"There is no issue more important than to address the direct and underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation."
Jean-Pierre Le Danff was Programme Officer of the Secretariat of the CBD until the end of 2001. Just before leaving his post he agreed to be interviewed by Taiga News.
TN: The 7th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA7) in November 2001 in Montreal was the most important preparatory meeting for the 6th Conference of the Parties (COP6) of the CBD. How do you assess its outcome with regard to forests?
Le Danff: First, it is important to be clear about the context of the SBSSTA. At the fourth Conference of the Parties (COP4), the parties adopted a work programme on biodiversity of forests, which is still valid, but it is very research orientated. COP5 requested that this be extended to include practical actions, so SBSTTA was given the mandate to prepare a revised work programme for COP6. This is a huge step forward, and the beginning of a new era for the CBD. A draft work programme has been recommended by SBSTTA which represents tremendous progress. There are not many issues which are not covered. The secretariat has done tremendous work and it was a really great outcome.
TN: Who do you consider to be the major players in the CBD?
Le Danff: All the forest countries - Canada, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia and the European Union. The USA is not a party, but they can be very active. Also, NGOs are actors, and have already played a major role. WWF/IUCN and Greenpeace International have contributed a great deal as observers. The private sector is not often present in discussions. I wonder if they will be at COP6? They should be.
FAO and CIFOR are also major players, and have contributed a lot prior to SBSTTA7. We work very closely with CIFOR, for example on non-wood forest resources and forest fires. Their focus on tropical forests is not a limitation as many of their staff have worldwide experience and their expertise on issues such as forest fires is very broad.
Then there is the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF). Actually UNFF is not really a player, but they participated in SBSTTA and through the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) stronger collaboration between the CBD and the UNFF is being built. In Ghana in late January there will be a meeting which will gather together experts from the UNFF and the CBD to see how to build co-operation, to avoid duplications and to elaborate their programmes of work in parallel. Another player is UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change). A meeting will occur in January on interlinking between the CBD and the UNFCCC. The Kyoto protocol is especially important, as carbon sinks could be a major issue.
TN: What role do Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia play?
Le Danff: Chapter 1 of the CBD as a process does not make a differentiation between boreal and other forests. Its role is to provide policy guidance and it does not specifically address different forest types. I wouldn't say that the boreal countries play a different role from say Brazil. They are all very active from the point of view of the Secretariat. I cannot differentiate between the parties.
TN: What outcome of the COP6 in April 2002 would be desirable?
Le Danff: I have no specific desire for an outcome. I can say what the parties have expressed, which is that the main decision from COP5 was to extend the work of the CBD from research to practical action. The parties hope that they will adopt a new work programme identifying practical action to address forest loss and degradation. There is no issue more important than to address the direct and underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation. The COP6 should adopt decisions that will concretely address these causes. SBSTTA provides a wide range of possible actions tackling these causes, for example, illegal logging, lack or weakness in forest governance, raising public awareness and so on. The outcome of COP6 will, I hope, be a broadening of the ways to address forest biodiversity.
TN: What are currently the major obstacles to reach such an outcome?
Le Danff: The major one may be a lack of willingness to move forward. There are countries that want to address the actions from the CBD, but others do not have the same willingness. There are also issues like financial support for developing countries, technological transfer, etc.
TN: How could they be overcome?
Le Danff: That is a difficult question. It is necessary to raise the awareness of all stakeholders to the value of forests. I have the feeling that few people, including few representatives of countries, are fully aware of the incredible value of biodiversity. I don't mean just economic value, not just timber, but also non-marketed values and all the other goods and services of biodiversity. These values are overshadowed. It would be a major contribution to raise awareness of these values. I think NGOs have played and will continue to play a major role on this aspect.
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