[ To respond to Friends of the Earth Tropical Rainforest Project, use
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For Immediate Release
UN Agency Stalls Aid Plan to Save Rainforests
Is This the End of the Tropical Forestry Action Plan?
Governments of a few tropical forest countries, including Malaysia, are
using the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)[1] to block
effective progress in checking tropical deforestation. In an open
letter to the co-sponsors [2] of the Tropical Forestry Action Plan
(TFAP)[3], non-governmental organisations (NGOs) today called on the
FAO to allow the proposed reforms to be implemented by those parties
truly committed to halting the loss of the tropical rainforests.
Calls for reforms to the much criticised TFAP have come from many
quarters, including the Houston G7 Summit. However, agreement to
implement changes has been stymied by the November meeting of the FAO
Council which voted to resist reforms proposed by a comprehensive
year-long TFAP "revamping" process [4].
The only option for salvaging the TFAP offered by the Council was a
further meeting. However, it was specifically mentioned that such a
meeting would have no authority.
Tony Juniper, Rainforest Campaigner for Friends of the Earth said:
"Since the FAO appears only to be interested in indulging in
meaningless public relations exercises, there is no obvious way forward
for the TFAP. A possible outcome of this FAO Council meeting could be
the end of the plan."
The FAO's "lowest common demoninator" approach to decision making means
that a single country can block reforms - even though participation in
the TFAP is voluntary.
Chee Yoke Ling of Sahabat Alam Malaysia observed that: "Certain
governments' lack of democracy should not hold up the badly needed
reforms to the TFAP".
As a consequence of the FAO's inability to take decisive action in
implementing the proposed reforms, NGOs [5] are calling on the donors
to "go-it-alone" in setting up a revised aid mechanism to save the
rainforests.
Jim Barnes of Friends of the Earth USA said: "NGOs have been
exceedingly patient. During the last seven years millions of hectares
of tropical forest have been wrecked while the emperor of the TFAP, the
FAO, has talked about the forest crisis. Enough is enough, if the FAO
won't take on the reforms, then someone else should."
For more information, please contact:
Tony Juniper, Senior Rainforest Campaigner, Friends of the Earth.
Direct line: (071) 490 0336 Switchboard: (071) 490 1555
Notes for editors:
[1] The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation determines policy
through its Council and Conference. It is a relatively democratic
organisation with each party nation possessing equal voting rights. In
other organisations, like the World Bank, voting is weighted on the
basis of size of contribution. For this reason, countries like the US
and Japan have much more power. At the recent FAO meeting, certain
developing countries managed to lead a "revolt" against the proposed
reforms.
[2] The TFAP was set up in 1985 under the co-sponsorship of four
international organisations; the World Bank, the World Resources
Institute, the United Nations Development Programme and the Food and
Agriculture Organisation. The FAO maintains the TFAP coordinating unit
in its Rome offices with financial support from the donor organisations
that fund the plan.
[3] The TFAP is currently the only globally coordinated mechanism with
the aim of tackling tropical deforestation. The Plan's main objective
is to direct aid money into the forest sector in tropical countries in
a coordinated way and on the basis of clearly defined priorities. Over
80 tropical forest countries have now agreed to join the plan and
several billion aid dollars have been committed to its implementation.
[4] The reforms to the TFAP mechanism put forward as a result of the
revamping process related to a number of fundamental aspects of the
plan. These included its very aim and objectives with a greater
emphasis on conservation and people's participation. It was also
thought necessary to put greater emphasis on the needs and aspirations
of the tropical countries and to seek a TFAP process driven by their
agenda (rather than the donors). Perhaps most important of all was a
proposal for the establishment of a new "Consultative Group" that would
facilitate greater quality control and allow greater input from
people's and environmental organisations in a way that would permit
greater quality control. It is clear that all of these reforms would
have placed great pressure on the FAO to improve its handling of TFAP.
[5] NGOs which have already signed the open letter include: World
Rainforest Movement; Friends of the Earth International; Greenpeace
International; Sahabat Alam Malaysia; Asia Pacific Peoples Environment
Network; Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Regenwald und Artenschutz; BOTHENDS;
Environmental Defense Fund; Global Commons Institute; ECOROPA; Probe
International; The Ecologist; Pro-Regenwald.