Working Group Meeting Report

AIDE-MÉMOIRE
24th Montréal Process Working Group
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
August 18 -22, 2014

The Montréal Process Working Group on Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests held its 24th meeting in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, August 18-22, 2014. The Montréal Process includes Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Russian Federation, United States of America, and Uruguay, which together represent 50% of the world's forests and 90% of the world’s temperate and boreal forests.

NOTE: Most annexes for this report are not yet available. They will be posted to this web page as they are processed and completed.

Participation

The meeting included 43 participants: experts and scientists from Russia and 6 Montréal Process member countries. The meeting was greatly enhanced by the participation and contribution of the experts and scientists of the Siberian Federal District and Krasnoyarsk Krai governments. A list of participants is attached as Annex A.

Leadership Transition

At an informal meeting prior to the opening, the members endorsed Maria PALENOVA, Head of the International Support Sector, Russian Research Institute for Silviculture and Mechanization of Forestry, Russian Federation, as incoming WG chair. Working Group Members present expressed their sincere gratitude to the Chair of the 23rd Montréal Process Working Group, Andrew WILSON, Director of National Forest Policy, Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, for his leadership and efforts since the 23rd Working Group meeting.

Agenda

At the informal meeting, the Chair introduced the draft agenda to the participants, and it was agreed by the members present. The Chair requested representatives from member countries volunteer to serve on the Aide Mémoire Drafting Committee. The committee established comprised members from, Argentina, Chile, and Japan, plus the Convenor of the Technical Advisory Committee.

Opening Welcome

The meeting participants were first welcomed by Alexander GURA, Head of the Forestry Department in the Siberian Federal District, Russian Federation, who emphasized the importance of the MP C&I and future challenges to achieve SFM, followed by the welcoming remarks by Vladimir TERENTYEV, Vice Minister, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment the Krasnoyarsk Krai.

Montréal Process Member Country Overviews, and Recent Experiences in Russia and China

Recent trends in the development of criteria and indicators (C&I) globally for forestry and other land uses

Tim PAYN, TAC Convenor, Scion, New Zealand, briefed the meeting on the history of and roles played by the MP and its C&I. He emphasized the solid foundations of the MP C&I with only minor changes required in the recent revisions, the importance of communication mechanisms tailored to different audiences, and the potential to use the C&I to explore the impacts of various pressures such as the demands of economic growth or climate change on the future state of forests. He also noted the recent developments of C&I in other areas such as bioenergy and oceans.

Montréal Process in the context of international negotiation process on forests

Ichiro NAGAME, Japan, briefed the meeting on the Montréal Process in the context of the international negotiations process, especially of the UNFF. He reported on the matter by reporting the action taken related to the Action Item 5 and 7 of the 23rd MP WG meeting. Concerning Item 5, the Sub Group that was set up at WG23 concluded not to respond to the UNFF as a group as the questionnaire given by them was meant to be filled by individual countries. Recently the Liaison Officer (LO) received another request from UNFF that is to be discussed in current WG meeting. Concerning item 7, NAGAME discussed the idea of a C&I partnership in the AHEG meeting in February 2014, and received a positive response from the participants.

Forest related indicators for Sustainable Development Goals/Indicators for the forest sector in a green economy

The Working Group welcomed the presentation from Roman MICHALAK, Forestry Officer - Forest Resources Assessment, Forestry and Timber Section, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Food and Agriculture Organization, on forest related targets and indicators for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and indicators for monitoring contribution of the forest sector in a green economy.

Russian Experiences

Application of Russian indicators to assess the effectiveness of forest management in the Russian Federation

The Working Group welcomed the presentation from Andrey FILIPCHUK, Deputy Chair of the Bureau European Forestry Commission FAO, Deputy Director, Russian Research Institute for Silviculture and Mechanization of Forestry, on the application of Criteria and Indicators to assess the effectiveness of forest management in the Russian Federation.

Adaptive forestry as a way to transition to sustainable forest management in Russia

The Working Group welcomed the presentation from AnatolySHVIDENKO, Senior Research Scientist, Ecosystems Services and Management Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), on expected responses and feedbacks of boreal forests to global change and urgent needs for implementing adaptive forestry and forest management as an obligatory prerequisite of transition to sustainable forest management in high latitudes.

