How to include meaningful governance issues in a post-2015 international arrangement on forests was the subject of a recent high-level workshop from 3 to 6 February 2015 in Interlaken, Switzerland.
The Interlaken +10 workshop, titled: Governing forest landscapes: lessons learnt from ten years of experience and the way forward post-2015 was part of a continuing series of workshops held since 2004 to support the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) in connecting countries undergoing decentralization and governance reform.
During a thematic session on Forest Landscape Governance and Green Economy, Meine van Noordwijk, Chief Scientist with the World Agroforestry highlighted how forests are part of the landscape, meaning that governance issues pertain to the landscape as the broader entity. He stressed that forests should be perceived as a means of implementing the SDGs not as a goal in themselves.
The workshop attracted around 140 participants, including policymakers working at the national and local government level, and representatives of international organizations, local communities, civil society and the private sector. It was organized jointly by Switzerland with Indonesia, South Africa, Mexico and Ukraine.
A set of recommendations on how to foster good governance of forest landscapes was developed during the workshop and will be submitted for consideration at the 11th session of the UNFF in May 2015 in New York.
Read a Summary of Interlaken +10 on the website of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).
