GFEP Editorial Team meets at United Nations to draft policy brief on international forest governance

Since December 2009, a group of over 30 of the world's leading scientists working in the areas of environmental governance and international forest law has being carrying out a comprehensive assessment of the international forest regime in the framework of the CPF Global Forest Expert Panels (GFEP). Their assessment report will be published in spring 2011 as a major contribution to the International Year of Forests 2011. The report will argue that, instead of trying to restructure the fragmented and complex international forest governance system into a conventional top-down international regime, reforms should be based on improving horizontal governance in ways that build on the many advantages of inter-sectoral and inter-institutional complexity.

As this assessment is close to being finalized, a GFEP editorial team chaired by Professor Jeremy Rayner met on 24 September at the premises of the UNFF Secretariat in New York to draft a policy brief summarizing the main findings of the assessment. The policy brief will present the key messages of the assessment and identify options for improving the effectiveness of forest governance.

The key messages emerging from the assessment will be presented at a special session during the FAO World Forest Week on 8 October 2010 in Rome, Italy. Findings of the assessment of particular relevance to the Convention on Biological Diversity will be communicated at a side event during the 10th Conference of the Parties on Friday, 22 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan.

Photo: Members of the GFEP Editorial team