This document summarizes the minutes from a steering committee meeting for the ENPI East Countries FLEG II Regional Workplan. The summary includes:
1) Key results from the previous FLEG I program including regional conferences, studies conducted, and celebration of the International Year of Forests.
2) Context for upcoming regional activities including important forestry conferences and events in the international calendar.
3) Examples of existing regional forestry programs in ENPI countries and their objectives to improve forest governance and management.
4) The objectives and components of the FLEG II workplan focus on implementing the 2005 St. Petersburg FLEG declaration and improving knowledge of sustainable forest management.
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Final regional workplan-with notes-oct1
1. 1st Steering Committee Meeting
Minsk, October 1-3, 2013
ENPI East Countries FLEG II
Regional Workplan (RWP)
2. Regional Results from FLEG I
• Three Operational Committee Meetings
convened (Kiev, Chisinau, Brussels)
• FLEG Program Regional Conferences
and Events organized
• International Year of Forests (2011)
celebrated by the FLEG Program, which
raised awareness of sustainable
management, conservation and
development of all types of forests.
• Regional Analysis, Studies and Surveys
conducted
• FLEG Program Website, www.enpifleg.org
3. Context for Regional Activities
FLEG-related Issues in the International Calendar
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FOREST EUROPE Ministerial Conference was planned for 2013/14
New Forest Strategy published by the European Commission, 20 September
2013
Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee-Forests: 4th Resumed meeting
planned for November 2013 in Switzerland
On-going work under FLEGT Action Plan
European Forest Week to be held from 9-13 December 2013 in parallel
with Metsä 2013
14th World Forestry Congress to be held in September 2015 in Durban.
The FRA 2015 main report will be released by FAO at the World Forestry
Congress in September 2015.
UNFF11 in 2015 : Overall Themes Forests: progress, challenges and the way
forward for the international arrangement on forests
EFI celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2013!
Montréal Process 20th Anniversary in 2015!
4. FLEG and Regional Activities in
ENPI Countries
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The Air Quality Governance Project in ENPI East Countries
(7 countries, 2011-2014, http://airgovernance.eu)
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The EU-funded Program for the Prevention, Preparedness and Response to Manmade and Natural Disasters in the ENPI East Region/PPRD East)
(6 countries and Russia, 2010-2014, http://euroeastcp.eu/)
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The CLIMA EAST Program (7 countries, 2012-2016, www.climaeast.eu)
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The ENPI-Shared Environmental Information Systems (SEIS) Project (7
countries, 2012-2014, http://enpi-seis.ew.eea.europa.eu)
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The Green Indicators Development Project (EU and OECD, 6 countries, 4 years)
5. Objectives and Program Component
PDO 1
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To make progress implementing the 2005 St. Petersburg FLEG Ministerial Declaration in the
participating countries and support the participating countries commit to a time-bound action plan
to ensure its implementation and follow-up activities
PDO 2
– To improve knowledge of and support for sustainable forest management and good
forest governance (including the impact of related EU regulations) in the participating
countries
Component 1: Regional Program
6. Focus of the Regional Component
• Strengthening the policy dialogue between
participating countries and institutions
regarding the 2005 St. Petersburg Declaration;
• Monitoring the implementation of the St.
Petersburg Declaration in the participating
countries and identifying areas where
implementation needs more focus and
support;
• Conducting regional studies and developing
publications in the framework of the 2005 St.
Petersburg Declaration and providing regional
support to the implementation of the FLEG
country work plans based on partner
government requests;
7. Focus of the Regional Component
• Developing a communications strategy to develop and maintain the ENPI
FLEG corporate branding and ensure that relevant participants and
stakeholders are provided with consistent up to date Program
information;
• Contributing to communication activities to promote regional and
national activities developed within the framework of 2005 St. Petersburg
Declaration;
• Maintaining a high-quality Internet site in English and Russian on state of
the art forest sector governance and reform. Country work Programs may
also have their own, national and local communication activities;
• Regional coordination of the program through annual meetings of the
ENPI FLEG focal points, donors and implementing organizations.