Regional features of hydrological functions of the boreal forests

The Working Group welcomed the presentation from Alexander ONUCHIN, Director, Institute of Forest SB RAS, on the regional feature of hydrological functions of the Boreal Forests in Russia. He spoke about the formation of the concept of landscape deterministic hydrological role of forests.

Ecological basis of fire management in Siberia

The Working Group welcomed the presentation from Sergey VERKHOVETS, Vice-Rector for Research and International Cooperation, Siberian Federal University, tells that although the tree-component of boreal and high elevation forest ecosystems does hardly deserve the attribute “diverse” from a species point of view, its functional diversity – the diversity of species’ traits - may still be regarded as high. This shall be illustrated by an extreme example: 95 % of the vast Eurasian boreal forest covering an area of about 500 million ha is dominated by just nine forest-forming tree species belonging to only six genera: Abies sibirica, Picea obovata, Pinus sibirica, Pinus sylvestris, Larix sibirica, Larix gmelinii, Betula pubescens, Betula pendula and Populus tremula. However, this small assembly of species hosts representatives of four of five distinct plant functional types with respect to fire adaptation in trees (‘fire PFTs’: namely resisters, avoiders, invaders and endurers). Embracer does not occur in Siberia. This functional diversity gives rise to a high diversity of fire regimes ranging from superficial non-lethal surface fires to devastating crown fires. The very nature of the prevailing fire regime characterised by the frequency and intensity of fires, obviously, has serious implications for biogeochemical cycling in general and carbon cycling in particular.

Organization of forest management in modern conditions

The Working Group welcomed the presentation from Vladimir SOKOLOV, Head of laboratory of forest inventory, Institute of Forest by V. N. Sukachev SB RAS. The presentation outlined that intensification of forestry in Siberia must be accompanied by the development of the timber industry based on wood processing and the use of its low marketable products that is produced including from thinning. Very important is the change of the legal framework in the direction of stimulation of forest users to conducting sustainable forest management on an ecosystem basis.

The 10th anniversary of St. Petersburg Conference FLEG: results and prospects

The Working Group welcomed the presentation from Evgeny KUZMICHEV and Marina SMETANINA (World Bank, FLEG-2 Program in Russia). The presentation focused on governance issues related to forest fires, forest health, forest use and reforestation FLEG-2 program activities in support to governmental efforts on implementation of the Europe and North Asia Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (ENA FLEG) ministerial declaration and action plan stemming interlayer and grounding on recommendations and guidelines of the Montréal Process. The FLEG-2 program in Russia collaborates with 6 pilot regions (Arkhangelsk, Moscow and Voronezh oblasts, Krasnoyarsk, Khabarovsk and Primorskiy krays) and federal line agencies. They noted synergies in implementation of the both – Montréal and FLEG processes in terms of customization of applicable criteria and indicators at regional level and potential mutual cooperation in governance assessment and Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) related areas.

Improved tools for implementing forest policy: the methodology of program development for the forest sector, as a basis for forest management

The Working Group welcomed the presentation from Andrey ZAKHARENKOV (World Bank, FLEG-2 Program in Russia). The presentation focused on result of analysis of the official document of strategic planning in the forest sector of Russia on federal and regional levels (6 pilot regions). This analysis was targeted on findings the gaps in the government planning system and developing the recommendations related with its improvement including using relevant criteria and indicators of Montréal Process. In the Working Group discussion context it was proposed to potential join experts efforts to adapt indicators aimed at their implementation in the process of strategic planning on the regional level. In addition it was proposed to collaborate with the Working Group in developing educational modules or materials for decision makers and interested stakeholders in the forest sector (Russian case).

Protection of Forests: law enforcement and governance

The Working Group welcomed the presentation from Michael YAGUNOV (World Bank, FLEG-2 Program in Russia). The conducted analysis of the legislation and enforcement in the field of forest health in Russia shows the need in its improvement in particular in the area of transparency of forest health activities and in-time reliable data share between stakeholders. This task is in compliance with the MP Criterion 3, which could be adapted for monitoring of the forest health progress in Russia.

China’s experiences

The recent progress on SFM in China

The Working Group welcomed the presentation from Songdan ZHANG, Deputy Director General, Senior Forester, Office of Forest Resources Supervision, The State Forestry Administration, Head of the Chinese delegation, briefed the meeting on the SFM status of China. He presented the current status of the SFM, recent breakthroughs on the SFM, and Chinese characteristics in terms of implementing the SFM.

