The Forest Principles (also Rio Forest Principles, formally the Non-Legally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of All Types of Forests) is a 1992 document produced at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Conference on Environment and Development (the "

Earth Summit The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio de Janeiro Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92, Cúpula da Terra), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 ...

"). It is a non-

legally binding In law, liable means "responsible or answerable in law; legally obligated". Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law and can arise from various areas of law, such as contracts, torts, taxes, or fines given by government agenci ...

document that makes several recommendations for conservation and sustainable development

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

. At the Earth Summit, the negotiation of the document was complicated by demands by

developing nation A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreeme ...

s in the

Group of 77 The Group of 77 (G77) at the United Nations (UN) is a coalition of developing country, developing countries, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. T ...

for increased

foreign aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. The ...

in order to pay for the setting aside of forest reserves.

Developed nation A developed country, or advanced country, is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for eval ...

s resisted those demands, and the final document was a compromise.

Development

The FOREST EUROPE process ( Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe, MCPFE) was started by Strasbourg Conference in 1990 and the Forest Principles were adopted and incorporated into the agenda by Helsinki Conference in 1993. The process covers Pan-European region consisting of 47 signatories (46 European countries and the European Union) that partially overlaps with Montréal Process region (Russia is a signatory of both processes). As a result of lobbying by the developing country caucus (or

) in the

, the non-legally binding Forest Principles were established in 1992. These linked the problem of

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

third world debt The debt of developing countries usually refers to the external debt incurred by governments of developing countries. There have been several historical episodes of governments of developing countries borrowing in quantities beyond their abili ...

and inadequate

technology transfer Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform invent ...

and stated that the "agreed full incremental cost of achieving benefits associated with forest conservation...should be equitably shared by the international community" (para1(b)). Subsequently, the

argued in the 1995 ''Intergovernmental Panel on Forests'' (IPF) and then the 2001 ''Intergovernmental Forum on Forests'' (IFF), for affordable access to environmentally sound technologies without the stringency of

intellectual property rights Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

; while developed states there rejected demands for a forests fund. The expert group created under the

United Nations Forum on Forests The United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) is a high-level intergovernmental policy forum. The forum includes all United Nations member states and permanent observers, the UNFF Secretariat, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, Regional Org ...

(UNFF) reported in 2004, but in 2007 developed nations again vetoed language in the principles of the final text which might confirm their legal responsibility under international law to supply finance and environmentally sound technologies to the developing world.United Nations. Non-Legally Binding Instrument on All Types of Forests. United Nations 22 Oct. 2007. A/C.2/62/L.5. The Montréal Process, also known as the ''Working Group on Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests'', was started in 1994 as a result of the Forest Principles.

References

External links

Forest Principles text, A/CONF.151/26 (Vol. III) Annex IIIUnited Nations Forum of Forests
{{Forestry 1992 documents 1992 in the environment Environmental reports Sustainable forest management United Nations documents World forestry International environmental law Forest law

Development

See also

References

External links