Introduction
Many countries have realized that the functions of forests and the agreements addressing forests are dispersed over a great number of separate international instruments. Some functions receive much more attention than others; there was a lack of an integrated legal regime that would view forests in a holistic way, with due consideration to the full range of goods and services they provide. For example, the UNFF has identified at least 40 legally binding international instruments related to forests, of which six are protocols to framework conventions whilst another three are complementary stand-alone agreements to other framework conventions.
By end of 2005 there was a political will to start negotiations to come to a comprehensive multilateral forest agreement to fill in the gaps. Although from a juridical perspective this was possible and perhaps desirable, many countries felt that a conclusion of a legally binding convention was no guarantee that the commitments would be carried out because it still depended on political determination.
Video Lecture
Please view the following voice-over-ppt presentations and videos for this topic.
Module 2 Lecture 6 Part 1: Non-legally Binding Instruments (NLBI) and Global Objectives on Forests
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Module 2 Lecture 6 Part 2: National Measures to Contribute to the Global Objectives on Forests and National Forest Laws in Support of SFM
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Module 2 Lecture 6 Video: WWF – The Beautiful Forest
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Readings
- United Nations. (2008). Non-legally binding instrument on all types of forests. UN General Assembly. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/forestry/14717-03d86aa8c1a7426cf69bf9e2f5023bb12.pdf
- Christy, L.C., Di Leva, C.E., Lindsay, J.M., & Takoukam, P.T. (2007). Forest law and sustainable development: Addressing contemporary challenges through legal reform. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank. Available from https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/6671
Reflection Questions
Please answer the following self-reflection questions. After formulating your answers, you may post them online at the Knowledge Café for this course as a way to share your ideas and glean knowledge from other students’ responses.
- Reflect on the objectives of the Non-legally Binding Instrument of Forests.
- What shared global objectives on forests and commitments to achieve progress towards their achievement have UNFF member States reaffirmed?