COFO 28 Opening Statement

Your Excellency the Chairperson of COFO,

Honourable Ministers,

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to the 28th Session of the FAO Committee on Forestry - COFO.

This Committee has been bringing together the world’s forestry leaders and partners since 1971.

Over 55 years, it has evolved into the foremost global intergovernmental forum on forests,

Ensuring that forests remain high on the international agenda and that global policy responds efficiently, effectively and coherently to challenges.

With forests facing many threats, such as deforestation, wildfire, pests and unsustainable management, the role of COFO is more important than ever.

Forests are vital to FAO’s mission, the transformation of global agrifood systems, ensuring the Four Betters and achieving the SDGs.

More than five billion people depend to some extent on forests for their livelihoods.

In some forest-dependent communities, forest foods provide up to 80 percent of daily protein intake and account for half of all food consumed by weight.

Forests and trees are vital to the sustainability, productivity and resilience of our agrifood systems.

Yet, many of the contributions of forests are invisible in most national statistics, food-security strategies and development policies.

We say that five billion people rely on forests, but in fact all human beings on this planet depend on forests because our ancestors all depended on forests and forest foods, and led us to the development of agroforestry, domestication of plants and animals, and others.

When I took office as FAO Director-General, one of my priorities was to shift FAO’s work on forests from a primarily conservation-focused approach to one that balances their productive and protective functions, with greater emphasis on sustainable production in line with FAO’s core mandate. Because the FAO founding members in 1943 established the Food and Agriculture Organization, recognizing that agriculture covered all sectors, including forests, crops, animals and fisheries.

Together, we firmly placed the transformation of global agrifood systems at the core of FAO’s Strategic Framework 2022–31, in line with our vision of the Four Betters – better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.

I always encourage my colleague to see the linkages between the Four Betters for a holistic implementation.

Many years ago, many primary forestry ecosystems were destroyed and that is why we need reforestation, to ensure the important and unique contribution of forests to the agrifood sector.

This shift is also clearly reflected in the FAO Forestry Roadmap, and FAO’s cross-cutting work on forestry aimed at advancing an integrated approach to food security and agroforestry linkages.

The FAO Green Cities Initiative, which I launched during UNGA75 in 2020, recognizes the important role of forestry across the rural–urban continuum.

Wildfires pose a major threat to human well-being, affecting at least 127 million hectares of forest each year. As they become more frequent and intense worldwide, urgent action is needed – especially for global primary forests from the Amazon to Asia to Africa and Europe. In particular, in Europe this summer we say many wildfires due to drought and heat waves.

Through the Global Fire Management Hub, FAO is working with Members and partners to advance integrated fire management and strengthen transboundary cooperation on fire.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is now my pleasure to launch the 2026 edition of The State of the World’s Forests (SOFO), which focuses on forest and landscape restoration as a vital response to the interconnected challenges of food insecurity, climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation.

SOFO 2026 finds that 1.56 billion hectares of land are degraded globally, including 460 million hectares of forest land.

Action to reverse forest degradation is increasing, with 91 countries pledging to restore 190 million hectares of degraded forests. This is part of Better Production – because production does not only refer to agricultural production, but it also includes forest production and even human production.

As co-lead of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, FAO is helping raise global awareness, and through our technical support we are assisting regional restoration initiatives worldwide.

Achieving the 2030 restoration targets remains a major challenge. Yet doing so would be a strategic investment in sustainable agrifood systems and rural development, with benefits for years to come.

This week, through COFO and World Forest Week, you have the opportunity to help shape the function of global forest cooperation for a better future for all.

Through the COFO exhibition in the Atrium, we are bringing the importance of forests for life to you for at least one week.

This is what I did through the new FAO garden and trees I established here at FAO headquarters, which also includes restoring the existing trees planted 120 years ago. We need to take care of the trees planted by our ancestors!

Trees are fundamental to the Four Betters – starting with better production, and leading to better nutrition, a better environment and a better life – leaving no one behind.

I wish you a fruitful session and let us not forget our ancestors who planted trees to ensure a better life for all of us!

Thank you.