. Forest biological diversity

Forest biological diversity

The Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice

1. Recommends that the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting:

(a) Welcomes the report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Forest Biological Diversity established by the Conference of the Parties at its fifth meeting (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/7/6), and Takes note of the assessment of status and trends and major threats to forest biological diversity contained in the report;

(b) Expresses its gratitude to the Government of Canada and to the Government of the United Kingdom for their financial support to the work of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Forest Biological Diversity;

(c) Expresses its gratitude to the co-chairs, the experts and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity for their work regarding the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Forest Biological Diversity;

(d) Adopts an expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity that identifies priority setting, actors, timeframes and ways and means for implementation of the activities proposed, as well as indicators of progress supplemented by targets, using the elements contained in annex I to the present recommendation, and the work of the Executive Secretary described in paragraph 2 below;

(e) Agrees, Recognizing the critical values of primary forests for the conservation of biodiversity and the current alarming rate of loss of such forests, to give priority in the programme of work to activities that could significantly contribute to their conservation;

(f) Urges Parties and other governments to incorporate relevant objectives and related activities of the programme of work into their national biodiversity strategies and action plans and national forest programmes;

(g) Invites Parties to foster cooperation and synergies with the United Nations Forum on Forests; in particular to ensure the role of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity of focal/lead agency with respect to forest biodiversity issues within the Collaborative Partnership on Forests;

(h) Invites the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, in the context of its global change and terrestrial ecosystems global transect programme, and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment to enhance collaboration in research and monitoring activities on forest biological diversity and climate change, and explore possibilities of establishing an international network to monitor and assess the impact of climate change on forest biological diversity;

(i) Invites the ad hoc technical expert group on the interlinkages between biological diversity and climate change to consider the report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Forest Biological Diversity (and the note by the Executive Secretary on consideration of specific threats to forest biological diversity: (a) climate change; (b) human induced uncontrolled forest fires; and (c) harvesting of non-timber forest resources, including bushmeat and living botanical resources (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/7/7)), as well as the outcome of the seventh meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific and Technical Advice with respect to forest biological diversity, including the proposed elements for an expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity;

(j) Requests the Executive Secretary, on the basis of goal 4, objective 2, of programme element 1 for an expanded work programme on forest biological diversity, to establish a liaison group on non-timber forest resources, including members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, the secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and IUCN - The World Conservation Union. On the basis of the work of the liaison group, the Subsidiary Body will prepare recommendations on this matter for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its seventh meeting;

(k) Invites members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and its network to explore possibilities for enhancing the integration of non-timber forest resources in the forest inventory and management, and to report on progress to the Subsidiary Body prior to the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties;

(l) Invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Tropical Timber Organization and the Global Fire Monitoring Center, as well as other relevant organizations, to include forest biodiversity in their assessments of fire impacts; to explore possibilities for a joint work programme with the Convention on Biological Diversity, including, inter alia, fire impact assessments, development of guidelines on fire management, and community-based approaches to fire prevention and management; and to report on progress to the Subsidiary Body prior to the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties;

(m) Encourages the development of community-based approaches in the implementation of the programme of work, inter alia, for issues related to forest fires and non-timber forest resources;

(n) Invites Parties to undertake national level coordination of their work relating to forest biological diversity at an international level, particularly in respect of work relating to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Forum on Forests;

[Inter-sessional work]

2. Requests the Executive Secretary, drawing upon the work of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Forest Biological Diversity and seeking comments from Parties, the Bureau and members of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group, to prepare a report for consideration by Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting identifying:

(a) Elements in the work programme adopted by decision IV/7 of relevance to the expanded work programme, and how these may be incorporated in the expanded programme of work, also taking into account multi-year programme of work and plan of action of the United Nations Forum on Forests;

(b) Potential actors, a suggested timeframe and possible ways and means for implementation of the activities proposed, as well as indicators of progress in implementation, taking into account the potential for collaborative work with other bodies, in particular the United Nations Forum on Forests and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests;

3. Requests the Executive Secretary to invite Parties to submit their views and suggestions for potential priorities for the proposed expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity taking into account the chapeau of the annex to the present recommendation to be incorporated into an information document and report to the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting for consideration;
4. Welcomes the offer by the Government of Ghana to host a workshop to explore opportunities for collaboration among the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Forum on Forests and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests;
5. Takes note of the technical experts meeting on harmonization of forest-related definitions, to be held in Rome in January 2002, under the aegis of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Center for International Forestry Research, and other partners, and Requests that the findings be presented to the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting.

