Annex 1: Terminology

AFP Asia Forest Partnership. The partnership promotes sustainable forestry in Asia through addressing the following five urgent issues: control of illegal logging; control of forest fires; rehabilitation and reforestation of degraded lands; good governance and forest law enforcement; and developing capacity for effective forest management.
CBD Convention on Biological Diversity.
Certification Certificates issued for forest management indicate that the forest is �well-managed�, which is not the same as sustainability, but it can contribute to sustainable management.
CITES Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species
COFO

 The Committee on Forestry. This is the foremost among the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation forestry statutory bodies.
FAO UN Food and Agriculture Organisation. Its directive is to raise living standards, improve agricultural productivity (including forestry) and advance the condition of rural populations.
FLEG Forest Law Enforcement and Governance. The World Bank group�s Forest Governance Program and the G8 action programme on forests motivated partnerships known as FLEG. There are currently three in operation and they focus on addressing illegal logging and related issues.
FLEG-EAP Forest Law Enforcement and Governance � East Asia and Pacific region.
FSC Forest Stewardship Council. A prominent forest certification organisation.
ITTO International Tropical Timber Organisation. An organisation that addresses tropical timber trade issues with a sustainable forestry focus.
MDG The Millennium Development Goals. They summarise development goals agreed on at international conferences and world summits during the 1990s. At the end of the decade, world leaders distilled the key goals and targets in the Millennium Declaration (September 2000).

Based on the declaration, the concise set of goals, numerical targets and quantifiable indicators are aimed at assessing progress towards sustainable development. There are eight goals, 18 targets and over 40 indicators to be achieved between 1990 and 2015. They include: halving extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality; reducing under-five mortality by two-thirds; reducing maternal mortality by three-quarters; reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a global partnership for development, with targets for aid, trade and debt relief.
MEA Multilateral Environment Agreements. Agreements, conventions and protocols agreed multilaterally (in other words involving three or more governments, organisations, etc) and aimed at eliminating or reducing damage to the environment. Over 180 MEAs have been concluded and examples of relevance to forests include; CBD, CITES etc.
MPCI Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators. It is one of nine major international criteria and indicator processes worldwide that aim to measure, monitor and assess progress towards sustainable forestry.
NGO Non-governmental organisation. These can be environmental groups, private sector organisations or social groups, for example.
ODA Official development assistance. This encompasses loans, grants, and technical assistance that governments provide to developing countries.
PEFC Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification. A prominent forest certification organisation, which used to be named the Pan European Forest Certification scheme.
PICs Pacific Island Countries.
SFM Sustainable Forest Management. Sustainable forest management has been defined in many ways. The following definition captures the main elements contained in all of them: �A process of managing forests to achieve production of a continuous flow of desired forest products and services without undue reduction of [the forest�s] inherent values and future productivity and without undue undesirable effects on the physical and social environment�6
Stakeholder Any individual, group or organisation having a valid interest in a field or matter, in this case forestry. Stakeholders in forestry include environmental groups, private sector (including forestry companies, retailers and wholesalers of forestry products, transport organisations, financial organisations etc), indigenous people, workers, scientific institutions, forest dependant communities, development organisations, importers and exporters, and many more. The term is neutral and descriptive, and is valuable in emphasising the breadth of interest in, influence of and impact of forestry institutions, but its use should not obscure that fact that different groups of stakeholders (e.g. communities and private forestry companies) have quite different interests or needs.
UNFF The UN Forum on Forests. UNFF was established in 2000 with the main objective to encourage, �� the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests and to strengthen long-term political commitment to this end��7. It was decided that the UNFF would be reviewed after five years. This review would also consider the merits of a forestry convention.

In addition to its main objective, the UNFF is responsible for:

  • facilitating and promoting the implementation of the IPF/IFF proposals for action;
  • providing a forum for continued policy development and dialogue;
  • enhancing co-operation and co-ordination on policy work and programmes at the national, regional and global levels; and
  • monitoring and assessing progress to determine what future action is needed.
VPAs Voluntary Partnership Arrangements. These are voluntary arrangements between countries that contain commitments or shared goals.
WTO The World Trade Organisation. The WTO is the legal and institutional foundation of the multilateral trading system and successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) as of January 1, 1995. The WTO acts as a forum for multinational trade negotiations, administers dispute settlements, reviews the trade policies of member nations, and works with organisations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in developing coherent global economic policies. The WTO also covers new commercial activities beyond the jurisdiction of GATT, such as intellectual property rights, services, and investment.
WWF The World Wildlife Fund. A prominent global NGO whose ultimate goal is to build a future where people live in harmony with nature.

6ITTO'Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Natural Tropical Forests, 1998'.

7ECOSOC resolution 2000/35.

Contact for Enquiries

Senior Policy Analyst
International Policy
MAF Policy
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND

Phone: +64 4 894 0650
Fax: +64 4 894 0742

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