International Forestry Policy: What does it mean and why is it relevant to New Zealand?
Charlotte Cudby and the MAF Policy International team give an overview of New Zealand's involvement in international forestry forums, where the goals and means of achieving sustainable forestry management are hammered out by multilateral gatherings of nations.
There are a huge range of international forums dealing with international forestry policy. This article attempts to answer two questions; what is international forestry policy and why is it relevant to New Zealand?
What is international forestry policy?
Contemporary international forestry policy was 'born', as we know it today, at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Some international forestry dialogue took place before then. But the Earth Summit was a significant milestone that cemented the concept of sustainable forestry on the international agenda. This has been the primary focus of international forestry policy ever since.
Sustainable forestry has been defined in many ways and can mean different things for different regions, countries and local ecosystems. Similarly, there is not wide agreement about what sustainable forestry might mean in practical terms. This means that discussing sustainable forestry issues at a multilateral level, when countries have such diverse interests, can be a very difficult task.
There is no one international body that provides direct oversight of all forests and related activities. Various international forums focussing on different elements of sustainable forestry exist to collectively work towards global sustainable forestry and gain political commitment from governments. Many of them were set up in response to issues raised since the Earth Summit in 1992.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's policy department (MAF Policy) leads government involvement in the main international forums that focus on sustainable forestry. Other forums, relevant to New Zealand forestry, but which deal with specific issues within the broad 'umbrella' of sustainable forestry, are dealt with by other government departments. For example, the Department of Conservation leads New Zealand's involvement in international work relating to trade in endangered species, which cover many endangered tree species.
The overarching objective of MAF Policy is to provide "policy advice and service delivery to help create prosperous, sustainable and innovative agriculture, food and forestry sectors that support a vibrant and healthy New Zealand society, environment and economy." This is the basis on which MAF Policy approaches its involvement in forestry issues at the international level.
Why is international forestry policy relevant to New Zealand?
New Zealand participates in international sustainable forestry forums for a variety of reasons:
We are fulfilling a moral obligation to contribute to global sustainability.
We are learning about opportunities for New Zealand created by new sustainable forestry policy and initiatives.
We are also helping to remove distortions in international forestry markets created by unsustainably produced forest products. Illegally or unsustainably harvested forest products drive down prices, which affects the competitiveness of New Zealand's sustainably managed exports.
We must also make sure that international markets and consumers continue to understand and accept our model of forestry. New Zealand's model of forestry is very distinct from other countries because our forests are clearly separated according to what they are used for; natural forests are primarily conserved and planted forests are primarily managed for producing forest products.
This model has many benefits for sustainability, because a large part of our domestic timber needs are met by plantation-grown pine, which also provides revenue from exports, relieving the pressure to harvest native forest. These points are not well understood by many in the international community. Thus, New Zealand has an ongoing task of explaining and advocating its sustainably-managed planted forests in international forestry forums.
At the Earth Summit, the possibility that planted forests could contribute to sustainable forestry was almost rejected by various critics of planted forests. With persistent effort, New Zealand succeeded in getting the international forestry community to recognise the legitimate role of well-managed planted forests. However, some within the international forestry community continue to try to discredit planted forests, which in turn may undermine consumer demand for our plantation pine products.
Another risk for New Zealand is that there will be insufficient global progress towards sustainable forestry. The risk lies in the potential for damage to the reputation of the forestry industry as a whole. Consumer preference may then shift in favour of alternative materials such as concrete, steel and plastics, which have been shown to have a considerably larger environmental impact over their life cycles. Again, this would jeopardise the future of New Zealand's sustainably managed exports.
A more immediate risk is that concerns about the sustainability and legality of forest products may manifest themselves as trade barriers, such as mandatory certification. Such barriers have the potential to arbitrarily threaten New Zealand's access to export markets, because although we have strong environmental and social legislation4, only 38 percent of New Zealand production forests are currently certified by a third party, internationally recognised organisation. Many small forestry operations may find the cost of certification prohibitive, even though they are already practising high environmental standards. These forestry operations may find themselves unfairly shut out of international markets, if there are mandatory requirements for certification from importers.
All these issues mean that it is very important that New Zealand monitor and influence the direction of work in international sustainable forestry forums to ensure the continued acceptance of New Zealand's distinct model of forestry.
MAF Policy aims to engage in forums that present the greatest opportunities for, and those that pose the greatest risks to, New Zealand forestry. Some of the more significant forums that MAF Policy follows are described below.
United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF)
While there are many international organisations and processes dealing with forests, the UNFF, a high-level, intergovernmental policy forum established as a follow up to the Earth Summit, is the only international organisation that solely focuses on all elements of sustainable forestry.
The objective of the UNFF is to promote "the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests and to strengthen long-term political commitment to this end". All countries that belong to the UN are eligible to participate in the UNFF.
