Adopted 10 December 2004, 16:30

Announcement on Strengthening the Asia Forest Partnership (AFP)

Representatives of the Partners ^[1]:

RECALLING the launching of the Asia Forest Partnership (hereinafter referred to as the AFP) at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), Johannesburg, August 2002, and the results of AFP meetings thereafter;

CONSIDERING that forest resources in the Asian region play a vital role in sustainable development in the region, and bearing in mind the three inseparable pillars of sustainable development: enhancement of economic and social conditions, and maintaining environmental values;

RECOGNISING that forests of the Asian region are facing serious threats to their sustainability and survival;

REITERATING the Partners’ commitment through the Partnership, collectively and individually, to promote actions towards Sustainable Forest Management in the region as an effort that contributes to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and United Nations Forum on Forests’ objectives;

RECALLING the spirit declared in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation concerning different countries’ roles and responsibilities in maintaining the sustainability of forest resources in the region;

REAFFIRMING the Partners’ awareness of the dynamics of the Partnership and the recognizing the need for Partners’ roles to be developed according to an agreed structure and mechanism.

Hereby agree to strengthen AFP according to the following structure and mechanism:

I. VISION AND OBJECTIVES

As a Type II partnership launched during WSSD, AFP serves to enhance and promote coordination, cooperation and dialogue with the following vision and objectives:

1. Promotion and implementation of sustainable forest management in Asia through voluntary collaboration of governments, inter-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, the private sector as well as donor partners, based on mutual respect, shared responsibility and a transparent process open to all who support the vision and objectives of the Partnership and share its values.
2. Promotion of sustainable forest management by focusing primarily on:
1. combating illegal logging and its associated trade
2. managing forest fire
3. rehabilitation and reforestation of degraded forests and lands;

through information sharing, dialogue and joint actions to build capacity for effective forest management, better forest law enforcement and good governance, in a way that ensures synergies between AFP and other relevant initiatives in the region.

II. PARTNERS

3. All interested parties who support the vision and objectives of the AFP, including Governments, inter-governmental organizations, international organizations, private sector, civil society organizations and academic institutions, are eligible to join the Partnership.
4. Any interested party may become a partner by expressing interest and providing relevant information about itself in writing to the Secretariat at any time. The Secretariat will notify all partners regarding each new partner at the AFP meeting following that partner’s application.
5. A partner may withdraw from the Partnership any time by giving written notice to the Secretariat. The Secretariat will notify all partners about the withdrawal of each partner.

III. PARTNER’S CONTRIBUTION

6. Partners agree to participate actively in and contribute to the activities of the Partnership which, among other actions, includes the defining, developing and contributing to implementation of AFP work plans.
7. Partners agree to provide information about relevant activities in which they are involved, whether or not these activities are specific AFP actions.
8. Partners agree to nominate focal points, who will facilitate communication and exchange of information from their organization to the Partnership and distribute relevant information from the Partnership within their organization.
9. Partners may propose new AFP activities at any time by submitting work plans in the prescribed format to the Secretariat. Partners who propose a work plan, together with other interested and willing partners, are expected to communicate actively with other partners to refine the work plan and make it operational, including identification of financing. Other partners are encouraged to collaborate in development and implementation of work plans.
10. Partners are encouraged to assist in resource mobilization for AFP’s activities considering the whole spectrum of funding sources including public (ODA and non-ODA) and private, both from within and outside of AFP.

IV. ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS

11. The role of the leading AFP partners (i.e. the Governments of Japan and Indonesia, Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC)) is to help facilitate and coordinate AFP activities and process.
12. The role of the Secretariat as referred to in previous paragraphs will continue to be served by CIFOR as the AFP Information-sharing Secretariat. The AFP Information-sharing Secretariat will promote information-sharing within the Partnership and between the Partnership and other interested parties until 2007, unless partners decide otherwise as a result of the work referred to in paragraphs 16–18 of this Announcement. The AFP Information-sharing Secretariat should be supported by partners, technically and financially in this work.
13. Partners will meet once a year, or more if necessary, hosted by one (or more) partners, and supported as needed by the Secretariat.
14. Each meeting will discuss, review, develop, and adopt plans that may be proposed by a partner or a group of partners. All work plans should contribute to the objectives of the Partnership.

V. DURATION, EXTENSION AND TERMINATION

15. The duration of AFP’s first phase will be 5 years, i.e. from 2002 to 2007. Partners may decide to extend or terminate the Partnership before the end of the first phase.

Partners also agree:

16. To establish an ad-hoc working group which, taking into account AFP’s vision and objectives, its structure and operating mechanism as described in this Announcement, will study and explore: (1) the need for creating standardized procedures for AFP work, including decision making procedures; and (2) the need for and feasibility of establishing a secretariat, including any financial implications, which will have the capacity to conduct, among others:
• Meeting preparations
• Work plan preparations
• Monitoring progress of implementation
• Fund raising and financial management
• Information-sharing
17. The ad-hoc working group will comprise of representatives of AFP’s partners namely: Governments of Indonesia, Japan and Philippines, CIFOR and TNC^[2]
18. The ad-hoc working group will submit its report and recommendations to AFP partners through the AFP Information-sharing Secretariat not later than July 2005 for consideration and adoption by the 5th AFP Meeting in 2005.

Done in Tokyo, 10 December 2004

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 The list of the partners, as of the time of the adoption of this Announcement, is attached in APPENDIX 1.

Some additional partners may join later as they reserved their decision at the time of the adoption of this Announcement.

Appendix 1

Partners of the Asia Forest Partnership

Civil Society

• The Nature Conservancy / TNC (leading partners)
• World Resources Institute (WRI)
• The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)
• Global Environmental Forum (GEF)
• Tropenbos International Indonesia Program
• WWF Indonesia
  
  Government
• Australia
• Cambodia
• China
• European Commission
• Finland
• France
• Indonesia (leading partner)
• Japan (leading partner)
• Republic of Korea
• Malaysia
• The Netherlands
• Philippines
• Switzerland
• Thailand
• United Kingdom
• United States of America
• Vietnam

Intergovernmental Organisation

• Asian Productivity Organisation (APO)
• Asian Development Bank (ADB)
• Center for International Forestry Research / CIFOR (leading partner)
• Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)
• International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO)
• Secretariat of the United Nations Forum on Forest (UNFF)
• United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
• United Nations University (UNU)

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