Global forum on forest governance 2021

Format: Keynote followed by a technical panel discussion and a Q&A.

International partnerships between consumer and producer countries have been, and will continue to be, an important part of global efforts to help support sustainable land-use and trade in the forest sector and beyond. This has been a critical element of efforts to tackle illegal logging, including through the FLEGT VPAs, as part of trade agreements and through bilateral MOUs.

Looking forward, the EU is considering the establishment of forest partnerships as part of its efforts to tackle deforestation and the UK government has launched the FACT dialogue as part of its COP26 preparations to bring together those countries that are committed to shifting global commodity markets towards sustainability. 

Drawing on their experiences, the panellists share their views on what is next for international partnerships on forests and consider whether trade has provided an incentive for engagement, the importance of multi-stakeholder engagement in leveraging political support and the effectiveness of the mechanisms for EU-partner engagement.

Part A – Keynote (09:00 – 09:30)

This part of the session includes a high-level panel to set out the visions of the Indonesian and UK governments for international partnerships aimed at promoting sustainable forest and land use.

Alue Dohong, Vice Minister, Ministry Environment and Forestry, Republic of Indonesia
Heidi Hautala, Vice-President, European Parliament
Rosalie Matondo, Minister for Forest Economy, Republic of Congo
Chair: Renata Dwan, Deputy Director and Senior Executive Officer, Chatham House

Part B – Technical panel discussion (10:00 – 11:30)

This part of the session includes a technical panel discussion for government representatives to reflect on their experiences of working with international partners to negotiate and implement VPAs.

Chris Beeko, Director, Forestry Commission, Ghana
Joseph Moumbouilou, Director-General, Ministry of Forests, Republic of the Congo
Harrison Karnwea, Chairman, Board of Directors, Forestry Development Authority, Liberia
Agus Justianto, Director-General of Forest Management and Sustainable Production, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Indonesia
Chair: Renata Dwan, Deputy Director and Senior Executive Officer, Chatham House

Format: Panel discussion. 
 
Thought leaders from around the world share their perspectives on how to transition to the sustainable use of forests and land and what outcomes will be needed from COP26 to achieve this. 
 
The panellists share their views on what types of development models will best ensure the sustainable and equitable use of forests and the priorities for governance reform in the forest and land-use sectors that will be needed to implement these.  

David Kaimowitz, Manager, Forest & Farm Facility, FAO
Rene Ngongo, Founder and Vice President, OCEAN, DRC 
Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, CEO, Global Environment Facility
Nonette Royo, Executive Director, Land Tenure Facility

Format: Panel discussion followed by a Q&A.

Import regulations aimed at tackling deforestation in supply chains are under discussion in the EU, UK and US. These represent a major step up in corporate responsibility for deforestation in, or linked to, supply chains and the intent has broad support.

However, questions remain about what ‘smart mix’ of policy measures should be developed and how the various and sometimes conflicting priorities of different stakeholders in both end-consumer and producer countries can be met.

Voluntary supply chain action is in a period of rapid innovation and leading companies, industry groups and other players have developed their own approaches that have begun to see success especially in the palm and cocoa sectors.  
 
This session brings together regulators, companies, thought leaders and advocates working on demand-side regulation and on voluntary supply chain measures to consider what mix of policies and tools are likely to be most effective at tackling deforestation for specific commodities and geographies. 

This session is co-convened with Proforest.  

Ruth Nussbaum, Group Director, Europe, Proforest 
Roselyn Fosuah Adjei, Director, Climate Change Directorate, Forestry Commission of Ghana
Steven Ripley, Group Responsible Sourcing Manager (Forests), Tesco
David D’Hollander, Manager, Policy and Innovations, ISEAL Alliance
Rukaiyah Rafik, Senior Advisor, Sustainable Palm Oil Farmers Forum Indonesia (Fortasbi)
John Allotey, CEO, Ghana Forestry Commission
Chair: Tim Benton, Director, Energy, Environment and Resources Programme, Chatham House

Format: Panel discussion followed by a Q&A.

Growing demand for natural resources and land is placing forests under increasing pressure. This raises the question of how competing priorities can, and should, be balanced for local and global environmental services – such as water resources, biodiversity, carbon sinks, for local and global markets and for the provision of livelihoods and cultural values.    
 
This session considers how the governments of tropical forest countries are seeking to meet these different priorities and to reconcile competing demands as set out in their national development and climate strategies including NDCs.

In particular, it explores what space is being allocated to diverse forests and for rural peoples and the consultation mechanisms and decision-making processes that have been put in place to support the development and implementation of these strategies.  

Paige Lainger, Associate, Global Forest Programme, World Resources Institute
Marie-Ange Kalenga, Forest, Governance and Development Policy Advisor, Fern​​​​​​
León Jorge Castaños, Director-General, National Forestry Commission of Mexico
Chair: Thiago Uehara, Research Fellow, Energy, Environment and Resources Programme, Chatham House

Format: Panel discussion followed by a Q&A.

Processes of legal reform aimed at facilitating sustainable forest use have been implemented in many forest-rich countries driven by domestic agendas and international processes including FLEGT and REDD for example.  

While notable achievements have been seen in many countries, elsewhere, legal reforms have been made that risk having a negative impact on forests and forest peoples. This has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic in response to which some countries have been rolling back environmental and social protections in order to boost their economies.  
 
This session consider some of the progress made focusing in particular on the processes and mechanisms that have been established to implement these reforms and the resilience of the reforms to reversal. 

The implications of these are considered for future reform efforts, in particular, those needed if climate ambitions are to be achieved.  

Tanja Venisnik, Senior Law and Policy Advisor, Community Forestry Lead, Client Earth
Ines Gady, Programme Cooridinator, Comptoir Juridique Junior, Republic of the Congo
Rukka Sombolinggi, Secretary General, Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago, AMAN
Ketty Marcelo, Vice President, ONAMIAP, Peru
Chair: Alison Hoare, Senior Research Fellow, Energy, Environment and Resources Programme, Chatham House