Annex

ELEMENTS FOR AN EXPANDED WORK PROGRAMME ON FOREST BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

Chapeau

In undertaking this expanded programme of work, parties, governments, international and regional organizations and processes, civil society organizations and other relevant bodies and all relevant implementers shall take into account the following considerations:

(a) The need to focus on key priorities for sustainable use of forest resources and to ensure equitable sharing of benefits;

(b) The need to facilitate adequate participation of indigenous and local communities and the need to respect their rights and interests;

(c) The need to urgently prioritize biodiversity conservation efforts on the most endangered and environmentally-significant forest ecosystems and species, in particular primary forests;

(d) The need to achieve synergies and avoid duplications between the work of the key international bodies, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the other members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests;

(e) The need to ensure capacity building and the provision of adequate financial, human and technical resources to allow implementation of the work programme by all relevant stakeholders;

(f) The need to ensure that relevant activities be effectively incorporated into national and subnational forest and biological diversity strategies and programmes;

(g) The need for clarification of the links between the ecosystem approach and sustainable forest management.

PROGRAMME ELEMENT 1. CONSERVATION, SUSTAINABLE USE AND BENEFIT-SHARING

GOAL 1

To apply the ecosystem approach to the management of all types of forests

Objective 1

Develop practical methods, guidelines, indicators and strategies to apply the ecosystem approach adapted to regional differences to forests both inside and outside protected forest areas as well as both in managed and unmanaged forests.

Activities

(a) Clarify the conceptual basis of the ecosystem approach in relation to sustainable forest management.

(b) Develop guidance for applying the ecosystem approach in forest ecosystems.

(c) Identify key structural and functional ecosystem elements to be used as indicators for decision-making and develop decision - support tools on a hierarchy of scales.

(d) Develop and implement guidance to help the selection of suitable forest management practices for specific forest ecosystems.

(e) Develop and implement appropriate mechanisms for the participation of all stakeholders in ecosystem-level planning and management.

(f) Develop an informal international network of forest areas for piloting and demonstrating the ecosystem approach and exchange related information through the clearing-house mechanism.

(g) Hold workshops to train and familiarize decision makers and managers with the foundations, principles and modalities of the ecosystem approach.

(h) Promote research and pilot projects to develop understanding of the functional linkages between forest biological diversity and agriculture with the aim to developing practices that could improve the relations between forest management and other land use methods. Promote assessment of functional linkages between mining, infrastructure and other development projects and forest biodiversity, and develop best practice, guidelines for such development projects to mitigate adverse impacts on forest biodiversity.

(i) Promote activities that minimize the negative impacts of forest fragmentation on forest biodiversity, including afforestation, forest restoration, secondary forest and plantation management, and agroforestry, watershed management and land use planning aimed at providing a combination of economic and environmental goods and services to stakeholders.

GOAL 2

To reduce the threats and mitigate the impacts of threatening processes on forest biological diversity

Objective 1

Prevent the introduction of invasive alien species that threaten ecosystems, and mitigate their negative impacts on forest biological diversity in accordance with international law.

Activities

(a) Reinforce, develop and implement strategies at regional and national level to prevent and mitigate the impacts of invasive alien species that threaten ecosystems, including risk assessment, strengthening of quarantine regulation, and containment or eradication programmes taking into account the guidelines on invasive alien species if adopted at the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

(b) Improve the knowledge of the impacts of invasive alien species on forest ecosystems and adjacent ecosystems.

Objective 2

Mitigate the impact of pollution such as acidification and eutrophication on forest biodiversity

Activities

(a) Increase the understanding of the impact of pollution, e.g., acidification and eutrophication, and other pollutants (such as mercury and cyanide) on forest biodiversity; at genetic, species, ecosystem and landscape levels.

