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UNFFS Director’s 2022 end of year message

As 2022 draws to a close and I look back at my first year as Director of the UN Forum on Forests Secretariat, I would like to share some reflections from this year and our priorities for the new year. We inspired a shared vision to transform the Secretariat into a reputable, efficient, and responsive vehicle of the UNFF鈥檚 influential leadership on forest-related issues at the global level.

In collaboration with the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and other relevant partners, we provided support to UNFF Member States in their efforts to coordinate and to harmonize policies, strategies, and actions to accelerate the implementation of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030and the achievement of the Global Forest Goals.

Accelerating action on the Global Forest Goals and the SDGs

The UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030 is the overarching blueprint for all our work and getting back on track in achieving the Global Forest Goals continues to be the main priority through all aspects of our work. This includes facilitating means of implementation, through the improving data by supporting monitoring, assessment, and reporting activities and preparations for the midterm review in 2024 of the effectiveness of the International Arrangement on Forests (IAF). The Global Forest Goals provide us a roadmap that continues to be timely and relevant to contributing to 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, and the triple planetary crises.

In 2022, our Secretariat provided support to the in-depth review of SDG15 by in collaboration with other DESA divisions and CPF partners. We were directly involved in the planning, preparations, and organization of the expert group meeting on SDG15 and the HLPF session on SDG15, as well as drafting of background documents and outcome documents.

In the lead up to the , we are supporting the UNFF18 Bureau in organizing a one-day event in 2023 on 鈥淔orests, energy and livelihoods鈥� at UNHQ NY to raise awareness on these issues and their nexus. The event is being organized to promote dialogue among countries, especially, at the time when NY Missions are engaged in the preparation for the SDG Summit in September 2023. This event has been an opportunity to work with our partners in the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and will include analytical work on forests, energy and livelihoods undertaken in collaboration with IUFRO, UNDP and FAO.

Leaving no one behind in the post pandemic recovery

The important role of forests in addressing the impacts of COVID-19 is now well recognized. In 2022, we continued to deepen our work in supporting Member States in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic through normative, technical assistance and capacity-building activities on the impact and implications of the pandemic on forests and the forest sector. This was accomplished through regional studies and an expert group meeting, culminating with discussions at UNFF17 in May. Looking ahead, we will continue to work to support Member States in the integration of forests into the post COVID recovery measures, taking into account interlinkages with biodiversity, climate change and health.

Mobilizing forest financing from all sources

Adequate financial resources are crucial for achieving the Global Forest Goals, forest-related SDGs, and other international forest-related commitments. fills this gap by providing capacity development support to access forest financing and for the design of national forest financing strategies. In 2022, the UNFF provided support to several countries and regions, including, Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Cote d鈥橧voire, Dominica, Ethiopia, Liberia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe, COMIFAC, and ECOWAS. We are invited to provide similar support ACTO early next year. In 2023, in addition to these ongoing activities, we will also be working with the GEF Secretariat on a proposed medium-sized project on strengthening the conservation of primary forests through enhanced partnerships and coordination of support which has an estimate budget of $2 million.

Tracking progress towards the Global Forest Goals

UNFFS continues to support Member States in the development of reporting frameworks for monitoring and assessing progress toward the achievement of sustainable forest management (SFM) and evidence-based decision making. National reporting to the Forum is critical component of this work. In 2022, we worked on amending the existing format for voluntary national reporting, and initiated a pilot phase using this amended format, with the participation of interested countries. The amended format is structured around the Global Forest Goals and targets and builds on the previous format. In October 2022, the amended reporting format was sent to UNFF National Focal Points to elicit participation in the pilot phase. The results of the pilot phase will be shared during a global workshop, which will be co-organized jointly by UNFFS and FAO in March 2023. The outcome of this process will be transmitted to the Forum for its consideration at UNFF18 in May 2023.

