Forest financing in SIDS and LFCCs Benjamin Singer United Nations Forum on Forests

What is forest financing? Funds required to implement sustainable forest management Part of broader financial flows that affect forests positively and negatively 3 types: national, international and innovative

“ Sustainable Forest Management is a dynamic and evolving concept and aims to maintain and enhance the economic, social and environmental values of all types of forests, for the benefit of present and future generations. The answer to deforestation? A package of management measures known as “sustainable forest management”, defined as a “dynamic and evolving concept, which aims to maintain and enhance the economic, social and environmental values of all types of forests, for the benefit of present and future generations.” (source UNFF7 Report) What’s in this definition? First, sustainable forest management ranges the gamut of management types, from “hands-off” conservation to sustainable or “reduced-impact” logging practices where only certain individual trees are harvested and special care is taken to limit disturbance to the forest. Secondly, in this definition we find the three main sets of forest values – the ecological, the social and the environmental. Thirdly, the concept of sustainability over time is raised by mentioning our responsibility before future generations. ”

The cross-sectoral dimension

A dynamic relationship Understanding the cross-sectoral impact of agriculture, rural development, energy, transport, climate change and finance In return, forests impact on the bigger picture by contributing to poverty reduction and rural development The relationship between forests and the broader context is two-way. Other sectors can have an impact, both positive and negative, on forests. Likewise, forests impact on other sectors –by providing water and fertile soils for agriculture, wood for energy, attractions for tourism. Forests thus contribute to broader social and economic development of entire countries by keeping rural populations out of poverty and forming the basis for the development of related sectors.

The SIDS-LFCC Project The first project of the Facilitative Process Funding: DFID and the GEF Objective: identify gaps, obstacles and opportunities to forest financing in small island developing states and low forest cover countries

I. Background Papers

II. Workshops Iran, November 2011 Niger, Jan-Feb 2012 Trinidad & Tobago, April 2012 Fiji, July 2012 Primary objective: collect feedback and real life experiences on forest financing in participatory manner

III. A Common Strategy Compiling all information from background papers and workshops Series of policy briefs aimed at different audiences Academic publication on forest financing A common forest financing strategy for SIDS and LFCCs

SIDS 38 countries, not only islands! Caribbean, South Pacific and AIMS Great diversity… yet common challenges and opportunities This workshop: SIDS with less than 50% forest cover AIMS = Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Sea

The Trinidad Workshop Structure Field Trip Plenary presentations Working Group discussions Objectives Discuss study results Identify gaps, obstacles and opportunities Initiate stakeholder network

Thank you for your attention! UN Forum on Forests Secretariat 1 UN Plaza, DC1-1245, New York, NY 10017 email: unff@un.org web: http://www.un.org/esa/forests 12