Forest Caucus

The mandate of the RCEN Forest Caucus is to share information, network and organize to increase member groups’ capacity to educate, promote and advocate for the conservation and sustainable management of Canadian and global forests.

The Forest Caucus respects and aims to include the great diversity of our membership in all our activities.

Upcoming Events

Issues, Resources and Actors Worksheet

Forest Caucus members are encouraged to use this worksheet as an up-to-date web interface to map out issues, resources and actors for the Forest Caucus community to facilitate informed and timely interventions in forest-related issues. The goal of the worksheet is to organize information around the levels of International, National and Provincial/Local issues according to the following categories:

• Issues: Identify and summarize key issues and its relation to the Forest Caucus mandate
• Resources: List of key information sources (websites) and documents for each issue
• Actors: Identify ENGOs working on each issue to facilitate cooperation amongst Forest Caucus members; identify organizations and industry whose position we would hope to challenge on these issues; identify key government contacts

• Download the I.R.A Worksheet here
  (last updated February 2, 2007)

Workplan

Read the Forest Caucus 2006-2007 Workplan

Annual Report

• 2005-2006 Forest Caucus Annual Report
• 2004 Forest Caucus Annual Report

Projects and Activities

1. International Community Forestry Workshop: An Official Side-Event to the International Congress – Global Vision of Forestry in the 21st Century

The RCEN Forest Caucus organized an International Community Forestry Workshop on Sunday, September 30, 2007 as an official side-event directly preceding the University of Toronto - Faculty of Forestry Congress: A Global Vision of Forestry in the 21st Century (see below for details). The Workshop drew on the active participation of the RCEN Forest Caucus members as well as the British Columbia Community Forest Association (BCCFA), the Global Caucus on Community Based Forest Management (GCCBFM), the Federation of Community Forestry, Users' Nepal (FECOFUN) and other delegates from community forestry NGOs in order to develop a Call to Action for community forestry. Click here for the workshop program.

• Call to Action
• Llamado a la acción (Spanish version)
• Workshop Presentations
• Workshop Photos

The RCEN thanks all the sponsors that supported this Workshop: the Canadian International Development Agency; the Ford Foundation; Natural Resources Canada; the International Development Research Centre; the University of Toronto; R.E.A.P. – Canada; and Wildlands League.
For more information on the Workshop, please contact Sarah Heiberg, National Caucus Coordinator, at sarah@cen-rce.org.

3. Submission to the COP UNFCCC in response to the call for views on the issue of avoided deforestation issued at the 11 th session of the COP

The Papua New Guinea/Costa Rica Submission was accepted for consideration by the COP (FCCC/CP/2005/L.2), which has solicited views on the above submission to be received by the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) for 31 March 2006. The SBSTA is to report its recommendations to the COP by December 2007, though a workshop is to be held on these issues in November 2006. Click here to read the Forest Caucus-coordinated ENGO submission, written by Mark Purdon (R.E.A.P. Canada), on the inclusion of deforestation as a category of the Clean Development Mechanism within the Kyoto Protocol. The ENGO submission can also be found on page 89 of the NGO Submissions compilation document.

4. United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF)

UNFF6 - 2007

Seventh session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF7)
April 16-27, 2007
UNHQ, New York, USA
The main objective of the UNFF was to promote “… the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests and to strengthen long-term political commitment to this end…” based on the Rio Declaration, the Forest Principles, Chapter 11 of Agenda 21 and the outcome of the IPF/IFF Processes and other key milestones of international forest policy.

• ENGO UNFF7 Consultation Report
• Thank you letter – P. Patosaari

UNFF6 - 2006

• ENGO Statement for UNFF6
• ENGO and NRCan UNFF6 February 8 2006 Conference call
• ENGO-only preparatory UNFF6 February 7 2006 Conference call
• Canada’s Objectives for UNFF6
• Chair's Text on UNFF5

UNFF5 - 2005

• Fifth Session Of United Nations Forum On Forests (UNFF5) -ENGO Report
• Call for Comments on the Canadian Report for UNFF 5
• Questionnaires on the effectiveness of the international arrangement on forests

