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

E/RES/2020/14View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Economic and Social Council, under agenda item 18kUnited Nations Forum on Forests, published in 2020.

What other versions does this mandate have?

4 versions · 2007–2024

This is an older version — the most recent is E/RES/2024/15

2024E/RES/2024/15Outcome of the 19th session of the United Nations Forum on ForestsLatestCompare with previous version
2022E/RES/2022/17Outcome of the 17th session of the United Nations Forum on ForestsCompare with previous version
2020E/RES/2020/14Outcome of the 15th session of the United Nations Forum on ForestsCompare with previous version
2007E/RES/2006/49Outcome of the 6th session of the United Nations Forum on Forests

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Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

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What subjects does this mandate have?

4 topics

Development Finance Forest Management Sustainable Development Sustainable Forestry

What does this mandate say?

27 operative paragraphs

Quadrennial programme of work of the United Nations Forum on Forests for the period 2021–2024

Adopts the programme of work of the United Nations Forum on Forests for its sixteenth session, in 2021, as contained in annex I to the present resolution, and requests the Forum at its sixteenth session to decide on its programme of work for the period 2022–2024, taking into account the proposal contained in annex II to the present resolution;

Invites the Bureau of the Forum, in close consultation with members of the Forum, to decide on the thematic priorities for the biennium 2021–2022, consistent with the guidance contained in annex I;

Requests the Forum secretariat to organize a high-level round table during the sixteenth session of the Forum to discuss major forest-related developments;

Voluntary national contributions

Welcomes the announcements made to date by members of the Forum regarding their voluntary national contributions in support of the global forest goals and targets, and invites members that have not yet done so to announce their voluntary national contributions in support of the global forest goals and targets at the sixteenth session of the Forum and to communicate them to the Forum secretariat through diplomatic channels using the form contained in annex III to the present resolution;

Monitoring, assessment and reporting

Welcomes the voluntary national reports submitted by 51 members of the Forum on progress towards implementing the United Nations strategic plan for forests 2017–2030, the United Nations forest instrument and voluntary national contributions, as well as the reports submitted by regional and subregional organizations and processes;

Requests the Forum secretariat to continue to develop the Forum’s concise flagship publication on progress towards achieving the global forest goals and targets, in close consultation with and taking into account the advice of the informal advisory group, as well as in consultation with members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, and to launch the publication at the sixteenth session of the Forum and at the World Forestry Congress, to be held in May 2021, and invites the Forum at its sixteenth session to provide guidance on the next steps;

Also requests the Forum secretariat, within existing resources and in consultation with members of the Forum, to propose refinements to the format for voluntary national reporting on the basis of lessons learned during the current reporting cycle and in developing the flagship publication, for consideration by the Forum at its seventeenth session;

Invites the Forum to synchronize future voluntary national reporting with the five-year global forest resources assessment process, beginning with the next forest resources assessment cycle, taking into account other forest-related reporting cycles and the need to reduce reporting burdens, promote data collection efficiencies and enhance national reporting capacities;

Invites the Collaborative Partnership on Forests to advance further its work on the global core set of forest-related indicators and to report to the Forum at its sixteenth session on the progress achieved in that regard;

Means of implementation

Welcomes the assistance provided through the Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network in supporting eligible countries in mobilizing financial resources from all sources for sustainable forest management, as well as the support to the Network provided by members of the Forum through their voluntary contributions to the Forum trust fund, and underscores the importance of conducting the work of the Network, consistent with its mandate, and enhancing the effectiveness of its activities;

Notes the progress achieved in developing the Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network clearing house, consistent with the guidelines for the operation of the Network, and requests the Forum secretariat to continue to work closely with member organizations of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and other data providers in designing the initial phase of the clearing house, with a view to avoiding duplication and increasing synergies and efficiencies, and to report to the Forum at its sixteenth session on the progress achieved in that regard, including on the possible budget implications;

Invites the Collaborative Partnership on Forests to strengthen its joint initiative on forest finance facilitation, in particular in support of the clearing house in the context of the workplans of the Partnership;

Requests the Forum secretariat to provide regular updates with regard to the proposed United Nations Forum on Forests secretariat office for the Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network in Beijing, and to provide a progress report to the Forum at its sixteenth session;

