History Of Dialogue Related To

history of Dialogue Related to

U.S. Government Commitment to Sustainable Forest / Resource Management

(Updated October 2002 by Ruth McWilliams of the USDA-Forest Service)

1968 International Conference for Rational Use and Conservation of the Biosphere (Paris, France)

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) held pioneering event for discussing ecologically sustainable development.

1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm, Sweden; known as Stockholm Conference)

Addressed economic and environmental issues.

Led to United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)вЂ"mission is “to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.”

1983 World Commission on Environment and Development (known as Brundtland Commission)

Prime Minister of Norway (Gro Harlem Brundtland) asked by Secretary General of United Nations to lead a special commission.

Addressed how the world community could:

• Develop a long-term environmental strategy for achieving sustainable development by the year 2000 and beyond.

• Define a shared perception of long-term environmental issues and appropriate efforts to deal with them effectively.

1984 International Conference on Environment and Economics (OECD)

Concluded that environment and economics should be mutually reinforcing. Helped shape Our Common Future (see below).

1987 Our Common Future (also known as Brundtland Report)

Published report of the World Commission on Environment and Development popularized term �sustainable development.’

Defined вЂ?sustainable development’ as “…development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; known as Earth Summit)

Established �sustainable development’ as a common goal of human development for the 160 or so countries that attended the meeting.

Recognized sustainable management of forests as key component to sustainable development.

Set out Agenda 21 as a blueprint for action in the 21st century; includes non-binding Statement of Forest Principles that provides guidelines for sustainable forest management.

1993 United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)

CSD established to help countries implement Agenda 21 in follow-up to Earth Summit.

International Seminar of Experts on Sustainable Development of Boreal and Temperate Forests (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

Resulted in initiative to develop and implement internationally agreed criteria and indicators for the conservation and sustainable management of temperate and boreal forests.

Second Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (Helsinki, Finland)

USDA-Forest Service, representing U.S. as observer country, stated belief that all countries, not just members of the International Tropical Timber Organization, should adopt the goal of sustainable forest management by the year 2000.

Presidential Decision Directive / NSC-16 (United States)

Stated that U.S. committed “…to a national goal of achieving sustainable management of U.S. forests by the year 2000.”

Interagency Ecosystem Management Task Force (United States)

Established in August 1993 to further President’s National Performance Review calling for agencies of the federal government to adopt “a proactive approach to ensuring a sustainable economy and a sustainable environment through ecosystem management.”

Released report in June 1995 titled The Ecosystem Approach: Healthy Ecosystems and Sustainable Economies that presented findings and recommendations.

1994 United States GAO Report on Ecosystem Management (United States)

United States General Accounting Office (GAO) examined Administration’s federal management and natural resources framework for Congressional requestors, resulting in report dated April 29, 1994, titled Ecosystem Management: Additional Actions Needed to Adequately Test a Promising Approach.

Barriers identified as: (1) problems with data, (2) problems with interagency coordination, and (3) insufficient collaboration with non-federal parties.

Working Group on Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests (Geneva, Switzerland)

Ten countries establish “Montreal Process” and hold first meeting in September 1994: Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, and United States.

International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, Egypt)

Conference gave high profile to view that extreme poverty and a short of essential environmental resources can exacerbate ethnic and political divisions.

1995 Santiago Declaration (Santiago, Chile)

Original ten Montreal Process countries (listed above) endorsed on February 3, 1995, a statement of political commitment together with a comprehensive set of seven criteria and sixty-seven indicators for the conservation and sustainable management of temperate and boreal forests.

Now includes twelve countries on five continents comprising 60 percent of the world’s forests, 90 percent of the world’s temperate and boreal forests, and 35 percent of the world’s population: original ten (listed above) plus Argentina