Making sure forests play a crucial role in combating climate change and achieving sustainable development goals will be the focus of the XV World Forestry Congress next week in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

More than 12 000 forest experts have registered to attend the world’s largest forestry event, which is co-organized by the Republic of Korea and FAO and takes place in a hybrid format from 2 to 6 May 2022 under the theme of Building a green, healthy and resilient future with forests.

“The Congress comes at a critical time in the global effort to combat the climate crisis,” said World Forestry Congress Secretary-General Eunsik Park (Korea Forest Service). “We have a crucial opportunity to advance international cooperation on forests and accelerate commitments to reduce deforestation and meet global development goals.”

Participants will also focus on forests as a major player in helping countries to ‘build back better’ as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is the first World Forestry Congress since the COVID-19 pandemic began,” said WFC Associate Secretary-General Peter Csoka (FAO). “It’s a unique moment when countries can choose to recover and rebuild in greener, more healthy and more sustainable ways. The Congress can play a key part in establishing global consensus on how to do that.”

Driving force for global development

The Congress, which takes place normally once every six years, comes amid a global push to build back “better and greener” after the pandemic, with a renewed emphasis on the importance of forests and Indigenous People and local communities in the fight against climate change as expressed at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in November last year.

Progress in implementing the recommendations of the XIV World Forestry Congress in 2015 will be reviewed and six sub-themes will address the most important current issues concerning forests and the products and services they provide. New recommendations and agreements on concrete actions needed will be produced to preserve forests as a driving force for global development.

This will be the first time the Congress has convened in the Asia-Pacific region since it took place in Indonesia 43 years ago. The Republic of Korea has a successful record in reforestation and an economic development model it hopes can provide valuable lessons for other countries.

Highlights during the week will include the launch of FAO’s flagship publication, The State of the World’s Forests 2022, which will present the latest data and analysis on the status of forests, trends and their benefit to societies. FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment will unveil the results of its Global Remote Sensing Survey, and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests will announce the winner of the Wangari Maathai Forest Champions Award 2022, which recognizes extraordinary efforts by an individual to improve and sustain forests and the people who depend on them.

Other special events will take place on topics including forest fires, green energy, sustainable investments and attracting young people to careers in the forest sector.