SFM evaluation at forest management unit level in China

The Working Group welcomed the presentation from Jingpin LEI, Associate Professor, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, on the current application of the MP C & I on the evaluation of SFM at the management unit level.

Pilot application of MP forest fragmentation in China

The Working Group welcomed the presentation from Chaozong XIA, Deputy Director, Senior Engineer, Academy of Forest Inventory and Planning, State Forestry Administration. He presented the result of recent research in China concerning the pilot application of a newly developed tool to analyze forest fragmentation.

Field trip along the Yenisey-river, motor ship “Kupriyan”

Round table "The boreal forest in the context of international negotiation process on forests: climate change, methane emissions and challenges facing boreal forests"

The round table focused on the role and issues related to boreal forest in the international forestry related processes.

Presentations:

• Andrei LALETIN: History of Krasnoyarsk
• Anatoly SHVIDENKO: The boreal forest & climate change
• Vladimir GAVRIKOV: How much carbon the Siberian boreal taiga can preserve: a case study of partitioning among the above-ground and soil pools.
• Sergey VERKHOVETS: International Observatory "station altitude mast ZOTTO”
• Satoru MIURA: Developing a New Method to Monitor Protective Functions of Forests – Need for Attention to Forest Floor

Adaptation and mitigation in the forest sector should be a part of a wide strategy which would involve society and all relevant sectors of national economy in common political and institutional frameworks. Any successful adaptation process requires creating strong and coherent institutional base, capacity building, the identification and establishment of financial resources, and introduction of priority adaptation projects. Adaptation and anticipatory strategy of mitigation should be a continuous process including actions aiming at reducing system’s vulnerability and/or improving adaptive capacity. Ecosystems (particularly, forests) should be adapted not only to trends in climate change but to increase weather variability and extremes like droughts, heat waves etc. Transition to adaptive forest management requires inter alia substantial changes of philosophy of interaction of humanity and forest, principal improvements of information background, new methodology of planning of forest management activities and new forest economics.

Round table "How do we link the knowledge and legislation? - The problem of interaction between forestry science and forest law enforcement and governance in the countries of the Montréal Process"

Presentation:

• Alexander ONUCHIN: Perspective Research of the Institute of Forest by V. N. Sukachev SB RAS

The round table was focused on the way to link the knowledge and research results to problems of governance and legislative backgrounds in the forest sector. Priority issues of professional education, involvement of public, needs of better understanding the buffering capacity and thresholds of forest ecosystems in a changing world were discussed in detail.

Implementation of C&I

Presentations were made by Working Group members, Russian Agencies and Observers (World Bank Moscow FLEG project, UNECE-Geneva, Siberian Federal University, Institute of Forest by V.N.Sukachev SB RAS related to implementation of C&I). Presentations covered:

• implementation of Criteria & Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management 6 pilot regions of the Russian federation (Arkhangelsk, Moscow and Voronezh oblasts, Krasnoyarsk, Khabarovsk and Primorskiy krays)
• results of the European Forest Institute projects on implementation of Criteria & Indicators for SFM the 46 signatory states of the FOREST EUROPE process and.
• information about a UNECE/FAO pilot project on the assessment of SFM in Europe, with the use on the pan-European set of indicators.

Survey methodology and recommendations for indicators criterion soil-forest: forest floor survey methodology and its findings

The Working Group welcomed the presentation from Masahiko KANAMORI, Japan. Members actively discussed the technical content of the presentation. The meeting recognized that further report with additional detailed analysis will be benefits for all members to consider the proposed methodology in trial.

Report against Action Items from 23rd Montréal Process Working Group Meeting

The Liaison Officer (LO) reported to the meeting the status of the actions related to 24 action items from the 23rd Working Group meeting (WG23).
Actions to be taken to follow up the Action Items are as follows.

Action Item 1 of WG23

FRA 2015, North American Regional Analytical Work: Action Item 1 of WG23 refers to the update of the North American Regional Analytical Work to the FAO FRA 2015. The Report is not yet available.

Action Item 2-4 of WG23

LO provided the meeting the list of authors to the special edition, and reported that the MP countries are well represented. In terms of the overview report, the meeting requested the TAC to develop the main topics for the possible next overview report, and report back to the 25th session of the MP WG.