(b) Support monitoring programmes that help evaluate the impacts of air, soil and water pollution on forest ecosystems, and address the impacts of changing environmental conditions on forest ecosystems.

(c) Encourage the integration of forest biodiversity consideration into strategies and policies to reduce pollution.

(d) To promote the reduction of pollution levels that adversely affect forest biodiversity and encourage forest management techniques that reduce the impacts of changing environmental conditions on forest ecosystems.

Objective 3

Mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on forest biodiversity

Activities

Taking into account the work of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Climate Change and Biodiversity:

(a) Promote monitoring and research on the impacts of climate change on forest biological diversity and investigate the interface between forest components and the atmosphere;

(b) Develop coordinated response strategies and action plans at global, regional and national levels;

(c) Promote the maintenance and restoration of biodiversity in forests in order to enhance their capacity to resist to, and recover from and adapt to climate change;

(d) Promote forest biodiversity conservation and restoration in climate change mitigation and adaptation measures;

(e) Assess how the conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity can contribute to the international work relating to climate change.

Objective 4

To prevent and mitigate the adverse effects of forest fires and fire suppression

Activities

(a) Identify policies, practices and measures aimed at addressing the causes and reducing impacts on forest biological diversity resulting from human-induced uncontrolled/unwanted fires, often associated with land clearing and other land use activities.

(b) Promote understanding of the role of human-induced fires on forest ecosystems and on species, and of the underlying causes.

(c) Develop and promote the use of fire management tools for maintaining and enhancing forest biological diversity, especially when there has been a shift in fire regimes.

(d) To promote practices of fire prevention and control to mitigate the impacts of unwanted fires on forest biological diversity.

(e) Promote development of systems for risk assessment and early warning, monitoring and control, and enhance capacity for prevention and post-fire forest biodiversity restoration at the community, national and regional levels.

(f) To advise on fire-risk prediction systems, surveillance, public education and other methods to minimise human-induced uncontrolled/unwanted fires.

(g) Develop strategies to avoid the negative effects of sectoral programmes and policies which could induce uncontrolled forest fires.

(h) Develop prevention plans against devastating fires and integrate them into national plans targeting the biological diversity of forests.

(i) Develop mechanisms, including early warning systems, for exchange of information related to the causes of forest biodiversity loss, including fires, pests and diseases, and invasive species

Objective 5

To mitigate effects of the loss of natural disturbances necessary to maintain biodiversity in regions where these no longer occur.

Activities

(a) Develop and promote management methods that restore or mimic natural disturbances such as fire, wind-throw and floods.

Objective 6

To prevent and mitigate losses due to fragmentation and conversion to other land uses

Activities

(a) Encourage the creation of private reserves and private conservation methods where appropriate, respecting the rights and interests of indigenous and local communities.

(b) Establish ecological corridors on a national and regional basis.

(c) Promote cost-benefit analysis of development projects that might lead to the conversion of forest into other land uses incorporating the impacts on forest biological diversity.

(d) Implement policies, practices and measures aimed at addressing the causes and reducing impacts on forest biological diversity resulting from human-induced uncontrolled clearing or other uncontrolled land-use activities

GOAL 3

To protect, recover and restore forest biological diversity

Objective 1

Restore forest biological diversity in degraded secondary forests and in forests established on former forestlands and other landscapes, including in plantations.

Activities

(a) Promote the implementation of systems and practices for restoration in accordance with the ecosystem approach

(b) Promote restoration of forest biological diversity with the aim to restore ecosystem services.

(c) Create and improve where appropriate international, regional and national databases and case-studies on the status of degraded forests, deforested, restored and afforested lands.

Objective 2

Promote forest management practices that further the conservation of endemic and threatened species.

Activities

(a) Determine status and conservation needs of endemic or threatened species and the impacts of current forest management practices on these species.

(b) Develop and implement conservation strategies for endemic and threatened species for global or regional application, and practical systems of adaptive management at national level.

Objective 3

Ensure adequate and effective protected forest area networks.

Activities

(a) Assess the comprehensiveness, representativeness and adequacy of protected areas relative to forest types and identify gaps and weaknesses.

(b) Establish (in accordance with Article 8(j)) with the full participation and with respect for the rights of indigenous and local communities, and other relevant stakeholders, comprehensive, adequate, biologically and geographically representative and effective networks of protected areas.