In April 2001, the UNFF recognised that there needed to be better collaboration on forestry issues at the international level. So, the UNFF established the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), which currently encompasses 14 organisations5. The CPF provides input and support to the work of the UNFF and member countries and aims to enhance co-operation and co-ordination on forest issues. The mandate for the UNFF is currently being reviewed, with the next meeting due to take place in early 2006.
Forestry Department of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO)
The FAO Forestry Department's mission is "to enhance human well-being through support to member countries in the sustainable management of the world's trees and forests". The department has extensive technical knowledge about forestry issues, specialises in producing global data on forestry and provides considerable technical support to developing countries for implementing sustainable forestry.
The FAO achieves its mission by working both at the global level, through its policy forum and decision making body called the Committee on Forestry (COFO), and the regional level, through its regional forestry commissions (New Zealand belongs to the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission (APFC)) that provide a forum for member countries to discuss both technical and policy issues. The FAO has a variety of other regional and sub-regional offices, and convenes technical meetings on a range of issues, as needed.
Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators (MPCI)
The global international forestry community has recognised that the way to achieve sustainable forestry is by adopting the criteria and indicators (C&I) method to monitor, assess and report on the overall picture of a country's sustainable forest management, at the national level.
"Criteria" refer to broad categories that represent the main components of sustainable forestry (e.g. the protection of biodiversity) and "indicators" refer to qualitative or quantitative measurements of different aspects of a criterion.
There are nine C&I processes that collectively involve around 150 countries. Together all the processes:
- provide a common understanding of sustainability;
- provide tools to measure and monitor progress towards sustainability; and
- provide common rules for sustainable forestry, while recognising differences between different types of forests or between different regions.
The Montreal Process C&I (MPCI) is the collaborative effort of 12 non-European countries to promote internationally agreed C&I for the sustainable management of temperate and boreal forests.
The MPCI is important for New Zealand, because the process is currently the only proof that we have to show the international community that we are working towards the sustainable management of all our forests.
International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO)
The ITTO, established by treaty in 1986, promotes the conservation and sustainable management, use and trade of tropical forest resources. Its 59 members represent about 80 percent of the world's tropical forests and 90 percent of the global tropical timber trade. Twenty five members are consumer countries, while 34 are producer countries.
While the main objective of the ITTO is the promotion and diversification of the trade in tropical timber, its focus has changed over time to encompass national policies towards sustainable forestry.
The ITTO develops policy on a range of issues, many of which are of interest to New Zealand, such as planted forests, certification, illegal logging and related trade. ITTO policy work is also complemented by project funding that aims to:
- implement decisions in member countries;
- provide training; undertake research and market studies; and
- develop tools for implementing sustainable forestry (e.g. ITTO tools include a range of practical, published guidelines on aspects of tropical forest management).
World Trade Organisation (WTO)
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is not an organisation that deals with sustainable forestry as such. Yet since 1992, sustainable forestry forums have increasingly recognised that trade liberalisation plays an important role in helping countries to progress towards sustainable forestry, by reducing activities that distort market conditions.
New Zealand regards the WTO as the most prominent forum for progressing trade issues for all sectors. Given that the global trade in forest products has skyrocketed in recent years, ensuring fair trading conditions for forest products is becoming even more critical to ensure progress towards global sustainable forestry.
The WTO is the only global international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations. The WTO helps producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business, by reducing distortions in international markets.
At its heart are a range of WTO agreements that resulted from numerous negotiating 'rounds', which all WTO members agreed by consensus. Only some of the WTO agreements deal with forestry and forestry-related issues.
The current 'round' of negotiations began in November 2001, and is not yet completed. The 'round' covers a range of topics, in which forestry is included among all other non-agricultural goods. The agreed objective for negotiating on non-agricultural goods is to reduce or eliminate tariff barriers and address non-tariff measures that distort trade.
Conclusion
The United Nations Forum on Forests, the Forestry Department of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators, and the International Tropical Timber Organisation are the main forums dealing with sustainable forestry which MAF Policy is involved in. The World Trade Organisation is important for a more specific reason. Transparent trading conditions based on fair rules are becoming increasingly important if we want to achieve sustainable forestry at a global level.
While New Zealand has strong environmental and social credentials, we can always learn from global developments. With our long history and experience with forest management, we can also contribute to developments which will affect the way the world manages forests in the future.
We also need to mitigate any risks posed to the future of New Zealand forestry exports.
In conclusion, international forestry policy is relevant and important for New Zealand, both in the interests of our forestry sector, and in the interests of furthering sustainable forestry management for the wider world.
| Charlotte Cudby Policy Analyst, MAF International Policy, Wellington |
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| Charlotte Cudby has worked at MAF for two years in the International Policy team, after spending three years in the finance industry. Her current work spans a range of international forestry issues, covering both trade and environment and the interactions between them. Charlotte's academic background is in economics (both international economics and natural resource and environmental economics) and finance. |
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