On 12 December, 2013, during the European Forest Week in Rovaniemi (Finland), the ENPI FLEG Team (EC, WB, WWF, IUCN) will host a special parallel event to highlight the process of tackling forest governance challenges and supporting sustainable forest management practices through national and regional experiences.

EC funded ENPI East FLEG Program (“Improving Forest Law Enforcement and Governance in the European Neighborhood Policy East Countries and Russia”) is now under implementation in 7 ENPI countries and had gained national and regional experiences, lessons learnt and success stories to share from its Phase I.

This open event will consist of two parts: 1) an information session, and 2) a panel discussion to enable participants from the ENPI FLEG Program countries and invited guests to share their experiences and create opportunities for cooperation and collaboration with EU Member States, international organizations, private sector and civil society and to enrich the country and regional components of the ENPI EAST FLEG II Program.

The main focus of the FLEG II side event roundtable is to offer information on the implementation priorities of the 7 ENPI countries; on the Regional Program’s main goals and planned activities, while the panel discussion will be devoted to the question how to make progress implementing the 2005 St. Petersburg FLEG Ministerial Declaration in European countries and support countries commit to a time-bound action plan. We also aim to discuss a variety of forest governance issues at this panel and those related to developing green economy approaches within the participating countries.

The event was announced to bring together FLEG Focal Points Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation and, Mr. Alexander Panfilov, the Deputy Head of the Russian Federal Forestry Agency agreed to provide opening remarks.

The second European Forest Week will be held on 9-13 December 2013 in Rovaniemi. This event will be run parallel to “Metsä[1] 2013”, the joint session of the FAO Forestry Committee and the FAO European Forestry Commission. The main aim of the event is to increase the visibility of forests and the forest sector, and to raise awareness of their important contribution to the protection of the environment and the development of economy and society in Europe.

The FLEG II parallel event will take place on December 12, 2013 at 13.00-17.00, Room Riekko, Hotel Santa Claus.

Background:

The ENPI FLEG Program “Improving Forest Law Enforcement and Governance in the European Neighborhood Policy East Countries and Russia” is a major on-going intergovernmental process established to promote sustainable forest management and improved forest law enforcement (2013-2016). The Program aims to support improved forest governance arrangements through the effective implementation of the main priorities set out in the ENA FLEG Ministerial Declaration, through selected pilot activities and with the active involvement of governments, civil society and the private sector. The EC funded, ENPI FLEG II focuses on improving forest governance in seven countries that are included in the European Union’s European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) East Countries region: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation. The Program builds on and further develops initiatives and activities undertaken during implementation of the first EU funded FLEG Program (2008-2012).

For more details please visit the Program’s website: http://www.enpi-fleg.org/or contact Polina Kuleshova, pkuleshova@worldbank.com, tel: + 44 7848378619/ Vlada Nemova vnemova@worldbank.org, tel. +7 9150419834.