Int Symposium on the “Role of Public-Civil Society-Private Sector Cooperation and International Partnerships in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals and Global Forest Goals

The 5th edition of the “NATURE AND FORESTRY SYMPOSIUM TOWARDS 2023” was held on 2-5 December 2018 in Antalya/Turkey by the Chamber of Forest Engineers of Turkey under the general them of “Role of Public-Civil Society-Private Sector Cooperation and International Partnerships in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals and Global Forest Goals”

Around 150 participants from different countries and Turkey have participated to this Symposium.

 

Background

The”2030 Sustainable Development Goals” adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015 established a general framework for the “sustainable development” of the world and set goals. Reaching these goals will not be possible without the cooperation of all parties, including the public, private sector and non-governmental organizations.

“United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030[1]”  adopted by the UN General Assembly on 27 April 2017, set the road map for forestry in achieving sustainable development goals. The Strategic Plan features a set of six Global Forest Goals and 26 associated targets to be reached by 2030, which are voluntary and universal.

CSOs are vital in achieving these goals.

The Chamber of Forest Engineer of Turkey (OMO)

The Chamber of Forest Engineer of Turkey (OMO) is a non-governmental organization established in 1954 with the line of Turkish Constitution to represents its members.  According to the Turkish Constitution it has “public corporate entity” and “public institute nature”.  Currently it has approximately 17 thousand (17 000) active members.

According to the related Law, the “Chamber of Forest Engineers “is the legal representative of three different professional groups namely “Forest Engineers, Forest Industrial Engineers, Woodworking Industrial Engineers”

At national level, “Chamber of Forest Engineers” is an affiliated chamber to the “Union of Chamber of Turkish Engineers and Architects- https://www.tmmob.org.tr ”

THE CHAMBER OF FOREST ENGINEERS OF TURKEY

 

International Symposium

The Chamber of Forest Engineers has been organizing the “Nature and Forestry Symposium Towards 2023”’for many years.  The fourth of which was organized on 3-6 December 2017 in Antalya.

As the continuation of this tradition, it was decided to hold the fifth symposium on 2-5 December 2018 in Antalya/Turkey.  On the other hand, this year’s symposium was organized in cooperation with the related parties and at international level.

The theme of the symposium was decided to be-“ The Role of “Public-Civil Society-Private Sector Cooperation and International Partnerships” in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals and Global Forest Goals”

The symposium planned for the first week of December 2018 (Monday to Thursday, 2-5 December 2018) as four days including the transportation. Participants registered for the hotel on 2 December 2018 and left on 5 December 2018 Wednesday.

Public-Civil Society-Private Sector Cooperation and International Partnerships play a vital role in achieving “Sustainable Development and Global Forest Goals”. This situation is becoming more significant and important for a country like Turkey, which all forests owned by the state.

Forestry-related units of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry namely the General Directorate of Forestry, General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks and General Directorate of Combating Desertification and Erosion have a very meaningful and close work with civil society organizations in this regard.

 

Agenda

2-5 December 2018- Antalya/Turkey  Venue: http://premiumbelek.rixos.com/

2 December 2018 Sunday:

• Arrival to the hotel
• 19:00 Buffet dinner at the hotel

3 December 2018 Monday  (Simultaneous translation provided in Turkish and English for opening, closing and panel sessions.)

• 08:30-09:00 Registration
• 09:00-10:30 Opening Speeches
• 10:30-10:45 Signing Ceremony of Cooperation Agreement with NGOs
• 10:45-11:00 Coffee Break
• 11:00-13:00 Panel-First Session
• 13:00-14:00 Lunch
• 14:00-16:00 Panel-Second Session
• 16:30-18:00 Question-Answer-Conclusions and Closing

18:10-19:00 

• Board Meeting of Council of European Foresters
• Other Bilateral or Multilateral Meetings

20:00 Buffet dinner at the hotel

 

4 December 2018 Tuesday

• 09:00-13:00 Field Trip for Foreign Participants
• 13:00-14:00 Buffet Lunch at the Hotel
• Bilateral or Multilateral Meetings
• 20:00 Buffet dinner at the hotel

5 December 2018 Wednesday: Departure of Participants–

Opening Speeches

In order to ensure that the parties express themselves fully, the opening speeches and the speakers were very wide.