Fostering synergies through forest-based actions

Forests are essential to life on land and there is widespread recognition that reducing deforestation and reverse forest degradation is critical to reaching the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees and in reaching the targets of the newly adopted . The nature-based solutions that healthy and well managed forests offer are many, from offsetting carbon emissions through forest conservation and restoration and improving the livelihood and well-being of forest-based communities including Indigenous Peoples. In 2022, we had initial discussions with the Executive Secretaries of the three Rio Conventions on how we could strengthen our collaboration to enhance synergy between the Forum and the Conventions, and ultimately the SDGs.

Midterm Review of the IAF

Preparations for the midterm review of the effectiveness of the international arrangement on forests (IAF) has been a key area of our work in 2022 and will continue to be so until UNFF19 in 2024. The midterm review process is not just a look back at progress made, but it is also a forward-looking exercise to identify challenges that we need to address and opportunities that we can capitalize on to advance the GFGs. In a few weeks鈥� time, an expert group meeting will be held in January 2023 at UNESCAP in Bangkok which will consider the key findings of the assessments on UNFF鈥檚 contribution to the 2030 Agenda, involvement of regional and subregional partners, and involvement of major groups and other relevant stakeholders. The outcome of the intersessional meetings, and findings of the full set of ten assessment reports will be submitted to the open-ended intergovernmental ad-hoc expert group (AHEG) meeting to be held before the end of 2023. The AHEG is expected to make a proposal on the midterm review to UNFF19 in 2024.

Strengthening our resource base

Contributions to the UNFF Trust Fund continue to critical to support the implementation of core activities of the Forum, and we are grateful for the generous contributions from our donors. In 2022, we circulated a detailed funding proposal to key donors in the sidelines of UNFF17 which was well received and helped mobilize additional contributions to support our work. We would like to thank the Governments of Australia, China, Germany, Japan, Republic of Korea, Switzerland and the United States of America for their generous contributions to the UNFF Trust Fund in 2022.

Inspiring action by promoting best practices

Strengthening communication and outreach activities is a key priority for 2023. This aligns with the objective of raising political support for forests in preparing for global environment-related conferences and summits, including the SDG Summit in September 2023 as well as in the context of the mid-term review of the International Arrangement on Forests in 2024. UNFFS launched the in 2021, and in 2022, over a hundred data entries were added to its three databases. In 2022, we also started producing a quarterly newsletter on forest financing as part of the information services provided by the GFFFN Clearing House. In 2023 we will continue to add additional search functions and data entries on financing opportunities for forests, learning materials and lessons learned and best practices. The UNFF main website will also being redesigned to align with the new DESA website, and to make the site more modern and user-friendly using OICT鈥檚 Unite Web platform. New content will also be added to showcasing best practices and success stories on implementation of the Global Forest Goals and on the contributions of forests in implementing the SDGs. The International Day of Forests 2023 theme of forests and health will also provide an opportunity to showcase the interlinkages between forests and our health and well-being.

Engaging in strategic partnerships

When working with a compact Secretariat, engaging in strategic partnerships is absolutely critical in delivering on our work. As a Division in the UN DESA, we work in close collaboration with other divisions on a range of issues and processes, from work on statistics, economic and social development, financing, capacity building, to ECOSOC and the HLPF. As a member and the Secretariat for the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, we work with our partners in most of our analytical and capacity-building activities. In 2022, our collaboration with CPF partners focused on the GFFFN, MAR, and climate change. Regional level collaboration is an area that will be strengthened in 2023, through greater engagement with UN regional commissions, and building on our existing relationship with regional and sub regional entities. Strengthening our engagement with stakeholders, including in particular private sector and philanthropic organisations was a key priority in 2022, and will continue in 2023. Working with academia and scientific organisations is also a continuing priority, to enable science-based decision making.

It has been an eventful year, and I am looking forward to working with you in 2023 in making sure that we continue to carry the forests flag high.

With best wishes to you and your families for a happy holiday season and new year.

Juliette Biao Koudenoukpo
Director, UN Forum on Forests Secretariat