CPF Joint Initiative on the Forest Finance Facilitation

(c) Rahmat Rahim Nur

 

Background

The Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network (GFFFN) was established by the UN Forum on Forests in 2015 (ECOSOC resolution 2015/33), to facilitate access to and effective use of funding for forests, sharing data and best practices on forest financing and contributing to the achievement of the Global Forest Goals of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030.

The UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030 required the GFFFN, in close cooperation with members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), to contribute to the scaling-up of sustainable forest management by facilitating access by countries to resources to implement the strategic plan and to achieve its global forest goals and targets. To this end, the priorities for the Network are:

  • Promote and assist members in designing national forest financing strategies to mobilize resources for sustainable forest management;
  • Assist countries in mobilizing, accessing and enhancing the effective use of existing financial resources from all sources for sustainable forest management;
  • Serve as a Clearing House and database on existing, new and emerging financing opportunities and as a tool for sharing lessons learned and best practices from successful projects;
  • Contribute to the achievement of the global forest goals and targets, as well as to priorities contained in the quadrennial programmes of work of the UN Forum on Forests.

At the thirteenth session of the UN Forum on Forests held in 2018, the Forum adopted the Guidelines for the Operation of the GFFFN . The Forum also requested the Secretariat, in consultation with interested members of the Forum and members of the CPF, to initiate development of the Network’s on-line Clearing House mechanism.

The fifteenth session of the Forum held in 2020 requested the Secretariat to continue to work closely with member organizations of the CPF and other data providers in designing the initial phase of the Clearing House, with a view to avoiding duplication and increasing synergies and efficiencies. The Forum also invited the CPF to strengthen its joint initiative on forest finance facilitation, in particular in support of the Clearing House in the context of the workplans of the Partnership.

In this context, the CPF established the Joint Initiative on the Forest Financing Facilitation in 2015 and further strengthened this Initiative in the year 2020 in support of the Clearing House development.

 

Objectives of the Joint Initiative:

To support the GFFFN in mobilizing financing from all sources for the sustainable management of all types of forests and in particular:

  • In contributing to promoting and assisting countries in designing national forest financing strategies to mobilize resources for sustainable forest management;
  • In contributing to assist countries in mobilizing financial resources from all existing sources for sustainable forest management, including as sources of financing or as accredited entities to multilateral financing mechanisms;
  • To support the Clearing House of the Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network by sharing existing data and information on financing from all sources for the sustainable management of all types of forests;
  • To establish a network of relevant focal points among CPF members to collaborate in mobilizing and accessing funding from multilateral financial institutions, including the Global Environment Facility and the Green Climate Fund;
  • To conduct joint activities with the aim to updating data and information on forest financing in the above-mentioned information categories.

To contribute to the achievement of the global forest goals and targets, as well as priorities contained in the quadrennial programmes of work.

Progress in Work:

In supporting countries to mobilize financial resources for sustainable forest management, the GFFFN is partnering with many members of the CPF including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Global Environment Fund (GEF), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and UN Convention to Combat Desertification Secretariat (UNCCD Secretariat). In the development of the Clearing House, the CPF members have actively participated in the conceptual design of the Clearing House and the first phase of the Clearing House.

Further information on the GFFFN activities is available at the GFFFN webpage at the UNFF website.