New Panel to combat forest degradation: use of fuels, coral reefs, oceans reviewed.

A New Intergovernmental Panel on Forests, set up by the Commission on Sustainable Development on 28 April, will review all existing agreements on forests and assess whether a broad-based international legal convention on all types of forests would be needed.

It also will: examine the root causes of deforestation and forest degradation; devise strategies to combat them; and promote the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests.

The Commission, at its two-week session (11-28 April, New York), established the Panel to promote multidisciplinary action at the international level, consistent with the Nonlegally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of All Types of Forests, adopted in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 at the UN Conference on Environment and Development.

Particular attention is to be given to the impact on forests of such factors as consumption and production patterns, poverty, population growth and pollution.

The Panel is to monitor actions to support afforestation, reforestation and restoration of forest systems, particularly in countries with fragile ecosystems and those affected by desertification and/or drought. It will propose steps to promote the conservation of low forest cover, particularly in unique types of forests, in developing countries.

In other action, the Commission called for national plans to reduce the levels of lead used in petrol. Wealthier countries were asked to assist developing States in obtaining the technology needed to make the transition to lead-free products. Voluntary changes in patterns of production and consumption were urged.

The Commission supported the International Coral Reef Initiative by which "stakeholders" - Governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), industry and local communities - would protect and sustainably manage coral reef ecosystems.

It also set up two working groups - one, on sectoral issues, to assess progress made in protecting the atmosphere, oceans and seas: and the other, on cross-sectoral issues, to look at the changing patterns of production and consumption and finance for sustainable development.

Financing of sustainable development remained an area of concern, according to the Commission. Countries expressed their disappointment at the decline of official development assistance (ODA) and stressed the need for new and additional financial resources to implement "Agenda 21".

Commission Chairman Henrique Brandao Cavalcanti of Brazil, former Minister of the Environment and the Amazon, said the four pillars of sustainability - social, economic, environmental and institutional - required a positive approach and an ethical attitude on the part of every nation in its decisionmaking process. Some requirements for success included: citizen's participation; competitiveness in the private sector; responsible stewardship of the biosphere and its resources; and the existence of legitimate political representation and managerial and professional competence.

Nitan Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, said sustainable development must be interpreted in the broadest view of the development dimension. "The central issue is to meet human needs and aspirations while protecting common interests", he said.

A High-level Segment of the Commission was held on 27 April, attended by some 50 Ministers and Secretaries of State, with responsibility for the environment, forestry, transportation, tourism, agriculture, labour, urban planning and development cooperation. Participants felt that the diversity of initiatives taken worldwide to sustain the planet indicated the Commission's growing influence.

They also saw a need to analyze the impact of environmentally-related trade policies on trade, such as eco-labelling, packaging and recycling, with developing countries. In particular, an integrated approach to planning and management of land resources was presented as a cornerstone of efforts to address environmental concerns.