April '98 EU Forest Watch

EU Forest Watch

April 1998 Issue # 23

Addressing the Underlying Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation

Several NGOs and governments are organising a global process to discuss the underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation. This initiative is supported by the UN Environment Programme and the secretariat of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF). The final outcome of the process will be a global workshop hosted by the government of Costa Rica from 30 November to 4 December.

Background

During the last decade, the forest crisis has received increasing attention, prompting many initiatives by governments and intergovernmental agencies. Still, these responses appear to be insufficient in reversing current deforestation trends.

Analyses of why the recent responses to the forest crisis have failed, agree that these initiatives have focused too much attention on the proximate (or immediate) causes of deforestation/forest degradation, largely ignoring the underlying (or root) causes of these problems. The global process which will take place this year intends to rectify this problem.

The Process

The four stages of the process are:

1) Preparation of case studies,

2) Presentation of the case studies at eight workshops, one for indigenous peoples and one for each of the following regions: Africa, Asia, former USSR, Europe, Latin America, North America and Oceania.

3) Presentation of workshop results at the global workshop in Costa Rica. This will take a solution-oriented approach to addressing underlying causes.

4) Presentation of the global workshop results in a report.

This report will help IFF III (March 1999) review progress made in implementing the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests' proposals for action on this issue.

Who will take part?

Participants include NGOs, indigenous peoples organizations, grass-root organizations, governments and intergovernmental agencies. The whole process is open to all interested parties.

The European Process

Fern and the Forest Peoples Programme (UK) have been appointed as the European process focal points. Six case studies will be conducted, one for each region within Europe (boreal, central, eastern and Mediterranean regions), as well as two case studies on the impact of (i) European consumption patterns and (ii) European aid and trade policies on forests outside Europe.

These case studies will be discussed at a regional meeting in Europe in October where European input to the global workshop will also be discussed. Governments, NGOs, EU officials and the private sector will all be invited to take part.

Forest Fires in Asia and the Amazon

1. Humanitarian Aid for Brazil

On 17 April the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) approved a package of emergency humanitarian aid worth 1 million ECU for victims of forest fires in Brazil. These fires have devastated the state of Roraima in northern Brazil over the last months. They have only recently been put out by heavy rain.

The EU funds will be used over the next six months to provide food, medical aid, temporary shelter, water and sanitation. The aid should reach about 38 000 people and is being channelled through three European NGOs who are already working in the region. ECHO may make further help available should the need arise.

2. Parliamentary Resolution and Debate on Forest Fires

On 2 April the European Parliament adopted an urgency resolution ¹ on forest fires in the Amazon and South-East Asia. Amongst other things, it calls on:

• the Commission and Council to help national authorities develop sustainable alternatives to current activities which destroy the forest;

• the G8 meeting in Birmingham in May 1998 to put forward measures to (i) combat illegal exploration of the Amazon and (ii) establish rapid reaction aid structures to fight against natural disasters;

• the Indonesian government to stop activities in connection with the Mega-Rice project in Kalimantan.

¹ Available from Fern

Certification Update

1. ETC

The European Working Group on Timber Chain of Custody (ETC) met on 17 April. The group includes representatives of forest owners, trade unions, timber traders and environmental NGOs (see EU Forest Watch 17).

The group discussed an inventory paper including a matrix of different certification and labelling systems currently in use or under development in EU member states. During its past three meetings, the scope of ETC discussions has widened considerably from forest certification to include labels of origin and other labelling schemes.

At its final meeting on 16 June the group will try to finalise joint re-commendations to the EU on certification and related issues.

2. Certification database

The European Forestry Institute has set up a forest and forest product Certification Information Service (EFICIS), funded by DG VIII of the European Commission. The purpose of this service is to provide independent information on certification (see EU Forest Watch 19).

The EFICIS web site gives a useful overview of current discussions through various articles and key certification documents, although it is not totally comprehensive.

Within the framework of this service, DG VIII's Forest Certification Advisory Group (FCAG) has published three briefing notes which are a must for those interested in certification. The first covers forest certification in general, the second compares the Forest Stewardship Council and ISO approaches² and the third addresses the issue of demand for certified products in Europe³. Contact: ian.hunter@sauna.efi.joensuu.fi

Small Grants Fund

DG IB of the European Commission has asked external experts to carry out a feasibility study for setting up a small grants programme under the tropical forest budget line (see EU Forest Watch 20).

The study will mainly tackle the scope of this programme and its mechanisms, which should be flexible and fast. It will also look at current procedures and the changes created by the new "Relex" financial and technical department (see EU Forest Watch 22). DG IB has promised to send the terms of reference of the feasibility study to NGOs for comments.

Parliament Votes on Eco-Label Regulation

The European Parliament has put forward several amendments to the proposed Regulation revising the EU eco-label scheme (see EU Forest Watch 11).

Some MEPs object to the proposed revision because it requires the EU Eco-label to replace national and regional schemes after five years. For example, Finnish and Swedish MEPs are campaigning to save their Nordic Swan label because it has higher standards than the EU Eco-label. The Parliament will vote on the amendments at its plenary session in Brussels on 30 April.

EC-SADC Forest Sector Cooperation Strategy

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the EU are holding their final seminar to discuss a strategy for cooperation in the forest sector (29-30 April, Brussels).

The aims of the meeting are to:

• discuss final reports⁽¹⁾ (12 national strategies and a regional strategy) and implementation priorities,

• enhance the policy dialogue between SADC and the EU,

• increase donor coordination on forests in the SADC region.

^1. Available on the Indufor web site or by email

EU Forest Agenda

• 5-6 May: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change meeting on harvested wood products, Senegal

• 8 May: European Working Group on Amazonia, Brussels

• 12-15 May: Steering committee meeting for global process on underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation, Bratislava

• 14-15 May: Conference on Sustainable management of European forests, Versailles

• 2-3 June: 3rd Ministerial Conference on Protection of Forests in Europe, Lisbon

• 3-5 June: Meeting to finalise Natura 2000 habitat and species lists, Paris