8. Linkage with Results Indicators
Activities are linked to key results indicators for
the FLEG II Program, including:
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Reforms in forest policy, legislation or other regulations supported;
Government institutions provided with capacity building to improve
management of forest resources;
Credible process toward the implementation of the St. Petersburg
declaration launched;
EU Member States’ forest sector knowledge is made available to
participating countries and knowledge exchange between participating
countries and EU Member States is ongoing;
9. RWP Implementation
• WB, WWF and IUCN: jointly (with one lead IO)
or by individual IO’s efforts
• Keep flexibility of the workplan activities!
• Focus on synergies and involvement of EU
Member States!
• Following tools to be used:
Analytical activities and surveys
Workshops and conferences (incl. side events)
Training seminars, study tours and capacity building
Targeted expert missions jointly with stakeholders
Information support and outreach for the program
10. Country Recommendations to the RWP
Armenia:
- Wood tracking system
- Cross border collaboration with Georgia
Azerbaijan:
- The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)
- Youth summer camps and conferences
Belarus:
- Analysis of relevant international experience
- International experience of Forest Service development
- Study tours and exchanges
11. Country Recommendations to the RWP
Belarus (cont.):
- Publishing relevant experience and developments in
ENPI East FLEG countries
- Publication of Journal of Belarus’ Experience on
Sustainable Forest Use
Georgia:
- The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)
12. PDO 1: Examples of Planned Activities
• Monitoring plan for St. Petersburg declaration
designed and updated annually
– identify areas where implementation needs more focus
and support
• Series of technical workshops in preparation for the
2nd ENA FLEG Ministerial conference
• Regional studies under the framework of the St.
Petersburg declaration undertaken and disseminated
• National-level action plans developed and monitored
13. PDO 2: Examples of Planned Activities
• Baseline survey based on FLEG Program results indicators
and final survey (based on perception surveys of key
decision makers and stakeholders)
• Increasing networking and share of information with EU
Members States
• Assessment of potential impacts of climate change on
forests
– provide recommendations to adapt and improve forest
management and reduce degradation
– take stock of climate change adaptation strategies in the forest
sector
14. PDO 2: Examples of Planned Activities
ON AS NEEDS BASIS
• Participation in international programs and conferences
• Organization of thematic meetings and/or side events on
the FLEG II Program and FLEG issues
• Exchanges/workshops within ENPI East Countries on topics
such as
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Payments for Environmental Services (PES)
Landscape approach
The Economics of Ecosystems Services and Biodiversity (TEEB)
Other relevant topics
15. PDO 2: Examples of Planned Activities
Studies, Conferences, Roundtables
• Round table “Lessons from the EU Timber Regulation and
ways to improve its enforcement”
• Conference “International and national practices of
assessing the legality of forest use”
• Development of common methodology on “Measuring the
True Value of Natural Resources for Community
Development” for replication
• Comparative socio-economic study on impact of illegal
logging and unsustainable forest use on local communities
16. PDO 2: Examples of Planned Activities
Communications activities
• FLEG II Program communications strategy developed and
applied
• Stocktaking of existing Information and Communications
Technology used across the region and development of
appropriate recommendations
• Supporting increase of coverage of FLEG issues in media in
ENPI-FLEG participant countries
Start by re-capping some regional results from FLEG I. Examples of conferences/events: Regional roundtable on “Russian and European Union Initiatives to Combat Trade in Illegally Harvested Timber and its Processing Products” (2010)“Workshop on cross-boundary timber flow: identify issues, gaps and enhance interagency capacity and collaboration”, Tbilisi, Georgia (November 2010)
Context of regional activitiesLast Ministerial Conference held in Oslo in 2011. FOREST EUROPE Work program have been updated and cover the period of 2012-2015 and is focused around the following areas: 1. Further development of Sustainable Forest Management and its tools 2. Further improvements in forest monitoring and reporting 3. Strengthened efforts against illegal logging and related trade 4. Valuation of forest ecosystem services 5. Sustainable forest management in a Green economy 6. Servicing the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Legally Binding Agreement on Forests in Europe The Intl Negotiations Committee will present its results to an extraordinary FOREST EUROPE Ministerial Conference that will take place within six months of the conclusion of the negotiations for consideration, possible adoption and opening for signature. FOREST EUROPE Ministerial Conference is planned for 2013/14 in Spain.Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee-Forests - The final text of the convention will then be presented to a Ministerial Conference in Spain, for consideration.Commission presents new EU forest strategy based on new, broader, approach to forestA new Forest Strategy responding to the new challenges facing forests and the forest sector has been published by the European Commission today. Covering 40% of the EU area, forests are a key resource for improving the quality of life and creating jobs, in particular in rural areas, the Strategy states, while also protecting ecosystems and providing ecological benefits for everyone.EU Commissioner for Agriculture & Rural Development DacianCioloş said today: "Forests are key ecosystems, as well as a source of wealth and jobs in rural areas, if they are managed in a proper way. Sustainable forest management, ensuring the protection of forests, is a key pillar of rural development and it is one of the principles of the new Forest Strategy".
