UNUnited Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Timber

Major achievements in 2005

The major issues of sustainable forest management in the region were addressed. The European Forest Sector Outlook Study (EFSOS) was issued at the beginning of the year, with a number of policy recommendations based on detailed analysis and projection of trends to 2020. During the year, Governments, the European Union, stakeholders and the private sector considered the implications of the EFSOS analysis for their own strategies and policies. In particular a workshop in Riga explored how forest sector actors should respond to the increasingly complex and cross-sectoral nature of policy issues, for instance with the interactions between forest/timber sector developments and those for energy, environment, water trade and rural development.

Efforts to support the sustainable development of the forest and timber sector in countries of the CIS and South-East Europe focused on capacity building, notably in the areas of information and analysis. A workshop was held on capacity building for information, focused on the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia.

A stream of high quality information and analysis was provided, focused on statistics on production and trade of forest products, analysis and discussion of markets, notably the Forest Products Annual Market Review and the annual timber committee market discussions. Country profiles were issued on Bulgaria and on Serbia and Montenegro. A major contribution was made to the Global Forest Resource assessment issued in December 2005, led by FAO. Data for all countries in Europe and CIS included in this major contribution to monitoring forest trends and one of the Millennium Development Goals indicators were collected and validated. For the first time at global level this study, building on experience in the UNECE region and elsewhere, was able to provide credible information on all aspects of sustainable forest management, economic, social and ecological, according to agreed sets of criteria and indicators.

In 2005 information for the regional discussion on forest law enforcement and governance, notably illegal logging, was provided. A policy forum was held on the role of governments in forest certification, which made it possible to compare and contrast the strategies and priorities of different governments in relation to the dynamic development of certification which, despite being a voluntary market based instrument, has multiple consequences for policy, due to governments’ obligations as forest owners, as promoters of sustainable development and free trade.

Major challenges for 2006

The subprogramme will continue to provide a basis for monitoring and analysis of sustainable forest management in the region. The session of the FAO European Forestry Commission in May 2006 will address a range of major policy issues including the lessons learned from 15 years of the transition process in the sector and the possible consequences of climate change for European forests and timber. The report on the State of Europe’s Forests 2007 for the Ministerial Conference in Warsaw will be prepared, further broadening the scope and improving the quality of the information provided by UNECE and its partners. A policy forum on public procurement of forest products will be held in conjunction with the Timber Committee session. Work will continue to improve the knowledge base for policymaking, notably in the field of wood energy, and of illegal logging and trade of forest products.