Outcome of the 15th Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests

¹The draft proposal for the programme of work for the period 2022–2024, contained in annex II to the present resolution, is based on the co-chairs’ summary of the expert group meeting on the quadrennial programme of work of the Forum for the period 2021–2024, held in Geneva in November 2019.

²See General Assembly resolution 71/285.

³See General Assembly resolutions 62/98 and 70/199.

⁴The mandate for the preparation of the “flagship publication” is established in paragraph 11 of resolution 13/1 of the Forum, as follows: “Emphasizes the value of making effective use of the information provided by members through their voluntary national reporting, and to that end requests the Forum secretariat to prepare, on the basis of the initial round of reporting and in consultation with members of the Forum, member organizations of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and relevant stakeholders, a concise ‘flagship’ publication on progress towards achieving the global forest goals and targets for release by the end of 2021, using existing resources, suitable for a range of audiences within and outside the forest sector, and also requests the secretariat to report on planning in that regard to the Forum at its fifteenth session” (see Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2018, Supplement No. 22 (E/2018/42), chap. I, sect. B).

⁵Paragraph 13 of Economic and Social Council resolution 2015/33 and paragraph 62 of the United Nations strategic plan for forests 2017–2030 state that the Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network of the United Nations Forum on Forests, in close cooperation with members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, contributes to the scaling-up of sustainable forest management by facilitating access by countries to resources to implement the strategic plan and to achieve its global forest goals and targets. To this end, the priorities for the Network are: (a) To promote and assist members in designing national forest financing strategies to mobilize resources for sustainable forest management, including existing national initiatives, within the framework of national forest programmes or other appropriate national frameworks; (b) To assist countries in mobilizing, accessing and enhancing the effective use of existing financial resources from all sources for sustainable forest management, taking into account national policies and strategies; (c) To serve as a clearing house and database on existing, new and emerging financing opportunities and as a tool for sharing lessons learned and best practices from successful projects, building on the Collaborative Partnership on Forests online sourcebook for forest financing; (d) To contribute to the achievement of the global forest goals and targets, as well as priorities contained in the quadrennial programmes of work. Paragraph 63 of the United Nations strategic plan for forests further states that special consideration should be given to the special needs and circumstances of Africa, the least developed countries, countries with low forest cover, countries with high forest cover, countries with medium forest cover and low deforestation, and small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition, in gaining access to funds.

⁶E/CN.18/2020/3, annex.

⁷Chapters 23 to 32 of Agenda 21 identify the following as “major groups”: business and industry; children and young people; farmers; indigenous people; non-governmental organizations; local authorities; the scientific and technological community; women; and workers and trade unions. Representatives of several major groups related to forests are regularly engaged in the work of the Forum. In paragraph 49 of the United Nations strategic plan for forests 2017–2030, it is also stated that the effective implementation of sustainable forest management depends on the contributions of all relevant stakeholders, including forest owners, indigenous peoples, local communities, local authorities, the private sector (including small, medium and large forest-based enterprises), non-governmental organizations, women, children, youth, and scientific, academic and philanthropic organizations at all levels.

⁸See General Assembly resolution 70/1.

⁹See FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1, decision 1/CP.21, annex.

¹⁰United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1760, No. 30619.

¹¹Ibid., vol. 1954, No. 33480.