Proposals for Action

Request the IFF to identify necessary actions and arrangements to address. as a matter of priority, the specific needs and requirements of developing countries with low forest cover, recognizing that forest rehabilitation and restoration efforts in those countries greatly contribute to achieving the objectives of the existing environmental conventions and agreements including the convention to combat Desertification, the convention on climate change, the convention on Biological Diversity and other related environmental conventions. Furthermore, the protection and conservation of unique types of forests as a valuable environmental heritage needs special care;

Request also the Secretariat of IFF to prepare a report on the implementation of the outcome of IPF on the needs and requirements of developing countries with low forest cover, together with supplementary action- oriented and practical recommendations on this issue and to submit to the third session of IFF.

Considering the fact that developing LFCCs often depend, to a large extent, on other countries to satisfy their needs for forest goods and services, including for timber, wood and fibre IFF should also discuss and further elaborate this extremely important element when addressing the relevant issues including, inter alia, trade and development. in this regard, the serious impact of trade and relevant aspects of international economic relations on the efforts of LFC developing countries to expand and rehabilitate their forest cover must be discussed. Furthermore, there is a need, among others to identify which forest cover must be discussed. Furthermore there is a need among others, to identify which forest products (wood and non- wood, commercial and non- - commercial) and forest services are scarce in the forested - poor countries and how to improve and sustain their supply at national and global terms:

Further requests the Secretariat of IFF to hold, with the assistance of concerned and interested member states and international experts, seminars, briefings and presentations on the particular conditions of the developing LFCCs;

Calls upon FAO to expedite process of developing a comprehensive definition for low forest cover while talking fully into account the particular needs and requirements of developing LFCCs;

 Calls upon the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to adopt, within its four areas of activity, particular attention to the projects on the rehabilitation and restoration of forests in the developing countries with low forest cover.

 Bearing in mind the contribution of forest programmes in the developing LFCCs to all environmental conventions, calls, upon those conventions to take necessary coordination measures for incorporating the special needs and requirements of developing LFCCs in their policies and programmes;

Urges the developed countries, in fulfilling their obligations in accordance with the existing agreements, to give priority to the special needs of developing LFCCs. in this context, also urges the developed countries. including those with low forest cover but with limited land and unsuitable climatic conditions, to fulfill their commitments

contained in the final outcome of the intergovernmental panel on Forests in terms of the provision of new and additional financial resources and transfer of technology, as

well as the exchange of information and access to technical know- how and knowledge. In this direction, urges the developed countries to reverse the trend to wards declining ODA both in percentage and absolute terms;

Urges the developed countries and international organizations, including the international financial institutions, to improve the efficiency of and procedures for international cooperation to support, by all existing and other possible means, including the provision of loan and investment guarantees, matching funds and other forms of support, as well as the promotion of private sector investments, the policies and programmes of the developing countries with low forest cover for afforestaton, reforestation and combating deforestation and desertification, as well as the conservation of unique types of forests;

Urges the donor countries and multilateral and international organizations to assist the developing LFCCs istrengthening capacities to enable them to improve their institutional frameworks, as well as their scientific and technical capabilities, information collection and analysis, and research and development for the purpose of reforestation and afforestation in accordance with their national priorities and needs;

Requests the developing countries with LFC to adopt reforestation and afforestaion as a priority in their efforts for sustainable development of their forests; to make efforts to mobilize their national financial resources; to promote regional in a spirit of solidarity and partnership, in programmes and activities for the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests, with due attention to the unique types of forests; undertake efforts to make their existing national institutions more effective and efficient ; to promote south- south cooperation, inter alia , for the exchange of information on appropriate technology, knowledge, know- how and practices between and among them; to develop comprehensive national strategies for sustainable forest management; and , to involve all stakeholders;

Calls upon the United Nations system, including funds and programmes, Commission on sustainable Development, as well as all other relevant organizations and bodies to address. in their relevant policies and progrmmes, the needs and requirements of developing countries with low forest cover. bearing in mind that low forest cover is an economic, social and environmental problem and that also it is interlinked and interrelated with other environmental problems of global dimension facing the international and national communities.

[Contents] [Introduction] [Low Forest Cover] [Current Trends]
[Information Requirements] [Approaches and policy Options]
[Summery Of IPE Report On Low Forest Cover] [Proposals For Action]