The fourth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF-4) was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 3-14 May. Faced with an ambitious agenda of seven decisions to negotiate, UNFF-4 succeeded in adopting only five of them, failing, inter alia, to agree on a resolution dealing with traditional forest-related knowledge (TFRK). Discussions at UNFF-5 will focus on the future of the Forum, including the various legal options for achieving its aim of promoting the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests.

Traditional knowledge: Agreeing to disagree

After long and protracted negotiations that continued late into the night on the penultimate day of the conference, delegates finally gave up on adopting a draft resolution on TFRK. Despite a generally constructive spirit, discussions were plagued by similar divisions as has been witnessed in other forums dealing with traditional knowledge-related issues (see also related story, this issue). Specifically, developing countries (G-77/China) expressed concern over proposed language on the facilitation of access to TFRK, the perceived emphasis of using of mainstream intellectual property tools to protect the knowledge, and that discussions at UNFF might prejudge similar debates in other forums, such as the CBD, WIPO and WTO. Some observers noted that the Forum might have been too ambitious in its effort to address such a "deeply political issue" as traditional knowledge, given the divisions witnessed in similar discussions in other forums.

Looking ahead towards UNFF-5 and beyond

Although there was no official discussion on the future of the UNFF after its fifth session, it was certainly on everyone's minds. Most delegates appeared to agree that the UNFF in its current form had not delivered on its aims and was not politically viable for the future. Some of the options being considered in the post UNFF-5 era range from the current (but strengthened) arrangement to a legally-binding treaty. Other options being referred to include a protocol under the CBD and a soft legal instrument in the form of a set of binding guidelines or principles. The future of the forest forum will be discussed at length when the Ad-Hoc Expert Group on Consideration with a View to Recommending Parameters of a Mandate for Developing a Legal Framework for all Types of Forests will meet in September this year. A decision will have to be taken at UNFF-5, where Parties will also be reviewing the effectiveness of the international arrangements on forests.

UNFF-5 will be held on 16-27 May in New York.

Additional Resources

For daily reporting and a detailed analysis of UNFF-5, see IISD Linkages.

ENB Vo. 13 No. 116, 17 May 2004.