FME 2000

In 2000, FME was held in April in Antwerp, Belgium. The first day of the meeting was set aside for a discussion on strategy on boreal forests, jointly organised with the Taiga Rescue Network. Over the next two days, the following issues were discussed:

• The forests of North West Russia
• How should NGOs respond to PEFC?
• How the NGO community can ensure FSC continues to improve its performance.
• The World Bank's Forest Policy and the World Bank's Indigenous Peoples Policy.
• The failure of Seattle and the impact of the World Trade Organisation on forests and forest peoples
• The Intergovernmental Forum on Forests and its successor the UN Forum on Forests.
• Cambodia
• Indonesia (focusing on oil palm production)
• The Sami situation
• Mangroves and shrimp an update of the European campaign by SSNC, on paper only.
• Carbon sinks and carbon trading.
• 'Industrial logging, forest management and certification in the Congo Basin', organised by WWF Belgium

Two letters were signed by participants of the FME on the subjects of:

• European NGOs rejection of PEFC
• European NGOs demand the release of Mexican forest defenders