential
and constraints are not well understood at the policy level.
To promote the sound use of wood through better information on trends and
influences, the UNECE/FAO subprogramme publishes the Forest Products Annual
Market Review. In 2006, main topics included the influence of China on world
wood markets, which is considerable and not well understood, and the options
and dilemmas surrounding public procurement policies for forest products (the
so-called “green procurement”). Relations with the private sector
have always been close in the field of market analysis, and trade and industry
associations contributed strongly to the subprogramme’s work for many
years. In 2007, Timber Committee discussions will be held jointly with the
International Softwood Conference, allowing for an intense exchange of opinion
on policies, markets and their interactions.
To build capacity in the EECCA and SEE countries, forest sector issues need
to be better integrated and prioritized in the broader development agenda,
especially in those countries with acute forest-related environmental/rural
livelihood issues or where there is a potential to develop a dynamic, sustainably
managed forest sector (e.g. where export-led growth can play a part in national
development, as with the Baltic countries). Workshops to develop capacity
for forest products marketing were held in Novi Sad, Serbia, and Dubrovnik,
Croatia, and a team of specialists builds networks and provides strategic
guidance to UNECE and FAO on their forest sector activities for these subregions.
During the year, the subprogramme began improving its capacity to monitor
and analyse trends in forest/timber sector policies and institutions, as agreed
in the UNECE Reform Plan, in particular about the “qualitative indicators
of sustainable forest management” which concern policies and institutions.
An enquiry to private forest owners in Europe with the objective of collaborating
on a comprehensive and reliable system to monitor and analyse regional trends
is also in progress.
The subprogramme continued its efforts to improve the quality of information
in sensitive areas, for instance on illegal logging, certified forest products,
and wood energy. Other activities included a publication on Gender and Forestry
prepared by a team of specialists in 2006 and published by FAO, a FAO/UNECE/International
Labour Organization (ILO) Joint Expert Network effort to implement sustainable
forest management, the initiation of a network of forest education institutions,
and a seminar on safety and health in forest operations is scheduled for 2007.
In all of its timber and forestry activities, UNECE works with partners,
in addition to its chief partner FAO, with which it has a joint programme,
joint publications and a joint secretariat. Close cooperation is in place
with the Liaison Unit of the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests
in Europe, as well as with relevant services of the European Commission. Talks
are under way to effect more integrated European activities, partly in response
to the call from the United Nations Forum on Forests to develop regional input
to promote sustainable forest management. The UNECE Timber Committee and the
FAO European Forestry Commission will meet in a joint session in 2008, possibly
with an expert meeting of the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of
Forests in Europe, and in cooperation with some EU activities. The resulting “European
Forest Week” should prove a powerful symbol of regional cooperation
for sustainable forest management.
Johannes Dengg
Chairperson, Timber Committee
One important aspect of the Timber Committee’s value added is its
ability to provide relevant, reliable information and analysis on emerging
issues, either in its regular activities or by a more flexible response, bringing
together stakeholders and analysts.
For instance, increment in our forests is far higher than annual harvest,
and has been so for many decades. But recently, roundwood market conditions
have changed radically, so that buyers markets have become sellers markets.
What underlies this change?
The market discussions at the 2006 Timber Committee session pointed to improving
economic framework conditions and a surprisingly strong fuelwood demand, mainly
driven by increasing prices for fossil energy sources and also by promotion
of renewables.
However, there is growing concern about this development and the tough competition
which has started between value-added processing of timber and energy generation
from wood. Some voices already claim that there might be not enough wood left
in the forests to sustainably supply growing markets with timber. Some have
even asked for a halt to the promotion of wood for energy purposes. One possible
answer is to mobilize more wood, which is possible inside and outside the
forests (e.g. short rotation).
In January 2007, the UNECE Timber Committee together with related bodies
responded to the new situation by holding a workshop on this topic. Discussions
made clear that solutions are closely linked to numerous cross-sectoral implications
such as economic background, legal constraints, and ecological aspects. This
workshop may have been the starting point for an important debate, focusing
the experience of concerned stakeholders in many countries.
Another value added of the Timber Committee is its ability to work closely
with the private sector. For instance, in October 2007 the UNECE Timber Committee
is looking forward to welcoming the International Softwood Conference, a leading
trade organization. Thus, UNECE continues to provide one of the most effective
international discussion platforms for analysis of forest policy and timber
market development.
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