(c) Establish, in a similar manner, restoration areas to complement the network of protected areas where needed.

(d) Revise in a similar manner and ensure the comprehensiveness, adequacy, representativeness and efficacy of existing protected area networks.

(e) Assess the efficacy of protected forest areas for the conservation of biological diversity.

(f) Ensure that relevant protected areas are managed to maintain and enhance their forest biodiversity components, services and values;

GOAL 4

To promote the sustainable use of forest biological diversity

Objective 1

Promote sustainable use of forest resources to enhance the conservation of forest biological diversity

Activities

(a) Support activities of indigenous and local communities involving the use of traditional forest-related knowledge in biodiversity management.

(b) Develop, support and promote programmes and initiatives that address the sustainable use of timber and non-timber forest products.

(c) Support regional cooperation and work on sustainable use of timber and non-timber forest products and services, including through technology transfer and capacity building within and between regions.

(d) Improve forest management and planning practices that incorporate socio-economic and cultural values to support and facilitate sustainable use.

(e) Promote cooperative work on the sustainable use of forest products and services and its relation to biodiversity conservation with the other members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests.

(f) Encourage implementation of voluntary third-party credible forest certification schemes that take into consideration relevant forest biodiversity criteria and that would be audited, taking into consideration indigenous and local community rights and interests.

(g) Set up demonstration sites that would illustrate forest conservation and on-ground delivery of goods and services through sustainable forest management, which are also representative of various types of forest, themes and regional needs, through case-studies.

(h) Facilitate and support a responsible private sector committed to sustainable harvesting practices and compliance with domestic laws through effective development and enforcement of laws on sustainable harvesting of timber and non-timber resources.

Objective 2

Prevent losses caused by unsustainable harvesting of timber and non-timber forest resources.

Activities

(a) Establish a liaison group with an associated workshop to facilitate development of a joint work plan with relevant members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests to bring harvesting of non-timber forest products (NTFP)s, with a particular focus on bush meat, to sustainable levels. This group should have a proportionate regional representation, giving special consideration to sub-regions where bush meat is a major issue and representation of relevant organizations such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The mandate of this group is to:

(i) Consult in a participatory manner with key stakeholders to identify and prioritize major issues pertaining the unsustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products, particularly of bushmeat and related products;

(ii) Provide advice on the development of policies, enabling legislation and strategies that promote sustainable use of, and trade in, non-timber forest products, particularly bushmeat and related products;

(iii) Provide advice on appropriate alternative sustainable livelihood technologies and practices for the affected communities;

(iv) Provide advice on appropriate monitoring tools.

(b) Promote projects and activities that encourage the use and supply of alternative sources of energy to prevent forest degradation due to the use of firewood by local communities.

(c) Develop any necessary legislation for the sustainable management and harvesting of non-timber forest resources. (d) Solicit input from Parties, other countries and relevant organizations on ways and means to encourage and assist importing countries to prevent the entry of illegally harvested forest resources, which are not covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and consider this information as a basis for further steps on this issue.

Objective 3

Enable indigenous and local communities to develop and implement adaptive community-management systems to conserve and sustainably use forest biological diversity.

Activities

Taking into account the outcome of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Inter-Sessional Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity:

(a) Strengthen the capacity of, and provide incentives for, indigenous and local communities to generate opportunities for sustainable use of forest biodiversity and for access to markets;

(b) Strengthen the capacity of indigenous and local communities to resolve land rights and land use disputes in order to sustainably manage forest biodiversity;

(c) Encourage the conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity by indigenous and local communities through their development of adaptive management practices, using as appropriate traditional forest-related knowledge;

(d) Provide incentives for the maintenance of cultural diversity as an instrument to enhance forest biological diversity;

(e) Develop and implement education and awareness programmes on traditional uses of forest biological diversity in accordance with Article 8(j);

(f) Create an environment that fosters respect, and stimulates, preserves and maintains traditional knowledge related to forest biological diversity, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities.

Objective 4

Develop effective and equitable information systems and strategies and promote implementation of those strategies for in situ and ex situ conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic diversity, and support countries in their implementation and monitoring.