Action Item 5 of WG23

The new UNFF questionnaire to be discussed in the current meeting.

Action Item 7 of WG23

Ichiro NAGAME, Japan, briefed the meeting of the positive discussion he had on the forest indicator partnership at the occasion of recent AHEG meeting. He volunteered to represent the MP, if relevant, in the coming preparatory meetings for UNFF11.

Action Item 10 of WG23

Ichiro NAGAME, Japan, informed the meeting of the possibility for an MP presentation at the World Forestry Congress within the 90 minutes available for FRA.

Action Item 11 of WG23

This is the continuous action by the members.

Action Item 12 of WG23

The website was restructured as recommended. The WG recognized the efforts made by Peter GAULKE, United States, for reconstructing the web site and express its sincere gratitude to him for his dedicated work.

Action Item 13 of WG23

The preparation for the MP Booth at the occasion of IUFRO Conference in October 2014 is on progress, led by the United States. The Working Group expressed its gratitude to the United States for its kind support.

TAC Convenor’s report

The Working Group welcomed the report by Tim PAYN, TAC Convenor, on work carried out by the TAC since the 23rd Working Group meeting . The WG discussed the report and accepted its recommendations. It identified the following actions arising from the report.

The Working Group recognized the excellent work of the Technical Advisory Committee Convenor, Tim PAYN and expressed thanks to New Zealand for their support of the Technical Advisory Committee Convenor. It also thanked Japan for its kind offer of support for the 15th TAC meeting to be held in Tokyo from January 27th -30th 2015.

Collaboration and Linkages

Recent Developments

Countries shared their progress and achievements since the 23rd Working Group meeting related to application of Criteria and Indicators and implementing Sustainable Forest Management.

Japan highlighted its Trust Fund Project to FAO in relation to soil and water where Mexico is participating, the open seminar related to valuation of forest ecosystem services in Kyoto in 2013, and its willingness to host the next TAC meeting in January 2015 in Japan focusing on the next overview report.

China outlined its latest progress of SFM and experiences of C&I application by highlighting:

• Completion and distribution of the First National Report on SFM, using the complete C&I of Montréal Process ;
• Pilot Research on C&I, especially on evaluation of C&I at the forest management unit level, and forest fragmentation assessment;
• Release of 8th NFI result and launch 9th NFI; and
• Continuous efforts and measures to promote SFM.

The opportunity to share and learn from other countries’ experiences was recognized as a major benefit of meeting together and the Working Group members agreed to continue sharing experiences as a standing agenda item for future Working Group meetings.

World Bank Moscow

The meeting again recognized the common interests between work being carried out by the Working Group and by the World Bank FLEG2 team in Russia and welcomed the opportunity to strengthen these links through joint activities. The MPWG was proposed to make a presentation at the 10th anniversary FLEG side event of the “Forest and Man” International Forum to be held late October 2014 in Moscow to further build relationships in C&I. The World Bank activities under FLEG-2 program in Russia have a strong educational component and an area of future joint capacity building.

Montréal Process participation at international events

The Liaison Officer briefly introduced the topic of international activities that the MP may wish to participate in. Status of MP preparation activities for those initiatives are discussed as below.

2015 Global Forest Resource Assessment

The Working Group welcomed the report from Ichiro NAGAME, Japan, as attached , and then received items to be responded to by the end of December 2014, including the request for voluntary fund contributions to FAO’s publications. The WG also confirmed the MP’s presentation as a CFRQ partner in the GFRA session to be organised by Ken MacDicken (FAO) at the World Forestry Congress in September 2015, and that the 2-4 pages Montréal Process Overview report will be the one presented there.

2014 IUFRO World Congress

One booth spot is reserved for the MP and preparation of booth content is in progress. It is planned to produce a one page leaflet, including information on MP related publications and documents links. The draft has now been circulated by the USA.

The 11th session of the United Nations Forum on Forests

The Working Group welcomed the report from Ichiro NAGAME, Japan and the background paper from Australia and noted that a second request was received from the UNFF secretariat recently for input from regional organizations including the MP to the questionnaire on the International Arrangement on Forests (IAF). The meeting confirmed that the second request from the UNFF Secretariat should be considered for a positive and constructive response. The Working Group developed a draft response to the questionnaire using the facts in past Aide-Memoires since 2007.