Here are a number of regional activities in ENPI countries that the EU is funding and that present opportunities for synergies and cooperation with FLEG II Program, on such topics as air quality, natural disasters, climate change, green growth and statistical information.
The FLEG II Program’s Regional Component will focus on: strengthening the policy dialogue between participating countries and institutions regarding the 2005 St. Petersburg Declaration by organizing thematic meetings on FLEG issues of shared interest, monitoring the implementation of the St. Petersburg Declaration in the participating countries through stakeholder reporting and preparation and regular up-dating of tracking tables on implementation of the declaration; identifying areas of the St. Petersburg declaration where implementation needs more focus and support, conducting regional studies and developing publications in the framework of the 2005 St. Petersburg Declaration, and providing regional support to the implementation of the FLEG country work plans based on partner government requests, developing a communications strategy prepared in accordance with the EC’s Communication and Visibility Manual, and the World Bank’s Access to Information Policy, to develop and maintain the ENPI FLEG corporate branding and ensures that relevant participants and stakeholders are provided with consistent up to date Program information, contributing to communication activities to promote regional and national activities developed within the framework of 2005 St. Petersburg Declaration, maintaining a high-quality Internet site in English and Russian on state of the art forest sector governance and reform. Country work Programs may also have their own, national and local communication activities, and regional coordination of the program through annual meetings of the ENPI FLEG focal points, donors and implementing organizations.
On bullet 1: strengthening the policy dialogue between participating countries and institutions regarding the 2005 St. Petersburg Declaration by organizing thematic meetings on FLEG issues of shared interest.On bullet 2: monitoring the implementation of the St. Petersburg Declaration in the participating countries through stakeholder reporting and preparation and regular up-dating of tracking tables on implementation of the declaration; identifying areas of the St. Petersburg declaration where implementation needs more focus and support,
communications strategy to be prepared in accordance with the EC’s Communication and Visibility Manual, and the World Bank’s Access to Information Policy, to develop and maintain the ENPI FLEG corporate branding and ensures that relevant participants and stakeholders are provided with consistent up to date Program information
The activities of the RWP are also linked with a number of results indicatorsBackground: The first 2 indicators are core sector indicators. The third indicator is a custom PDO-level indicator. The last indicator is an intermediate results indicator.
Moving to the implementation of the Regional Workplan… as with FLEG I, the regional component will be implemented by the 3 Implementing Organizations, either jointly (with one IO in the lead) or by one of the individual organizations depending on the type of activity and the respective strengths of the organizations. What will be important is to keep flexibility of the workplan activities. This was really a key lesson from FLEG I and allowed the Program to respond to the changing environment in the participating countries and provide just-in-time support. So, the RWP will be updated annually (by the Program Management Team together with the Program Coordination Teams) to respond to this need.Equally important will be a focus on synergies and particularly greater cooperation with the EU Member States. This means the regional workplan will focus on creating opportunities for multi-country synergies, facilitating knowledge sharing and learning with partner organizations (both within the participating countries but also with outside the region) and finally, establishing linkages with related forestry activities in the partner countries.Lastly, we will use a variety of ‘tools’ to implement the RWP. Open to new suggestions. These include…
In terms of activities… During the inception phase we received several recommendations from the countries for areas and themes as well s specific activities that they would like to see included. Here are just a number of examples: Armenia, e.g. proposed an activity on wood tracking system and … AZ youth is pre-approved activity.