Activities

(a) Develop, harmonize and assess the diversity of forest genetic resources, taking into consideration the identification of key functional/keystone species populations, model species and genetic variability at the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) level.

(b) Select, at a national level, the most threatened forest ecosystems based on the genetic diversity of their priority species and populations and develop an appropriate action plan in order to protect the genetic resources of the most threatened forest ecosystems.

(c) Improve understanding of patterns of genetic diversity and its conservation in situ, in relation to forest management, landscape-scale forest change and climate variations.

(d) Provide guidance for countries to assess the state of their forest genetic resources, and to develop and evaluate strategies for their conservation, both in situ and ex situ.

(e) Develop national legislative, administrative policy measures on access and benefit-sharing on forest genetic resources, taking into account the provisions under Articles 8(j), 10(c), 15, 16 and 19 of the Convention on Biological Diversity and in conformity with future decisions of the Conference of the Parties, as appropriate.

(f) Monitor developments in new biotechnologies and ensure their applications are compatible with the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity with respect to forest biological diversity, and develop and enforce regulations for controlling the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) when appropriate.

(g) Develop a holistic framework for the conservation and management of forest genetic resources at national, sub-regional and global levels.

(h) Implement activities to ensure adequate and representative in situ conservation of the genetic diversity of endangered, overexploited and narrow endemic forest species and complement the in situ conservation with adequate ex situ conservation of the genetic diversity of endangered, overexploited and narrow endemic species and species of economic potential.

GOAL 5

Access and benefit sharing of forest genetic resources

Objective 1

Promote the fair and equitable sharing of benefits resulting from the utilization of forest genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge

Activities

Based on the draft Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Benefits Arising out of their Utilization, if approved by the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting:

(a) Establish mechanisms to facilitate the sharing of benefits at local, national, regional and global levels.

(b) Strengthen capacity of indigenous and local communities to negotiate benefit-sharing arrangements.

(c) Promote dissemination of information about benefit sharing experiences through the clearing-house mechanism and appropriate means at the local level.

PROGRAMME ELEMENT 2: INSTITUTIONAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC ENABLING ENVIRONMENT

GOAL 1

Enhance the institutional enabling environment.

Objective 1

Improve the understanding of the various causes of forest biological diversity losses

Activities

(a) Each Party to carry out, in a transparent and participatory way, thorough analysis of local, regional, national and global direct and underlying causes of losses of forest biological diversity. A distinction should be made between broad socio-economic causes such as demographic growth and more specific causes such as institutional weaknesses and market or policy failures.

(b) Each Party on the basis of the above analysis to implement their recommendations.

(c) Parties to report through the clearing-house mechanism of the Secretariat on successful experiences involving control and mitigation of the underlying causes of deforestation, which would make it possible to understand lessons learned.

Objective 2

Parties, Governments and organizations to integrate biological diversity conservation and sustainable use into forest and other sector policies and programmes.

Activities:

(a) Parties to formulate appropriate policies and adopt sets of priority targets for forest biological diversity to be integrated into national forest programmes, national sustainable development strategies, poverty reduction strategy papers, related non-forest programmes and national biological diversity strategies and action plans. Ensure that there is coherence and direct interaction between the different programmes.

(b) Seek ways of streamlining reporting between the different forest-related processes, in order to improve the understanding of forest quality change and improve consistency in reporting on sustainable forest management.

(c) Develop a set of indicators that might be used in assessing progress in implementing the national biodiversity strategies and action plans and relevant work programmes;

(d) Donor bodies and other financial institutions to incorporate forest biological diversity and sustainable use principles and targets into forest and related programmes, including watershed management, land-use planning, energy, transport, infrastructure development, education and agriculture, mineral exploitation, and tourism.

(e) Seek to harmonize policies at regional and subregional levels in the area of forest biological diversity.

(f) Develop strategies for effective enforcement of sustainable forest management and protected area regulations, including adequate resourcing and involvement of indigenous and local communities.

(g) Parties and donor bodies to develop and implement, strategies, in particular national financing strategies in the framework of national biodiversity strategies and action plans and national forest programmes, and provide adequate financial, human and technical resources.

