Contact Point: Paola Deda

The special session of the ECE Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry (COFFI) with the FAO European Forestry Commission (EFC) was held on 17 and 18 June 2013 in Geneva at the Palais des Nations. This session reviewed two important documents:

·         The draft Action Plan for the Forest Sector in a Green Economy, which is the outcome of open and extensive consultations. The Action Plan was considered in a series of informal meetings, engaging all stakeholders of the forest sector, including governments, representatives of the private sector and the civil society (25 countries and more than 80 local, national and international organizations). The Action Plan consists of 5 pillars with their respective areas of activity:

o    Sustainable production and consumption of forest products;

o    A low carbon forest sector;

o    Decent green jobs in the forest sector;

o    Long term provision of Forest Ecosystem Services;

o    Policy development and monitoring of the forest sector in relation to a green economy.

·         The draft Integrated Programme of Work 2014-17 for the COFFI and the ECE, the result of a thorough strategic review. The review principles included a broad scope, inclusiveness and open participation of all stakeholders, different means to seek opinions and transparency. This was translated into surveys; self-evaluations of teams of specialists, the joint working party and the secretariat; and a series of formal and informal meetings. The overall goal of the proposed Integrated Programme of Work is to support member countries and other stakeholders in their efforts to sustainably manage and use forests in the ECE Region, so that they provide products and ecosystem services to benefit society. The Programme of Work is expected to be structured around four main functions, or work areas (WA), as follows:

o   WA 1:   Data, monitoring and assessment;

o    WA 2:   Policy dialogue and advice;

o    WA 3:   Communication and outreach;

o    WA 4:   Capacity-building.

Delegates to the Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry and the European Forestry Commission forwarded both documents for approval to Metsä2013 (Metsä meaning forest in Finnish), the joint meeting of the COFFI and the EFC, to take place in Rovaniemi, Finland, from 9 to 13 December 2013, in conjunction with the European Forest Week (EFW).