Also requests the Forum secretariat, in consultation with other members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, and with input from members of the Forum, to compile an initial assessment of the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on sustainable forest management, the forest sector, forest-dependent people, indigenous peoples and local communities, forest financing and international cooperation, and to present the assessment to the Forum at its sixteenth session;

Engagement and contributions of partners

Welcomes the adoption by the Collaborative Partnership on Forests of its strategic vision towards 2030, and invites the Partnership to develop its workplan for the period 2021–2024 in line with the quadrennial programme of work of the Forum for the period 2021–2024 and to report to the Forum at its annual sessions on the progress achieved in implementing the workplan;

Invites members of the Forum and the governing bodies of member organizations of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests to support the workplan of the Partnership, in particular its joint initiatives, as appropriate, consistent with their respective mandates, objectives and work programmes;

Emphasizes the importance of multi-stakeholder and cross-sectoral involvement in the activities of the Forum, and requests the Forum secretariat to engage major groups and other relevant stakeholders actively, including at the sixteenth session of the Forum;

Takes note of the workshop held in Nairobi from 3 to 5 March 2020, organized by major groups in cooperation with the Forum secretariat, on “Cross-sectoral collaboration for inclusive forest landscapes” in support of the fifteenth session of the Forum;

Emphasizes the importance of involving relevant regional and subregional organizations and processes in the activities of the Forum, including at its sixteenth session, to share lessons learned and best practices;

High-level political forum on sustainable development and major conferences

Stresses the significance of the United Nations strategic plan for forests 2017–2030 as a global framework for forest-related actions at all levels to facilitate progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and associated targets, and invites the Forum to provide concise targeted inputs to annual sessions of the high-level political forum on sustainable development;

Also stresses that implementation of the United Nations strategic plan for forests 2017–2030 contributes to achieving the goals and objectives of the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa and other relevant multilateral environmental agreements, and that the United Nations strategic plan for forests can contribute to the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, to be adopted at the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity;

Information on reforms of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs pertaining to the Forum

Welcomes the outcome of the consideration of the General Assembly pertaining to the Forum, by which the Assembly retained subprogramme 8, Sustainable forest management, of programme 7, Economic and social affairs, and maintained the D-2 classification of the post of Director of the Forum secretariat;

Requests the Secretary-General to expedite the recruitment and appointment processes for the post of Director of the Forum secretariat.

Annex I

Programme of work of the United Nations Forum on Forests for its sixteenth session

Introduction

The quadrennial programmes of work of the United Nations Forum on Forests represent its contribution to implementing the United Nations strategic plan for forests 2017–2030 and achieving the global forest goals and associated targets and provide a framework for setting the agendas for annual sessions within the quadrennium.

The quadrennial programme of work of the Forum for the period 2021–2024 includes two thematically linked bienniums: 2021–2022 (sixteenth and seventeenth sessions of the Forum) and 2023–2024 (eighteenth and nineteenth sessions). Thematic priorities for each biennium will be based on the global forest goals and targets, taking into account the post-2020 programme of the high-level political forum on sustainable development and relevant international forest-related developments. The Bureau will decide the thematic priorities for each biennium in consultation with members of the Forum.

General guidance for the sixteenth session

The sixteenth session of the Forum in 2021 will be a technical session that will include an interactive exchange of experiences and lessons learned on thematic priorities among members of the Forum, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and its member organizations, regional and subregional organizations and processes, and major groups and other relevant stakeholders. The interactive exchange will include consideration of the science-policy interface and cross-sectoral and emerging issues and will take into account youth, gender and regions perspectives.

The output of the sixteenth session will be a concise Chair’s summary that may include proposals for consideration at the Forum’s policy session in 2022. The Chair’s summary will also include a summary of discussions of the high-level round table. The table below outlines the work programme for the sixteenth session, which includes the consideration and adoption of the programme of work of the Forum for the period 2022–2024 by means of a resolution. In consideration of its programme of work for the period 2022–2024 at its sixteenth session, the Forum will take into account the discussions of the high-level round table.

Programme of work for the sixteenth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests, 2021 (technical session)

Annex II

Proposed draft programme of work of the United Nations Forum on Forests for its seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth sessions

Table 1 Seventeenth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests, 2022 (policy session)

Table 2 Eighteenth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests, 2023 (technical session)

Table 3 Nineteenth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests, 2024 (policy session)

Annex III

Simple format for members of the Forum to communicate voluntary national contributions to the secretariat

List of voluntary national contributions

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