Additional activities that were proposed by Belarus were to publish relevant experience and developments in the FLEG countries and to publish a Journal of …. Similar to Azerbaijan, Georgia also proposed an activity on the Economics of Ecosystems and BD. These proposals either have already been integrated (depending on when they were received) or will be included in the RWP when it is being updated.
PDO 1: To make progress implementing the 2005 St. Petersburg FLEG Ministerial Declaration in the participating countries and support the participating countries commit to a time-bound action plan to ensure its implementation and follow-up activities.We would now like to present some concrete examples from the Regional Workplan to inform you of the activities that are currently planned. The first set of activities is related to PDO 1 – to make progress on the implementation of the St. Petersburg Declaration. As Andrew mentioned earlier today, the ENA FLEG process has been slower than anticipated, so under phase 2 we will need to address this. Specifically, one of the regional activities will support the design of monitoring plans for the St. Petersburg declaration, which can then be updated annually for each FLEG country. This will particularly focus on identifying areas where implementation needs more focus and support. In preparation for the 2nd Ministerial Conference, we are also planning a series of technical workshops as well as regional studies that will feed into this process. This will be a big task ahead, but an important one to deepen progress and collaboration. And of course, on the country level the goal is to have national-level action plans developed and monitored, which will feed into the regional component.
Related to the second PDO… To improve knowledge of and support for sustainable forest management and good forest governance (including the impact of related EU regulations) in the participating countries.We plan to start with a baseline survey. This will be extremely important to help us analyse where we are and what we can achieve. As we heard earlier, the lack of a baseline was a real shortcoming in FLEG I, so we have taken this lessons learned to heart and will be drafting the Terms of Reference for this activity shortly (after approval).The regional component will also include activities to increase networking and sharing of information with the EU Member States – and with other EU Programs, such as the Clima East Program or through study tours and other exchanges. It has been mentioned before, that FLEG is an overarching issue touching on many areas including climate change. There are regional activities planned to assess the potential impacts of cc on forests and to provide recommendations on how the sector can adapt and also to take stock of cc adaptation strategies in the forest sector, such as is the case in Belarus.
PDO 2: To improve knowledge of and support for sustainable forest management and good forest governance (including the impact of related EU regulations) in the participating countries.Linked with the theme of flexibility that has been mentioned several times today, we plan to support a number of activities on an “as needs basis”. This includes: Participation in international programs and conferences: such as supporting ENPI East countries participate in the FORESTS EUROPE International Negotiating committee. And exchanges and workshops at the regional level, to allow knowledge exchange and cooperation regionally on topics including PES…
The next group activities focuses on studies, conferences and roundtables. This includes: roundtable on lessons from the EU Timber Regulation; a conference on best practices of assessing the legality of forest use; and the development of a common methodology that would allow us to measure the true value of natural resources – this would look at how natural resources are valued in each of the FLEG countries, and then compare results across the countries. Results of this study would be presented at a regional conference. Finally, we already heard from Armenia today that the study on the socio-economic impact of illegal logging was very useful in phase I. Because this was not implemented in all 7 countries, we are planning to conduct these studies in the remaining countries (Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova).
PDO 2: To improve knowledge of and support for sustainable forest management and good forest governance (including the impact of related EU regulations) in the participating countries.Finally, there are a number of activities planned related to communications to increase knowledge and awareness of FLEG issues: So this includes:
Finally, we will have a high-quality Program website – this is currently being developed in both English and Russian and it will be linked to the FLEG I website. We will share the active link with you soon and have a press release. You will also find the materials from the SC meeting. The website will also have a calendar feature so if you would like to share an event.We will also use YouTube and fb more actively.
With this, we give the floor back to Mathieu and we invite the FLEG National Focal Points to comments on the Regional Workplan.