Speaking on the side lines of the general assembly, Mr Joseph Faye from Senegal said: “Naturally I am disappointed that the motion failed but I am not despondent because it is not the first time we have sent it through, we also did it at the 2011 general assembly.”
He said that the members will continue to think about ways to lobby other chambers about the importance of having the motion succeed.
“We will be engaging with the members of the Economic Chamber because we believe that the French language has an economic impact for FSC especially in the Francophone countries in Africa where a number of forestry activities are taking place” said Faye.
Mr Kosia Edward Mupada from Uganda said it is important for the FSC General Assembly to recognise that for many of the members the third language addition affects all three chambers.
“The motions are proposals for improvements to the FSC system and they are a democratic process. The addition of the French language will have to be a continuous debate for all of us. I believe the current two languages are a limitation for many of the French speaking members who are important stakeholders for FSC,” concluded Mupada.