Forest biological diversity
The Conference of the Parties
1. Welcomes the progress made on the implementation of the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity as a significant contribution to achieving the 2010 target and achieving sustainable forest management at national, regional, and global levels;
2. Urges the Executive Secretary to continue and further strengthen its work in this field including the report on the effects on forest biological diversity of insufficient forest law enforcement as requested in paragraph 19 (e) of decision VI/22;
3. Invites the Coordinator and Head of the Secretariat of the United Nations Forum on Forests, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests members and other relevant partners and organizations as specified in paragraph 19 (b) of decision VI/22, as well as Parties and other Governments, to provide any further views on the preliminary assessment undertaken by the Executive Secretary on the relationship between the proposals for action of the Intergovermental Panel on Forests/InterGovernmental Forum on Forests (IPF/IFF) and the activities of the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/INF/31), with the objective of facilitating the implementation of related activities under these two instruments, and avoiding duplication of effort and noting that there has been work done by the Program on Forests (PROFOR) and the World Bank to link the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity with the IPF/IFF proposals for action;
4. Takes note of the report of the first meeting of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on the Review of Implementation of the Programme of Work on Forest Biological Diversity, held in Montpellier, France, from 24 to 27 November 2003 (UNEP/CBD/COP/7/INF/20) and requests that the Executive Secretary organizes another meeting of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group prior to the eleventh meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice;
5. Recognizes that the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity benefits from regional cooperation and initiatives and encourages Parties and other Governments to take part in, and further develop, cooperation at the regional level in their efforts at implementing the activities contained in the work programme;
6. Recommends the incorporation of relevant indicators and actors into the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity in order to assess its effectiveness and degree of implementation;
7. Requests the Executive Secretary, in collaboration with the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on the Review of Implementation of the Programme of Work on Forest Biological Diversity to propose outcome-oriented targets to be integrated into the work programme for consideration by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice prior to the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, taking into account decision VII/30 on the future evaluation of the Strategic Plan of the Convention as well as regionally and internationally agreed criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management through interGovernmental processes. The targets should be viewed as a flexible framework within which national and/or regional targets may be developed, according to national priorities and capacities, and taking into account differences in diversity between countries;
8. Recommends that the Executive Secretary continues collaboration with other members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests in their efforts, inter alia, at harmonizing and streamlining forest-related reporting;
9. Invites Parties and other Governments to enhance cross-sectoral integration and inter-sectoral collaboration on the implementation of the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity at all levels, in particular at national and subnational levels;
10. Urges Parties and other Governments, and international and regional groups further to enhance their efforts in implementing the programme of work on forest biological diversity as an essential contribution towards advancing the 2010 target;
11. Urges the Executive Secretary to facilitate the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities and other relevant stakeholders in implementing the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity by developing local capacities and participatory mechanisms, including women, in assembling, disseminating, and synthesizing information on relevant scientific and traditional knowledge on forest biological diversity.