About the Clearing House
The Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network (GFFFN)
Lack of adequate financing has been a major constraint in achieving sustainable forest management worldwide. This has been particularly true for developing countries and countries with economies in transition. To address this issue, in 2015, the UN Forum on Forests established the Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network (GFFFN) to facilitate access to and effective use of funding for forests, to share data and best practices and ultimately, to contribute to the achievement of the Global Forest Goals of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030.
To date, the Network has worked with 40 countries and three subregional organizations to design national forest financing strategies, develop project proposals, and provide capacity-building and training to over 1,500 forestry professionals around the world.
Priorities
The UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030 identifies the four priorities of the Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network. These priorities are:
- Promote and assist members in designing national forest financing strategies to mobilize resources for sustainable forest management;
- Assist countries in mobilizing, accessing and enhancing the effective use of existing financial resources from all sources for sustainable forest management;
- Serve as a clearing house and database on existing, new and emerging financing opportunities and as a tool for sharing lessons learned and best practices from successful projects;
- Contribute to the achievement of the Global Forest Goals and targets, as well as to the priorities contained in the quadrennial programmes of work of the UN Forum on Forests.
The Clearing House on Forest Financing
In 2018, the Forum adopted the Guidelines for the Operation of the Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network, which also called for development of its online Clearing House mechanism, with a view to providing:
- A comprehensive up-to-date database on forest financing opportunities from all sources for sustainable forest management, drawing and building on existing initiatives and sources of information, including information on procedures for accessing resources;
- A web-based interactive platform for the exchange of data, lessons learned and best practices among users, including, for example, on project conceptualization and;
- A source of data for assessing progress on target 15.b of the Sustainable Development Goals and Global Forest Goal 4.
Phase I of the Clearing House was launched in April 2021 and involved the development of three databases: on financing opportunities, on learning materials, and on good practices and lessons learned.
Phase II of the Clearing House will feature an additional section on forest financial flows, as well as a data visualization dashboard. Together, these new features will serve as a source of data for assessing progress on target 15.b of the SDGs and Global Forest Goal 4, both of which focus on mobilizing increased resources to finance sustainable forest management.
About the UN Forum on Forests
The United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) was established through Resolution 2000/35 of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) in October 2000. The Forum was established as a subsidiary body of ECOSOC with the main objective to promote “the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests and to strengthen long-term political commitment to this end". The Forum has universal membership and is composed of all Member States of the United Nations and specialized agencies.