7. Condemns the behaviour and intentions of those who deliberately set fires and destroyed thousands of hectares of protected woodland and Mediterranean vegetation; expresses deep concern at the existence of links between local criminal organisations and the destruction of woodland and/or protected land, and calls on national authorities to tighten up legislation to combat these appalling acts, which occur time and time again in the same areas;

A global network of protected forest areas must be established and funded, and countries must set measurable time-ban targets to ensure that the use, consumption and trade of biodiversity resources come only from sustainable sources.

The definition of "forest" includes: forest nurseries and seed orchards that constitute an integral part of the forest; forest roads, cleared tracts, firebreaks and other small open areas within the forest; forest in national parks, nature reserves and other protected areas such as those of special environmental, scientific, historical, cultural or spiritual interest; windbreaks and shelterbelts of trees with an area of more than 0,5 ha and a width of more than 20m.

–effective and transparent partnerships and collaboration with all actors, including major groups, should be established for implementation of the proposals for action in the IPF report; –comprehensive national forest programmes, including the aspect of capacity building, are an essential building block for sustainable forest management; –national, regional, subregional and international initiatives on forests, in particular those involving criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management, should be encouraged and promoted and the question of an international network of protected forest areas could be examined in the framewo ...[+++]rk of the future dialogue on forests; –long-term cooperation and coordination among international organizations and institutions, national organizations and major groups involved in forest-related issues is needed, including provisions for financial resources and technology transfer; –there is a need for further clarification of the issues arising from the IPF process related to international trade in forest products from all types of forests.

The industry has been seen for too long as non-environmental when, in fact, sustainably-managed forests contribute more to climate change mitigation than a protected or preserved forest area.

We have more protected forests in Canada than any other country in the world has.