The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in collaboration with the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) have started a process to enhance a common understanding of, and possibly to harmonize, forest-related definitions that are used internationally or are being developed under various international conventions, processes and bodies, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), FAO and others.

The following documents provide in-depth information related to this process of harmonization. The list of documents will be regularly up-dated:

• First Expert Meeting on Harmonizing Forest-related Definitions for Use by Various Stakeholders, Rome, 23-25 January 2002 (http://www.fao.org/forestry/foris/webview/forestry2/index.jsp?siteId=6341&sitetreeId=25210&langId=1&geoId=0)
• Selected Contributions in support of the Programme of Work of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF)
  Second Session, New York, March 2002;
• Second Expert Meeting on Harmonizing Forest-related Definitions for Use by Various Stakeholders, Rome, 11-13 September 2002
  Proceedings (http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/DOCREP/005/Y4171E/Y4171E00.HTM);
• Short Report of the Second Expert Meeting on Harmonizing Forest-related Definitions for Use by Various Stakeholders