OREANDA-NEWS. May 20, 2015. Under the Latvian Presidency of the EU Council, the 11th session of the U.N. Forest Forum took place in New York. The participants worked on a joint resolution to facilitate further development of the Forest Forum by: strengthening and concluding the international agreements on forests until 2030; ensuring the development of a strategic plan and guidelines for further work; and improving involvement of stakeholders and non-governmental organisations in the forum's activities.

Draft Resolution for the International Arrangement on Forests Beyond 2015 will be forwarded to the United Nation Economic and Social Council for approval.

At the high-level meeting, the Ministerial Declaration was adopted. With this Declaration, ministers responsible for forestry confirm their commitment to reach a stronger and more effective international agreement on forests beyond 2015. It aims to facilitate the particularly significant role of forests in a sustainable development programme beyond 2015 by: improving the implementation of a sustainable forest management; deepening the dialogue in forestry; and encouraging cooperation among all the organisations, conventions and other forest-related processes.

On 13 May, Latvian Minister for Agriculture represented the European Union at the high-level meeting of the Forum on Forests expressing the common position of the EU Member States. The Minister emphasised that good forest management is the basis for a dynamic development of the sector.

The UN Forum on Forests, which started in 2000, is a high-level policy forum in the forestry sector. The main objective of the forum is facilitating the management, conservation and a sustainable development of all types of forests.