EU Forest WatchMay 1998 Issue # 24Contents:
May Parliamentary Questions
Forest Scorecards for EuropeWWF presented a new assessment of the state of Europe's forests in the shape of 'forest scorecards' on 26 May in Brussels. The presentation was attended by representatives of the European Commission (DGs III, VI and XI), MEPs, NGOs, forest owners, foresters and the paper industry. Background The forest scorecards1 rank 15 European countries according to their performance in five categories: environment, production, social and cultural aspects, protected areas and pollution. An accompanying report details policy goals, policy instruments and achievements on the ground in each country.
Outcome The top two countries were Switzerland and Finland, with Denmark coming last.
The scorecards highlight the lack of progress on the ground, despite promises made by governments in the past in the context of the Pan-European Process on the Protection of Forests in Europe (Helsinki process). For example, in Sweden and Switzerland more than 1500 forest species are on the red data list and in most countries less than 2.5% of forests are strictly protected.
Comments on the report Several participants thought central and eastern European countries (CEECs) should be included in future assessments given that there are serious problems with the state of forests in these countries. WWF responded that it intends to include CEECs, Portugal and Ireland in future reports provided there are sufficient funds. DG VI of the European Commission (Agriculture) pointed out that Europe was the only region in the world with a high-level political committment on forests, therefore NGOs should not be too critical of the Helsinki process. DG VI also argued that it was unrealistic to aim for 10% of forest protected areas in Europe.
WWF answered that its ultimate goal is for the Pan European process' resolutions H1 (on sustainable forest management) and H2 (on conservation of biodiversity) to be fulfilled. But it fears that there is not enough political will to achieve this. WWF hopes to make governments deliver on their promises at the third ministerial conference for the Pan-European Process to be held in Lisbon in June.
WWF intends to carry out this exercise every year and has asked for comments on the report. It hopes that eventually the assessment method will be taken up by other independent institutes as a tool to compare policy committments with improvements in forest quality.
At the end of the discussion, participants urged DG VI to hold a stakeholder consultation on the European Forest Strategy that it is currently developing. Available online or from WWF, Fax: +32 2 743 88 19
Biodiversity Convention CoP 4The Fourth Conference of the Parties (CoP 4) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was held in Bratislava, Slovakia from 4 to 15 May. The meeting had a broad agenda, including forest biodiversity and implementation of Article 8 (j) on the role of indigenous and local communities in biodiversity use and conservation.
Forest biodiversity Delegates reviewed the programme of work on forest biodiversity. One of the contentious issues in discussions was the relationship between work on forest biodiversity under the CBD and other processes, such as the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF), the FAO and the Framework Climate Change Convention.
The work programme's objectives include: complementing national forest and land use programmes; promoting traditional forest-related knowledge in sustainable forest management and the equitable sharing of benefits; contributing to other international processes, including the IFF. The final decision calls for implementation of the work programme.
Article 8 ( j ) CoP 4 established a working group on implementation of Article 8 (j). Local and indigenous community representatives were left voiceless after being excluded from the negotiations for the first time at the request of Brazil. The EU and others expressed their regret at this occurrence. All documents are available online
Conference on Forest Management in EuropeA Conference on 'The European response to sustainable forest management issues' was held in Versailles on 14-15 May. It was hosted by the French Ministry for Agriculture and attended by representatives of European Forest Ministries, forest owner associations, foresters, the pulp and paper industry, EU officials and NGOs.
The meeting was organised in three sessions, with presentations on each topic by a large number of speakers. There was little time for questions or proper discussion.
A declaration entitled Reflexions from Versailles 1 was adopted by a top-down process on the second day. It stresses the need for multiple-use forestry and further discussions on sustainable forest management involving all stakeholders. It also aspires to a European framework for mutual recognition of the different processes guaranteeing sustainable forest management. 1 Available from Fern
New Date for Meeting on Underlying Causes of DeforestationThe global meeting on Underlying Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation will now take place from 18 to 22 January 1999 in Costa Rica, given that the third meeting of the IFF has been moved to May 1999 (see EU Forest Watch 23). This was decided at a Steering Commitee meeting in Bratislava from 12 to 15 May. The Committee includes all the regional focal points, as well as UNEP, IFF secretariat and governmental representatives.
The results will be fed into IFF III. For the European process, case studies are now being selected. Those who wish to know more about the process or who want to contribute should contact Fern. More information
EU Policy on Indigenous Peoples and DevelopmentThe Development Council of 18 May requested the Permanent Representa-tives Committee of the member states (COREPER) to prepare a resolution on the Commission's working document on indigenous peoples and development cooperation as soon as possible.
The Commission's working paper is the first attempt at an EU policy framework dealing exclusively with indigenous peoples (see EU Forest Watch 21 and 22). It was hoped that a resolution would be ready for this meeting, but this was not possible due to lack of time. The UK, which currently holds the EU presidency, has promised to start drafting the resolution. The COREPER will discuss the resolution which may then be adopted as an item without discussion at any Council meeting later this year.
At the Development Council of 18 May, the Danish, Spanish, Dutch and Austrian Development Ministers spoke out in favour of the Commission document, whereas the French minister wanted to discuss some points further. The European Alliance with Indigenous Peoples has called for the principles in the working paper to be accepted as guidelines for future EU policies and activities. See Commmuniqué 2093 on the web
Harvested wood products and climate changeOn 5-6 May the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change held a meeting in Dakar, Senegal to discuss how to measure emissions from harvested wood. A first preliminary assessment was made, but no final conclusion was achieved. The default method is that all carbon in harvested trees is counted as emissions in the year of harvest.Contact: Climate Network Europe, Fax: + 32 2 230 57 13, email: canron@gn.apc.org
EU Forest Agenda• 8-10 June: Conference on Tropical Forest Ecosystems of Central Africa (Brazzaville Process), Bata, Eq. Guinea
• 15-19 June: EU-funded meeting on project coordination in Amazonia, Iquitos, Peru
19-23 June: World Rainforest Movement meeting on plantations, Montevideo, Uruguay
• 22 June: European working group on Timber Chain of Custody, Brussels
• 24-26 June: Amazonia 2000 conference, London
• 29-30 June: Natura 2000 and People, Bath, UK
• 29 June-3 July: Putting the IPF Proposals for Action into Practice, Baden-Baden, Germany
• 1 July: EU Presidency is handed over to Austria
• 2-3 July: European Habitats Forum meeting, Brussels
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