EU Forest Watch

25 June 1998   Issue # 25  

Contents:

• Meetings in Congo Basin on Forests
• Biodiversity Update
• Lisbon Conference on Protection of Forests
• Parliament Adopts Resolution on Chad
• Council Discusses EU Eco-label
• EU Forest Agenda

June Parliamentary Questions

Meetings in Congo Basin on Forests

1. Brazzaville Process 2nd meeting

The second meeting of the Brazzaville Process, or CEFDHAC¹, was held in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, from 8-10 June. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss forest conservation problems in the Congo Basin, review progress over the past two years and discuss the function and status of CEDFHAC.

Background

CEFDHAC is a Central African forum that was initiated in Brazzaville in May 1996. It brings together forest ministers and government officials from eight countries, NGOs, private sector organisations and aid agencies. It is funded by the EU and Dutch government and coordinated by IUCN. CEFDHAC"s third meeting will be in Bujumbura, Burundi in 2000.

Outcome of the meeting

There were difficulties in agreeing on a final communiqué² due to differences of opinion on who should control the resources and the process itself. Gabon and Congo-Brazzaville wanted to reconsider the legal status of CEFDHAC. An ad-hoc meeting in Libreville, Gabon, in October will discuss this issue.

Throughout the meeting, there were tensions regarding the role of the African Timber Organisation (ATO) in CEDFHAC. The European Commission made it clear that CEDFHAC is a process which should not be institutionalised and that good governance is their overriding goal.

Two declarations² were circulated by NGOs and indigenous peoples of the region. The indigenous peoples representative was not allowed to present their statement. Both statements highlight the lack of participation by these groups in the process and ask for recognition.

NGO concerns

NGOs are concerned about:

• lack of participation by NGOs and indigenous peoples - the region"s problems will not be solved until this is addressed,

• the French government"s promotion of ATO"s role in CEFDHAC.

2. Forest Policy Dialogue

Government representatives from six Congo Basin countries met in Yaoundé, Cameroon from 12 to 19 May under the Congo Basin Forest Policy Dialogue Programme (see EU Forest Watch 19 and 21). The ATO and some local NGOs also participated.

The meeting started with a discussion on three priority topics, followed by a field visit to an integrated forest management project and a plywood factory.

The workshop conclusions focused very much on the exploitation of forest resources, eg through more inventories and promotion of less-known species. There were some good conclusions on participatory management which unfortunately were not taken into account at the subsequent CEDFHAC meeting which participants attended.

1. CEFDHAC: Conférence sur les écosystèmes de forêts denses et humides d"Afrique Centrale.

2. Available from Fern (in French)

Contents

Biodiversity Update

The Environment Council of 16-17 June adopted conclusions¹ on the EU Biodiversity Strategy. This marks a political agreement on the Strategy and endorses the Commission"s approach in developing Action Plans for relevant areas (see EU Forest Watch 21).

The conclusions specifically mention the EU Forest Strategy and stress the importance of development co-operation in conserving biodiversity.

The European Parliament will discuss a report on the Biodiversity Strategy at its plenary session in October.

2. "Natura 2000 & People"

Delegates from all EU countries and some CEECs met in Bath from 28 to 30 June to discuss implementation of the EU Habitats Directive. The high-level conference² was sponsored by the European Commission (DG XI) and the UK presidency.

The emphasis of the conference was on how to increase participation at all stages of setting up the Natura 2000 network of protected areas. The general conclusions of the conference stressed the need for involving local actors at the earliest stage using a "bottom-up" approach.

A workshop was held on forestry and the following issues were addressed, amongst others:

• the role of private and State-owned forests in the Natura 2000 network;

• the role of LIFE Nature grants in building local partnerships.

1. See Communiqué 2106 on the web at http://ue.eu.int/newsroom/index.htm

2. Conclusions available from Fern

Contents

Lisbon Conference on Protection of Forests

Development stressed

The General Declaration¹ set out a `Vision" strongly based on social and economic aspects of forests, to the detriment of environmental factors. The necessity to reduce strains on forest health and vitality were noted, but the main emphasis was on the best possible use of wood and non-wood forest products and services. The declaration also called for a global forest convention.

Different views on certification

It was obvious from Ministers" speeches that there is a spectrum of views on forest certification. Sweden, for example, wishes it to remain a private sector tool while Finland wants a European framework.

No clear actions adopted

WWF, the only environmental NGO present at the meeting, urged Ministers to adopt specific policy instruments, including funding, and to agree on clear, time limited, and quantified targets. These include setting up a network of protected areas covering the most valuable 10% of European forests, reducing plantation areas to less than 5% of forests, and providing reliable data on forest biodiversity.

However, while the Dutch Agriculture Minister urged that 10-20% of forests be set aside for biodiversity conservation, the Conference as a whole only succeeded in adopting two Resolutions, on `People, Forests and Forestry" and on `Pan-European Criteria, Indicators and Operational Level Guidelines for Sustainable Forest Management" (see article on PEOLG in EU Forest Watch 19).

Contents

Parliament Adopts Resolution on Chad

On 19 June, the European Parliament adopted an urgency Resolution¹ on human rights violations in Chad, where executions, arbitrary arrests and torture have been going on since last year. The resolution calls for the release of an opposition Member of the Chad Parliament who was arrested on his way to Brussels. He was to address the European Parliament about problems connected with the major oil pipeline through Chad and Cameroon which the World Bank is considering funding. The pipeline will cut through primary tropical rain forest. Many local NGOs are opposed to the World Bank project.

1. Available from Fern.

The General Affairs Council of 25 May adopted a Regulation on a Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) which will grant additional tariff preferences to developing countries applying certain social and environmental standards (see EU Forest Watch 21). The environmental conditions will apply only to forests. International Tropical Timber Organisation criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management will be used.

Contents

Council Discusses EU Eco-label

The Commission will now continue to revise its proposal to accommodate these criticisms. Both Austria and Germany expressed their interest in resuming work on the EU Eco-label under their respective presidencies.

Contents

EU Forest Agenda

• 22 July: NGO-Commission meeting on IFF II, Brussels (to be confirmed)

• 22-23 August: Steering committee meeting for global process on underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation, Geneva

• 24 August-4 September: Inter-governmental Forum on Forests second session, Geneva