COFO 25

25th Committee on Forestry News

Check here for daily highlights, including news items, recorded webcasts, publications and photos. 

7th World Forest Week and 25th Session of the Committee on Forestry opens

  • Shin Wonsup, Chairperson of the Committee on Forestry
  • QU Dongyu, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
  • Inger Andersen, Under Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme
  • H.E. Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Union Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries

Read the press release on the opening of the 25th Committee on Forestry and the 7th World Forest Week 

FAO Director-General calls for transformational change in the way we manage our forests and food systems that depend on them
5 October - Transformational change is needed in the way we manage our forests and their biodiversity, produce and consume our foods and interact with nature, if we want to build back better after the COVID-19 pandemic and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Read the editorial on forest education

Boosting Education for Greener Forests
12 October - With every new forest fire or flood, and with every new report on the loss of wildlife or increase in desertification, we are reminded that we urgently need greater attention and efforts to conserve and sustainably manage the world’s forests. Fewer natural disasters, a more stable climate, healthier people, and stronger economies are just some of the benefits that we stand to gain from helping forests to thrive.

Read related web stories

Collaborative Partnership on Forests urges to turn the historic challenge of COVID-19 into an opportunity for forestry and sustainability
12 October - Forests and tree landscapes should be at the heart of building back better after the COVID-19 pandemic for a more resilient and sustainable future, members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) said today.

Forests, forest stakeholders key for achieving Sustainable Development Goals
8 October - Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals requires halting deforestation, protecting intact forests and restoring degraded forest landscapes – and an upsurge of action by communities, forest industries and responsible businesses provides the best hope of doing so.

Private sector calls for sustainable forest products to be key to COVID-19 recovery
8 October - A sustainable forest sector lies at the heart of COVID-19 recovery plans that seek to build back better, senior executives from the forest industry said today in a statement released for FAO’s Committee on Forestry. 

Synergies between private sector and governments crucial for reversing deforestation – COFO High-level Dialogue
7 October - Reversing deforestation and forest degradation can be an effective “nature-based solution” to climate change but requires the strong involvement of the private sector and greater collaboration among land-use sectors, according to speakers at the High-Level Dialogue on Turning the Tide on Deforestation.

New FAO publication: Moving Forward

FAO Forestry highlights key achievements in new publication
FAO has launched a new publication highlighting the major achievements of the FAO Forestry Programme in helping improve lives and livelihoods while making forestry more productive and sustainable.

Download the publication here. 

Listen to the podcasts on forests and COVID-19

Watch recorded webcasts

Have your say on the future of two FAO publications

Click here to take a 5-minute survey to help shape future editions of FAO’s publications, The State of the World’s Forests and the Global Forest Resources Assessment.