UNFF4 - 2004

• ENGO Delegate Report
• Report by Russel Diabo, Advisor, National Aboriginal Forestry Association
• Canada's Report to the UNFF 4
• Report from the United Nations Forum on Forests
  Lisa Ambus and Jessica Dempsey: Global Caucus on Community Based Forest Management
• Interview with Johnson Ginger, Huu-ay-aht First Nation
• Call for Input - Canadian report to the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF)

UNFF3 - 2003

• Report on the Third Meeting, May 26 to June 6, 2003, Geneva, Switzerland
  by Boris Romaguer, Forest Caucus

UNFF2 - 2002

• Report on the Second Meeting, March 4-15, 2002 in New York City by Martin von Mirbach for the Canadian Environmental Network's Forest Caucus.

For more information on the Forest Caucus Projects and Activities, please contact Sarah Heiberg, RCEN Caucus Coordinator, tel.: (613) 728-9810 ext. 224.

Consultations

Visit the RCEN Public Consultations webpage to consult the Current Consultations and Closed consultations related to the Forest sector.

Documents

• Workshop Presentations
• Aurn Agrawal
• Tendayi Mutimukuru
• Juan M Pulhin
• Marcelin Tonye Mahop
• Harry Bombay-NAFA
• Bernardo Peredo

• Previous Presentations
• 2003 Annual Report
• 1999 – 2000 Report

Related Links

Note: The RCEN is not responsible for the content of external sites.

• IISD's Earth Negotiations Bulletin coverage of UNFF1-7
• Natural Resources Canada
• Parks Canada
• Environment Canada
• Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS)
• Nature Canada
• REAP Canada
• United Nations Forum on Forests
• Ambioterra
• Aux Arbres Citoyens

Archives

XII World Forestry Congress, September 21 to 28, 2003
Quebec City

The RCEN secured the participation of 26 ENGO delegates (PDF) from across Canada at the XII World Forestry Congress (WFC). These 26 ENGOs had their registration, accommodation and transportation costs covered as well as an honorarium of $400 for daily expenses during the Congress ($50 per day). Click here to read the special World Forestry Congress Issue of the Forest Caucus Newsletter.

The RCEN wishes to thank the Government of Canada Climate Change Action Fund for their financial assistance. RCEN also wishes to acknowledge the support of the Canadian Forest Service of Natural Resources Canada and the 2003 WFC Secretariat.

The WFC, an event planned under the auspices of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, is the largest international meeting of the world’s forestry sector.

• NGO statement presented at the World Forestry Congress 2003
• Press Release
• Wendake Action Plan from the Indigenous Peoples’s Forest Forum

Archived Consultations & Reports

1. Forth Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF4) – May 3-14, 2004
2. ENGO Report for the Second National Forum on the Boreal Standard – December 3-7, 2003
3. Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-9) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) – November 10-14, 2003
4. The Costa Rica—Canada Initiative: A participant's report on the regional workshop in Mexico City - 1999 by Martin von Mirbach

Archived Documents

• The Canadian Standards Association SFM Standard - Review and Analysis - 2003
• Common Vision for Transforming the Paper Industry - 2002
• XII World Forestry Congress (WFC) report, - 2001
• International NGO/IPO Forest Policy Implementation Monitoring Project - 2000 by Rita Morbia
• Report about the Canada—Costa Rica Initiative - 2000 by Lara Ellis
• Forest Management Certification Systems Environmental Management Systems Standards – Falls Brook Centre
• International Instruments Relevant to Protection of Forests – 1999 by Michelle Swenarchuk, CELA
• Summary report to the Canadian Forest Service l999
• Common Vision for Transforming the Paper Industry - 2002
• Walking the Talk: A priority analysis of Canadian actions in implementing Intergovernmental Panel on Forests and Intergovernmental Forum on Forests proposals for action, with strategic priorities for further work.
  Report – 2002 by Martin von Mirbach, Lara Ellis, and Mark Purdon 
  Appendix B: UNFF Priority Analysis

Archived Forest Caucus Newsletters

• Volume 1, No.1, 1999, January–April
• Volume 1, No.2, 1999, May–September
• Volume 2, No.1, 2000, Winter
• Volume 2, No.2, 2000, Summer
• Volume 5, No.1, 2004, Winter