2015 World Forestry Congress

The meeting was informed by the paper from Australia on the WFC and discussed prospective activities that the MP might be involved in at this congress. The paper noted that the theme is ‘Forests and people: Investing in a sustainable future’. It also noted that the Chair will inform working group members when the congress calls for abstracts of papers are announced and will seek views on appropriate Montréal Process participation at the congress. The meeting agreed that the 2-4 page overview report will be presented at the Congress.

New Declaration of the Montréal Process

The Working Group welcomed the discussion by Chair Maria PALENOVA on the possible development of a new declaration by the Montréal Process. It recognized that it was 11 years since the Quebec declaration with many changes in that time. It also recognized the major changes in the international forestry environment expected in 2015, and the opportunity to launch a new declaration at the WFC 2015. A sub group (Japan, United States, Canada, China, New Zealand), led by Russia was established at the 23rd WG meeting to develop the scope, process for development, and draft of a new declaration to be launched at the WFC Durban in 2015 for discussion at the 24th Working Group meeting. The meeting encouraged the sub group to continue with developments ahead of the 25th WG meeting.

The 2015-2025 Montréal Process Strategic Action Plan

The WG discussed the matter, and decided that given expected major changes in the international forestry environment in 2015 to develop a draft for the new MP Strategic Action Plan and discuss at the WG25 to better reflect new international developments.

The Montréal Process value proposition

The meeting discussed the draft Montréal Process Value Proposition drafted by the subgroup lead by Canada. Meeting expressed its gratitude to the excellent worked done by Joanne FRAPPIER, Canada, and other sub-group members. The Working Group summarized its comments at the meeting to assist the sub-group in its work which the Working Group recommended be further discussed at the 25th Meeting. The working group felt that it is critical to identify the key audience (e.g. 1. national government authorities, 2.national and local stakeholders) and frame the proposition around specific benefits to them, and then target the style of the value proposition to suit. It also noted that the value proposition could make a strong contribution to the proposed new declaration.

Communication and communication strategy

The Working Group particularly recognized the efforts of Peter GAULKE (TAC member USA) in support of the redesign and implementation of the website and for leading the work in support of MP involvement in the booth at the 2014 IUFRO World Congress. As he will be transferring to a new role in US forestry shortly the Working Group also noted its appreciation of his input to the TAC in recent years and wished him all success in his future activities.

Future Actions

Review of the 2013-2015 implementation schedule

The Working Group welcomed the presentation from the Liaison Officer, Masahiko HORI, Japan, concerning the revised 2013-15 Montréal Process Implementation Schedule and approved the updates and additions required .

25th Working Group meeting

Two offers to host the 25th Working Group meeting were received by the meeting, from China and from Chile, and one to host the 26th meeting from New Zealand. The WG agreed that the Chair and LO will canvas all members on the two offers considering timing, location, and meeting focus and will make a decision by mid-September.

Technical Advisory Committee Convenor for 2014 to 2017

The term of the current Convenor ended at this meeting. The Working Group thanked Tim PAYN for his efforts over the past period and sought nominations for the role for the next triennium. 1 nomination was received for the role of TAC Convenor and after discussion the Working Group confirmed Tim PAYN in the role and thanked New Zealand for its continuing support of the role (subject to confirmation by absent members). Given the large changes likely in the international forestry environment in 2015 under the new IAF the incoming Convenor requested that this discussion be revisited at the 25th WG meeting.

The meeting also welcomed the offer of Japan to host the next TAC meeting in Tokyo, January 27th to 30th 2015.

Expression of Thanks

The meeting expressed its deep appreciation to the Chair of the Working Group Meeting, Maria PALENOVA, Deputy director FBU VNIIL Andrey FILIPCHUK and their colleagues from the All-Russian Research Institute for Silviculture and Mechanization of Forestry and the Federal Forestry Agency, Government of the Krasnoyarskii Krai, and people of Krasnoyarsk for their hospitality in co-hosting the 24th meeting of the Montréal Process Working Group. Special thanks for the excellent field trip to the National Wildlife Nature Reserve “Krasnoyarsk Stolby”. It also expressed its appreciation to Tim PAYN, TAC Convenor, for his kind support to the Chair.