(h) Encourage the Executive Secretary to coordinate and seek synergies between Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Forum on Forests and the members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, including establishment of memoranda of understanding, as appropriate, between the Convention on Biological Diversity and the other members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, and recommend such an memorandum of understanding with the International Tropical Timber Organization and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as a first step.

(i) Increase emphasis on capacity-building, research and training, public education and awareness, access to and transfer of information and technology, technical and scientific cooperation, with focus on capacities required to address forest biodiversity-related issues.

Objective 3

Parties and Governments to develop good governance practices, review and revise and implement forest and forest-related laws, tenure and planning systems, to provide a sound basis for conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity.

Activities:

(a) Develop appropriate measures and regulations to secure a permanent forest area sufficient to allow for the conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity.

(b) Seek to resolve land tenure and resource rights and responsibility, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders including for local and indigenous communities, in order to promote the conservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity.

(c) Encourage Parties and countries to ensure that forest and forest-related laws adequately and equitably incorporate the provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the decisions of the Conference of the Parties.

(d) Implement effective measures to protect traditional knowledge and values in forest laws and planning tools.

(e) Develop legislation, administrative or policy measures on access and benefit-sharing for forest genetic resources, taking into account the draft Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Benefits Arising out of their Utilization.

(f) Invite Parties, Governments and other relevant organizations to submit case-studies and research on the role of performance bonds in forest concessions, in the conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity; and request the Secretariat to make these available.

(g) Parties, Governments and relevant stakeholders to develop mechanisms and processes to work toward good governance to promote conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity.

(h) Develop and apply environmental and socio-economic impact assessment methods as appropriate prior to land-conversion decisions.

Objective 4

Combat illegal logging, illegal exploitation of non-timber forest products, illegal exploitation of genetic resources, and related trade.

Activities:

(a) Invite Parties, Governments and relevant organizations to provide information on a voluntary basis to enable a better comprehension of the effects of illegal logging, exploitation of other forest resources and associated trade, as well as on the underlying causes, on forest biological diversity. On the basis of dissemination of this information countries may decide to take relevant measures such as enforcement actions.

(b) Evaluate and reform, as required, legislation to include clear definition of illegal activities and to establish effective deterrents.

(c) Develop methods and build capacity for effective law enforcement.

(d) Develop codes of conduct for sustainable forest practices in logging companies and the wood-processing sector to improve biodiversity conservation.

(e) Encourage and support the development and implementation of tracking and chain-of-custody systems for forest products to seek to ensure that these products are legally harvested.

(f) Invite governments and relevant organizations to develop and forward to the Secretariat case-studies and research on the impacts of illegal exploitation and trade in timber and non-timber forest products.

GOAL 2

Address socio-economic failures and distortions that lead to decisions that result in loss of forest biological diversity.

Objective 1

Mitigate the economic failures and distortions that lead to decisions that result in loss of forest biological diversity.

Activities

(a) Develop mechanisms to ensure that monetary and non-monetary costs and benefits of forest biodiversity management are equitably shared between stakeholders at all levels.

(b) Develop, test and disseminate methods for valuing forest biological diversity and other forest ecosystem goods and services and for incorporating these values into forest planning and management, including through stakeholder analysis and mechanisms for transferring costs and benefits.

(c) Incorporate forest biological diversity and other forest values into national accounting systems and seek to estimate such figures for subsistence economies.

(d) Elaborate and implement economic incentives promoting forest biological diversity conservation and sustainable use.

(e) Eliminate or reform perverse incentives, in particular subsidies that result in favouring unsustainable use or loss of forest biological diversity.

(f) Provide market and other incentives for the use of sustainable practices, develop alternative sustainable income generation programmes and facilitate self-sufficiency programmes of indigenous and local communities.

(g) Develop and disseminate analyses of the compatibility of current and predicted production and consumption patterns with respect to the limits of forest ecosystem functions and production.

(h) Seek to promote national laws and policies and international trade regulations are compatible with conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity.

(i) Increase knowledge on monetary and non-monetary cost-benefit accounting for forest biodiversity evaluation.

GOAL 3

Increase public education, participation, and awareness.

Objective 1

Increase public support and understanding of the value of forest biological diversity and its goods and services at all levels.

