Objective and brief summary of the project:

The objective of the project is to strengthen the capacity of and cooperation among selected UNECE countries in implementing sustainable forest management. The project has two sub-components, one is related to sustainable forest management in the Caucasus, Central Asia and Eastern Europe, and another one is related to the UNECE countries with boreal forests. Specifically, subcomponent 1 is aimed at supporting countries of the Caucasus, Central Asia and Eastern Europe by providing them with the knowledge and tools to analyze their needs and develop their own national Forest Policy and Management Support Information Systems (FPMSIS). Subcomponent 2 is aimed at raising awareness on the importance of boreal forests among UNECE member States by improving data collection and strengthening the science-policy cooperation on boreal forests. The project will build on, complement and expand UNECE existing work in this area. It also builds on results of the recently concluded UNDA 10th Tranche project “Accountability Systems for Sustainable Forest Management in the Caucasus and Central Asia” (2016-2020), which strengthened national forest monitoring systems and facilitated the creation of a strong forestry expert network in the region. Further, it builds on policy and technical advice activities, including the support to the development of National Forest Strategies, action plans for its implementation and forest reporting systems. Finally, the project will complement activities of the recently established ECE/FAO Team of Specialists on Boreal Forests, which brings together experts from 8 boreal countries to promote science-policy dialogue and exchange of best practices.