The Forum, which met for the first time away from UN Headquarters in New York, adopted two resolutions as it wrapped up its two-week session, one on forests and economic development ­– the main theme of the session – and the other on financing.

Recognizing the vital role of forests to lives and livelihoods, the 197 member countries of the Forum called on national governments to take a range of actions to improve sustainable forest management, from substantive data collection to addressing the causes of deforestation and forests degradation.

Also, while recognizing that there is no single solution to meet all forest financing needs, the Forum agreed that multiple sources of financing, at the national, regional and international levels, was needed from various sources, public and private, including consideration of a voluntary global forest fund.

Forests cover one-third of the Earth’s landmass and about 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihood. Three-fourths of freshwater comes from forested catchment areas and forests stabilize slopes, prevent landslides and protect coastal communities against tsunamis and storms. More than three billion people depend on forests for wood for cooking and heating.

“There is now greater recognition than ever before that forests are essential to economic development and sustainable development,” said Jan McAlpine, Director of Forum’s Secretariat.

“In this historic meeting, countries broke new ground and agreed to take actions that demonstrate the need to sustainably manage our forests so that they can continue to be a source of livelihoods, broader economic development, including clean air, clean water and biodiversity – all leading to poverty eradication.”

The two-week session was attended by two Prime Ministers, one Vice President and over 50 ministers and high-level officials. Highlights included events showcasing sustainable forest management best practices and the individuals and countries that have actually put these practices into innovative use, as well as awards honouring activists, filmmakers and photographers from around the world.

The Forum, set up by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 2000, is the only international body that addresses all forest and tree policy issues. Countries will decide at the next session in 2015 how the functions of the Forum will continue internationally, as well as whether there is a need to develop a global treaty on forests.

“The successful outcome of [the session] proves once again the key and unique value-added role of the Forum as a global policy-setting body on all types of forests,” said Mario Ruales Carranza of Ecuador, the Chair of the Forum’s tenth session, hailing the outcome as “a new milestone” in financing forests and economic development.

The deliberations over the past two weeks had paved the way for a positive future and would no doubt contribute significantly to the next session in 2015, when “crucial decisions” would be taken regarding the future of the world’s woodlands.

The forum, which is being conducted through various social media platforms, seeks to provide people with the opportunity to be part of ECOSOC’s Special Ministerial Meeting on Monday, which will focus on making progress on the issues discussed at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Brazil in June.

Selected questions from the forum, which has theme of “Building the Future We Want”, will be answered by experts during an interactive dialogue at the Meeting, which will also be broadcast live from UN Headquarters in New York.

Some 100 Heads of State and government, along with thousands of representatives from non-governmental organizations, the private sector and civil society attended Rio+20, all seeking to help shape new policies to promote global prosperity, reduce poverty and advance social equity and environmental protection.

The event’s outcome document, entitled “The Future We Want”, called for a wide range of actions, including beginning the process to establish sustainable development goals; detailing how the green economy can be used as a tool to achieve sustainable development; strengthening the UN Environment Programme (UNEP); promoting corporate sustainability reporting measures; taking steps to go beyond gross domestic product to assess the well-being of a country; developing a strategy for sustainable development financing; and, adopting a framework for tackling sustainable consumption and production.

It also focuses on improving gender equity; recognizing the importance of voluntary commitments on sustainable development; and stressing the need to engage civil society and incorporate science into policy; among other points.

“In Rio, governments renewed and strengthened political commitment to sustainable development. They provided a foundation for building the future we want,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told ECOSOC members during the Council’s recent high-level segment. “We need an agenda that is concrete, action-oriented and focused on poverty eradication, inclusive economic and social development, environmental sustainability and peace and security for all.”

“For today’s 205 million unemployed, work is worryingly difficult to find – and finding decent, meaningful work, harder still,” the Council’s President, Ambassador Milos Koterec of Slovakia, said at the opening of ECOSOC’s high-level segment.

“While failure to manage global job creation and sustain growth inflicts tremendous damage everywhere, it is the world’s poorest who suffer the most, with women and youth typically the greatest victims,” Koterec added.

A founding UN Charter body, ECOSOC is the venue where issues concerning the world’s economic, social and environmental challenges are discussed and debated, and policy recommendations made. More than 500 delegates, including government ministers and heads of civil society groups, international institutions and the private sector, are attending the Council’s high-level segment, which will focus on boosting productive capacity, strengthening development cooperation and creating decent, sustainable work.

In his remarks, Koterec emphasized that ECOSOC is scaling up its efforts to tackle youth unemployment and the creation of jobs that provide adequate conditions and social protection for workers, linking job creation with sustainable development.

“An effective post-2015 development agenda must be based upon streamlined development cooperation: targeted and improved financing, transparency, accountability, and much more,” Koterec said.

Addressing the opening of the high-level segment, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasized that getting the global economy back on track will require decisive action, and underlined the need to pursue a “new model of growth within the framework of sustainable development and enhanced international cooperation.”

The UN chief highlighted that the creation of decent jobs had been a priority during the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) last month in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with countries voicing their concern for adequate working conditions and incomes for city dwellers as well as small farmers.

“Only by generating decent – and decently paid – employment can we help the poor and vulnerable to escape poverty traps and build resilience,” Ban said.

He also noted that this year’s report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which was launched today, points to significant but uneven progress among and within countries, and more needs to be done to reduce poverty and hunger worldwide. The MDG’s are a set of global anti-poverty targets which world leaders have pledged to achieve by 2015.

“The MDGs have given policy-makers a unifying framework for global development, a clear agenda with measurable goals and targets, and a common, inspiring vision. As we look beyond 2015 we must do the same,” Ban said.

In his remarks to the opening of the high-session segment, the President of the General Assembly, Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, urged ECOSOC and General Assembly members to collaborate closely to tackle the world’s pressing economic and financial issues, and find ways to promote inclusive, sustainable and equitable economic growth and employment.

Al-Nasser stressed that the high-level meeting should send out a message about “our commitment to the creation of quality jobs and decent work, productivity development, and the strengthening of international coordination and cooperation, plus well-managed environment.”

The high-level segment is expected to conclude on 9 July with the adoption of a ministerial declaration that will be a road map on how to go forward in the achievement of full employment and decent work.

ECOSOC will also hold its operational activities segment and humanitarian affairs segment before concluding on 27 July. The 54-member Council coordinates the work of the 14 UN specialized agencies, 10 functional commissions and five regional commissions, receives reports from ten UN funds and programmes and issues policy recommendations to the UN system, as well as to Member States. It meets every year, alternating between New York and Geneva.