The symposium started on Monday, December 3, 2018 at 09:00 with the presentation of Özgür Balcı, Board Member of the Chamber of Forestry Engineers,

1. Mr. Salih Sönmezışık, Former President of the Chamber of Forest Engineers
2. Mr. Yücel Turan,  Member of the Board of Turkish Association of Beekeepers, http://www.tab.org.tr/en/
3. Mr. Fikri Aksu, Chairman of the Board of Forestry Officers and Pensioners Association –https://www.defne.org/yonetim-kurulu/
4. Mr. Vedat Erman, Turkey Forest Engineers Association Board Member,
5. Mr. Mehmet Yıldız, Secretary General, Greener Turkey’s Foresters Association, http://yesilturkiye.org.tr/
6. Mr. Mehmet Yerli, The Chairman of the Board, Association of Forestry Faculties, http://www.orfamder.org/
7. Mr. İbrahim Ethem Gürsoy, Vice President, Union of Agriculture and Forestry Workers-TOÇBİRSEN – https://www.tocbirsen.org.tr/
8. Mr. Settar Aslan, President, Öz Orman İş  (Forestry Workers Trade Union)- http://www.ozorman-is.org.tr/
9. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Yılmaz, Dean, http://of.btu.edu.tr/index.php
10. Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Fakir, Vice Rector, http://isparta.edu.tr/personel/01123/prof-dr-huseyin-fakir
11. Prof. Dr. Turgay Akbulut, Dean,  http://orman.istanbulc.edu.tr/tr/_
12. Mr. Viorel Gutu, FAO Subregional Coordinator for Central Asia and FAO Representative in Turkey,  http://www.fao.org/europe/central-asia/subregional-coordinator/en/
13. Ms. Sevim İnanç (Dr.) Vice Dean, https://orman.artvin.edu.tr/
14. Mr. Yusuf Kandazoğlu, Director-General,  www.dkmp.gov.tr
15. Mr. Bekir Karacabey, Director General, www.ogm.gov.tr
16. Mr. İbrahim Aydın , Member of the Parlaiment, https://www.tbmm.gov.tr/develop/owa/milletvekillerimiz_sd.bilgi?p_donem=27&p_sicil=7356
17. Mr. Hasan Türkyılmaz, President of the Chamber of Forest Engineer

Signing Ceremony of Cooperation Agreement with NGOs

After the opening speeches, cooperation protocols were signed between NGOs. These protocols are generally signed in the following content.

Preamble

Forests, which are the common assets of the whole world, are vital for many issues such as the well-being and happiness of humanity, conservation of biodiversity, adaptation to climate change, energy, and water and food security.

Forests are one of the key sectors in achieving the “2030 Sustainable Development Goals” adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015.

“The United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2017-2030 (UNSPF)”  and “The Six Global Forest Goals and 26 Associated Targets  ” adopted in 2017 have set a global road map for forests and forestry in achieving sustainable development goals.

Achieving these goals requires a common understanding and cooperation at national and international level between all sectors, including the public, private sector, academic circles and non-governmental organizations.

In this context, Chamber of Forest Engineers of Turkey and the ……. (hereinafter referred to as Parties) have signed this Declaration of Intention to cooperate with the principles and procedures set out below.

Article 1: Purpose

The purpose of this Declaration of Intention is to determine the principles and procedures of co-operation.

Article 2: Scope

This “Declaration of Intention” encompasses the matters contained in this text. Additional agreements may be made if the Parties agreed upon them.

Article 3: Issues to be cooperated

The Parties have agreed to cooperate on the following issues.

• Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• “The United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2017-2030 (UNSPF)” and “The Six Global Forest Goals”
• EU Forest Strategy, Ministerial Commitments of Forest Europe
• Sustainable land management
• Sustainable forest management
• Coordinating activities to increase cooperation between members of the Parties such as student exchange, internship support and job search support,
• Other issues agreed by the Parties

 

Article 4: Ways of Cooperation

The Parties may cooperate with one or more of the forms listed below.

• To organize events such as joint meetings, workshops, conferences, symposia etc.
• To participate in activities organized by one of the Parties and to represent each other upon request,
• To prepare projects jointly or separately, to be a partner in projects prepared by one of the Parties,
• To submit project proposal jointly to international and regional institutions and organisations such European Commission, the World Bank, the Global Environment Agency (GEF), the European Environment Agency etc..
• To submit project proposal to national agencies of any countries.
• To prepare publication , report and working document in digital media and other platforms together,
• To establish international platforms, to join the existing ones.
• To cooperate with any method not to be written here, to be agreed by the Parties.

