New York, 16-27 April 2007

The seventh session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF-6) was held from 16-27 April 2007, at UN headquarters in New York. Nearly 600 participants attended the two-week session, which was viewed by most as a gargantuan task of negotiating both a non-legally binding instrument (NLBI) for sustainable forest management (SFM) for all types of forests and a Multi-Year Programme of Work (MYPOW) for the period 2007-2015.

Negotiations centered on the Chair’s composite NLBI draft text, forwarded from the ad hoc expert group meeting in December 2006, and a suggested draft text on the MYPOW. After two weeks of difficult negotiations, culminating in an all-night session, both documents were adopted by 6:00 am on Saturday, 28 April. Delegates also adopted the draft resolution to which the NLBI will be annexed, and along with the MYPOW, will be forwarded to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for consideration.
During the meeting, delegates also participated in two Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues, a panel discussion with member organizations of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) and the launching of preparations for the International Year of Forests 2011.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE UNFF
The UNFF was established in 2000, following a five-year period of forest policy dialogue facilitated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) and the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF). In October 2000, ECOSOC resolution E/2000/35 established the UNFF as a subsidiary body, with the main objective being to promote the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests.