The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is organizing a Country-Led Initiative (CLI) event as part of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) from 26-28 October 2023 at the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, Uttarakhand. The UNFF promotes the management, conservation, and sustainable development of all types of forests, with India being a founding member.
The CLI’s primary goal is to contribute to discussions on Sustainable Forest Management and the UN Strategic Plan for Forests, facilitating the sharing of best practices among UNFF member States for the implementation of Sustainable Forest Management and the UNSPF.
The event will focus on thematic areas involving forest fires and forest certification, with experts from UNFF member countries, UN organizations, regional and sub-regional partners, and major groups deliberating on these issues. The formal meeting will commence on 26th October 2023, with two days of deliberations and exchange on guiding themes and a one-day field trip.
The alarming increase in wildfires has led to profound impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem services, human well-being, livelihoods, and national economies. Forested areas have been particularly affected, with approximately 100 million hectares affected by fires every year. The issue of forest certification has received growing global attention, with the total forest area under certification increasing by 35% since 2010.
However, developing countries continue to face challenges with the certification process, such as excessive costs, audit and compliance issues, inaccessibility to forest owners in remote regions, and lack of capacity due to complexity of certification standards.
The UN Forest Instrument has adopted several policy measures to encourage sustainable forest management through voluntary instruments like voluntary certification systems. However, some countries consider these measures as creating trade challenges or market barriers for their forest products. The meeting will host discussions among participating states, with over 80 delegates from over 40 countries and 20 international organizations participating in person and online.
The meeting is expected to produce implementable frameworks and recommendations for managing forest fire and certification, leading towards Sustainable Forest Management, which will be considered for discussions at the 19th session of UNFF scheduled at UN Headquarters, New York in May 2024.
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