 

Article 5: Responsibilities of the Parties

This Declaration of Intention was prepared and signed within the framework of mutual goodwill. It does not bring any legal or economic responsibility to any of the Parties. Each party is liable to comply with its national legislation and responsibilities.

The Parties undertake the necessary efforts in the framework of the principles of mutual goodwill in order to announce this cooperation and to ensure its continuity.

Article 6: Dispute of the Resolutions

In the event of a dispute within the framework of this Declaration of Intention, a solution will be sought in the framework of mutual goodwill. In case of cooperation within a project or activity, each activity will be dealt with and solved independently.

Article 7: Termination

The Parties may cancel this agreement – without assigning any reason – at any time upon informing the other party in writing.

Article 8: Language

This Declaration of Intention was prepared in English. The Parties may translate and publish in their national languages. In case of dispute, the English text shall prevail.

Article 9: Entry into force

This Declaration of Intention shall enter into force on the date of signature.

This Declaration of Intention is composed of 9 Articles signed in Antalya/Turkey.

No	Country	Name of the NGO	Web Page
1	Albania	ALBAFOREST CENTER Arnavutluk-Alba Forest Arnavutluk-Alba Forest	www.albaforest.com
2	Azerbaijan	Natural Wealth and Ecology Workers Trade Union Republic Committee Azerbaycan-English Azerbaycan-Türkçe Azerbaycan-копия	http://ahik.org
3	Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina	The Association of Hunting Organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia-Avcılar	http://www.slobih.ba/
4	Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina	The Independent Trade Union of Forestry, Wood Processing and Paper of Bosnia and Herzegovina-	http://ssspdp.ba/
5	Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina	Forestry Association of  Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina	http://usitfbih.ba/
6	Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina	Beekeepers Union of Sarajevo Bosnia-Beekepers
7	France	The International Association for Mediterranean Forests (AIFM)	http://aifm.org/en
8	Kyrgyzstan	KYRGYZ ASSOCIATION OF FOREST AND LAND USERS Kırgızistan-Kyrgyz-Kaflu MoU	http://www.landuse-association.kg/
9	Hungary	The Trade Union of Forestry and Wood  Industry Workers	http://efdsz.hu/
10	Romania	SILVA TRADE UNION FEDERATION Romanya-Federatia Silva	https://federatiasilva.ro/
11	Romania	The “Forest Progress” Society Romania-Progresul Silvic	http://progresulsilvic.ro/
12	Turkey	Association of Forestry Faculties ORFAMDER-3 Aralık 2018	http://www.orfamder.org/
13	Turkey	ÖZ ORMAN-İŞ TRADE UNION OF FOREST, AGRICULTURE, HUNTING AND FISHERY of the Republic of Turkey OMO-_z Orman __ 3 Aralık 2018	http://www.ozorman-is.org.tr
14	Turkey	TOÇ BİR-SEN | Trade Union of Agriculture and Forest Civil Servants Association	https://www.tocbirsen.org.tr/

 

After signing ceremonies between the Chamber of Forest Engineers and the other NGOs, a special event organised between the ÖZ ORMAN-İŞ TRADE UNION OF FOREST, AGRICULTURE, HUNTING AND FISHERY and two other NGOs from Romania and Hungary.

The Trade Union of Forestry and Wood  Industry Workers	http://efdsz.hu/
SILVA TRADE UNION FEDERATION	https://federatiasilva.ro/

After the signatures, Director General of Forests Mr. Bekir Karacabey, General Director of National Conservation and National Parks Mr. Yusuf Kandazoğlu and  FAO Subregional Coordinator for Central Asia and FAO Representative in Turkey Mr. Viorel Gutu  expressed his appreciation  for the tri-sector cooperation and  reiterated their commitment as FAO to cooperate with the Chamber of Forest Engineers.

Panel Discussion-I

First panel session was moderated by Dr. Ayşegül Selışık, the Assistant  FAO Representative for Turkey

Panel Discussion-II

Civil Society Organizations Meeting

Field Trip