Forests and the CBD:
What Has Worked (and What Has Not)

Global Forest Coalition [1] has released a major report, "Forests and the Biodiversity Convention" at a press conference on Tuesday, 20 May in the CBD Press Centre. This report contains the summaries and research undertaken in 22 countries [2] by independent country monitors to examine whether or not Parties are implementing the decisions made through the CBD Programme of Work of Forest biological Diversity. The civil society groups from the 22 countries who elaborated the reports will be present at the press conference.

The CBD/POW provides Parties to the CBD guidance on how to achieve the biodiversity conservation goals enshrined in the Millennium Development Goals, which mandate United Nations members to "reverse the loss of environmental resources." However, deforestation rates are extraordinarily high, in the order of 2% per year (FAO 2005). Rapid deforestation and degradation of forests is also leading to an estimated extinction of up to 100 species every day (WRI 2001), and the rampant erosion of forest peoples rights, knowledge and habitats.

Agrofuel expansion and the expansion of large-scale monocultures for both agrofuels and other agro-industrial purposes, bad forest governance and the lack of a proper definition of forests were identified as some of the main causes of forest loss in the 22 countries monitored. The report concludes that there have been some clear success-stories of forest conservation, especially on Indigenous lands and territories, but Indigenous peoples are still not able to participate in national and international forest policies.

For further information please contact:

Miguel Lovera, GFC Chairperson +316 15345379 (Mobile) Spanish, English, French, Portuguese, Dutch and Italian

Wolfgang Kuhlmann, Director, ARA (Workinggroup on Rainforests and Biodiversity) 0175 6040772 (Bonn Mobile) German and English

Orin Langelle, GFC Media Coordinator 0176 771 87583 (Bonn mobile) English

Notes

[1] The Global Forest Coalition (GFC) is an international coalition of NGOs and Indigenous Peoples' Organizations (IPOs) involved in international forest policy. The GFC was founded in 2000 by 19 NGOs and Indigenous Peoples Organizations from all over the world. It is a successor to the NGO Forest Working Group, which was originally established in 1995. It participated in international forest policy meetings and organized joint advocacy campaigns on issues like Indigenous Peoples Rights, the need for socially just forest policy and the need to address the underlying causes of forest loss.

[2] The countries monitored are Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil,
Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Georgia, Germany,
Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Mozambique, Nepal, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Panama, Paraguay, Russian Federation, Samoa and Uganda.