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WWF is taking a strategic and targeted approach to intergovernmental fora in order to shape the international agenda on forests.
At Earth Summit II, governments will have to show what actions they have taken between 1992 and 1997 to implement the commitments they made at the Rio Earth Summit. It will not be enough to merely identify issues requiring further consideration by the international community.
WWF's objective is to use the inter-governmental process leading up to Earth Summit II to secure support from governments for our forest targets and for the delivery mechanisms needed to implement them. This is being achieved through co-ordinated lobbying at national and international levels which involves the WWF network and its many partners in the non-governmental and private sectors.
Progress has already been made. By using the IPF process, WWF has helped to generate a dramatic increase in support for independent voluntary certification. Six months ago, only a few governments recognised the merits of certification. At the third session of the IPF in September 1996, more than 20 countries expressed support, led by the EU, Brazil, Columbia, Papua New Guinea, Poland and Switzerland. Later the Group of 77 (which includes more than 120 countries) added its somewhat more qualified support. This issue will be further negotiated at the final session of the IPF in February 1997. | |
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With significant progress already made on the certification target, WWF's forest team will intensify its efforts between now and June to put protected areas firmly on the international forests agenda by using meetings of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the IPF, the CSD and Earth Summit II.
Several governments have already established or agreed to establish networks of protected areas covering at least 10% of their country's forest area, including Australia, Cameroon, Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Lithuania and the Republic of Sakha. The inter-governmental processes on forests provides an ideal opportunity for these countries to lead by example and challenge others to match their commitment. For those countries where protected area options are more limited due to the disappearance of natural forests, WWF will press for restoration of representative forest areas.
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C O N T E N T S ---->
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