The second AFP EWG meeting was held recently in Nusa Dua Bali, Indonesia on 16-17 February 2007, back-to-back with the Country-Led Initiative in support of the United Nations Forum on Forests (CLI-UNFF Meeting) and was organized by the AFP Secretariat. This meeting was a follow-up of the Hayama EWG meeting, which was held in Japan on 12-13 November, 2006. 

On the first day, the meeting was chaired by Bambang Murdiono of the Indonesia Ministry of Forestry. He opened the meeting by welcoming the participants and introduced the proposed agenda. Petrus Gunarso of the AFP Secretariat then gave a brief update from the Secretariat and of the EWG document. Most of the discussion focused on the frame of reference used in the evaluation and the early sections of the EWG document.  

Henry Scheyvens of IGES chaired the second day of the meeting. The discussion during the first session was on other issues of Secretariat matters, particularly the proposed Secretariat action plan for FY2007 and budget requirements. The second and final session of the meeting returned to the EWG report. The discussion focused on the “big issues” that must be considered in the EWG report, such as the AFP themes and the relationship of the AFP with other regional initiatives. The discussion ended with a review of the timeline to finalize the evaluation document, task allocation and preparation of discussion topics for AFP7. The participants agreed that a consultant should be hired to write the “evaluation section” of the report and the terms of reference were discussed.

Bambang Murdiono closed the meeting by thanking the participants on behalf of the Government of Indonesia for their valuable contribution. The outcome of the Bali meeting will be discussed during the Steering Committee (SC) interim meeting scheduled for June-July 2007.

Overall, the meeting was successful and commitment and dedication of the EWG members and other participants was high. The EWG members express special gratitude to the AFP Secretariat for their time and energy in preparing this event. EWG members are also grateful for the contribution of non-EWG members who came with constructive feedback for strengthening the document. The document will be compiled and distributed among EWG and SC members and the UNFF7 Meeting in April 2007 in New York will be used as an opportunity for further discussion by those EWG members attending UNFF7. The final EWG report will be presented at AFP7 in Yokohama in November 2007.

In 2007, the AFP is at a crucial juncture where questions are being asked of its continuation into a second phase. The Bali meeting was important for moving the EWG report forward towards providing a recommendation regarding the decision over AFP’s extension and options for a clear work plan.  
 

Participants

Participants included representatives of the governments of Indonesia, Japan, China and the United States, IGES, FAO, CIFOR, WWF,CAF, Tropenbos, UNFF, and TNC, an observer from DGIS and the AFP Secretariat. Bambang Murdiono and Henry Scheyvens chaired the meeting, and Charles Barber (US) and the AFP Secretariat served as rapporteurs.

The agenda covered the following items:

• Update from the AFP Secretariat
• Presentation on EWG 2 working document by the Secretariat Coordinator
• Identification of gaps and task distribution
• Discussions on working document
• Other issues: Secretariat Coordinator, Secretariat Work Plan in 2007, Exploring Resources for the WP
• Discussion on the next AFP Annual Meeting planned in November 2007 (date, venue, and funding)

Compiled by AFP Secretariat 22 February 2007