Activities

(a) Increase broad-based awareness of the value of forest biological diversity through international, national and local public awareness campaigns.

(b) Promote consumer awareness about sustainably produced forest products.

(c) Increase awareness amongst all stakeholders of the potential contribution of traditional forest-related knowledge to conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity.

(d) Develop awareness of the impact of forest-related production and consumption patterns on the loss of forest biological diversity and the goods and services it provides.

(e) Increase awareness of the value of forest biological diversity amongst public authorities and decision makers through specific information and training actions.

(f) Implement effective measures to recognize, respect, protect and maintain traditional forest-related knowledge and values in forest-related laws and forest planning tools, in accordance with Article 8(j) and related provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

(g) Develop awareness of the value of forest biological diversity among forestry workers, owners of forest land, logging contractors, and consulting firms.

PROGRAMME ELEMENT 3: KNOWLEDGE, ASSESSMENT AND MONITORING

GOAL 1

To characterize and to analyse from forest ecosystem to global scale and develop general classification of forests on various scales in order to improve the assessment of status and trends of forest biological diversity.

Objective 1 Review and adopt a harmonized global to regional forest classification system, based on harmonized and accepted forest definitions and addressing key forest biological diversity elements.

Activities

(a) Review and adopt a minimum forest classification for forest types, compatible with remote sensing technologies, that includes broad indicators of biodiversity that can be taken into account in all international and regional forest-related programmes, plans and activities.

(b) Adapt frequency of forest resource inventory at regional and global scales, where resources permit, preferably at least to every ten years.

(c) Review and contribute (from the biodiversity point of view) to standard forest definitions in cooperation with the United Nations Forum on Forests and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests to be used in global and regional reporting to the scale of forest types.

Objective 2

Develop national forest classification systems and maps (using agreed international standards and protocols to enable regional and global synthesis).

Activities

(a) Review existing national forest ecosystem classification systems and maps.

(b) Develop and apply national forest ecosystem classification systems and maps that include key components of forest biological diversity to be used in assessment reports on forest types including socio-economic and cultural aspects.

(c) Use adapted technology, for example geographic information system, to develop a baseline for assessing levels of deforestation and impacts on biodiversity.

Objective 3

To develop, where appropriate, specific forest ecosystems surveys in priority areas for conservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity.

Activities

(a) To identify and prioritize relevant areas to carry out these surveys.

GOAL 2

Improve knowledge on and methods for the assessment of the status and trends of forest biological diversity, based on available information.

Objective 1

Advance the development and implementation of international, regional and national criteria and indicators based on key regional, subregional and national measures within the framework of sustainable forest management.

Activities

(a) Advance the development and implementation of international, regional and national criteria and indicators based on key measures within the framework of sustainable forest management.

(b) Develop and select international, regional and national criteria and where appropriate quantifiable, indicators for forest biological diversity, taking into account, as appropriate, existing work and processes on criteria and indicators on sustainable forest management, as well as the knowledge held by indigenous and local communities. Such criteria and indicators should be used for assessment reporting at least 10-year intervals.

GOAL 3

Improve understanding of the role of forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

Objective 1

Conduct key research programmes on the role of forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

Activities

(a) Develop and support focused research to improve understanding of the relationship between forest biological diversity and ecosystem functioning, taking into account forest ecosystem components, structure, functions and processes to improve predictive capability.

(b) Develop and support research to understand critical thresholds of forest biological diversity loss and change, paying particular attention to endemic and threatened species and habitats including forest canopies.

(c) Develop and apply forest ecosystem restoration techniques to address biodiversity loss at the ecosystem level.

(d) Develop and support research on impact of current forest management practices for forest biodiversity within forests and on adjacent land.

GOAL 4

Improve the infrastructure for data and information management for accurate assessment and monitoring of global forest biological diversity.

Objective 1

Enhance and improve the technical capacity at the national level to monitor forest biological diversity, benefiting from the opportunities offered through the clearing-house mechanism, and to develop associated databases as required on a global scale.

Activities

(a) Develop and implement a strategy and a plan of action and facilitate transfer of technology to provide infrastructure and training in developing countries, in order to monitor forest biological diversity and develop associated databases.