Organization-Led Initiative on Forest Financing

OLI Objective

The main objective of the OLI was to deepen the understanding and knowledge of stakeholders on the state of forest financing, including opportunities and challenges, and allow participants to provide suggestions to improve the situation through the sharing of information and best practices. It also offered participants the space and opportunity to exchange views on the findings of the 2012 Advisory Group on Finance (AGF) study to provide further analyses on forest financing.

The OLI was an occasion to further clarify and broaden the scope of information for a knowledge-based discussion and negotiations during the Second Ad-Hoc Expert Group (AHEG2). The OLI provided an ideal platform for government experts, relevant international and regional organizations including CPF member organizations, major groups and other relevant stakeholders to thoroughly and analytically discuss several issues on forest financing. The meeting provided a non-political atmosphere to enable countries to share lessons learned and other experiences. CPF members also shared information on how they have addressed forest finance in broad terms, through both their individual activities and joint collaborative work.

Participation

The OLI was open to all Member States of the UNFF, CPF members, representatives of international and regional organizations/processes, UN system organizations/agencies/programmes/ commissions, major groups, including the private sector, and finance related experts. Participants represented agencies related to the agriculture, forest, finance, natural resources and environment sectors. Members of the UNFF10 Bureau as well as the Co-Chairs of AHEG1 and AHEG2 also participated in the OLI.

Outcome of the OLI

The OLI was an opportunity for participants to become better informed of recent developments related to forest financing. The OLI was an additional occasion for all stakeholders to share information and best practices which could facilitate the discussions in AHEG2. It should be pointed out that the OLI was not a negotiation platform and/or pre-AHEG negotiating body. The co-chairs of the plenary and the co-chairs of each working group session produced one consolidated summary of the proceedings and the key points of the OLI discussion. This summary will be provided to AHEG2 as a background document. It will also be available online for UNFF10, as background information under the agenda item on means of implementation.