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Planted forests
With the world population projected to reach 9.8 billion people by 2050, the need for food, fuel, fibre and other biobased products and services is set to rise sharply. At the same time, countries worldwide are making ambitious afforestation, reforestation, and ecosystem restoration pledges.
Well designed and sustainably managed planted forests can be a winning strategy and help meeting these growing demands, by providing timber and other wood products, as well as non-timber forest products and ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, restoration of degraded lands and watershed maintenance.
As the United Nations specialized agency responsible for sustainable use of forests and land, FAO has an important role not only in facilitating technical improvements in planted forests, but also in setting and implementing norms for usage.
What are planted forests?
Planted forests are forests predominantly composed of trees established through planting and/or deliberate seeding (Global Forest Resources Assessment - FRA 2020 Terms and Definitions). They include but are not limited to plantation forests. Plantation forest is defined as an intensively managed planted forest that at maturity is composed of one or two species, has one age class, and has regular tree spacing. Forest that is planted for ecosystem restoration or protection and forest that resembles natural forest at stand maturity is not defined as plantation forest.
FAO's work
FAO has a role to play in ensuring that global supply meets the demand in wood biomass sustaining the world’s agrifood systems while duly taking into consideration societal expectations for inclusive and restored productive landscapes, especially by:
- Analysing and sharing data and information on global wood production from planted forests;
- Capitalizing and disseminating knowledge and good practices for the responsible management of planted forests that are adapted and resilient to climate change, environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable;
- Identifying promising approaches and enabling their piloting at field level;
- Leveraging partnerships and resources as a cross-cutting strategy to implement and upscale the above.
Relevant links
- Indigenous Peoples
- Gender and forestry
- Smallholder planted forests and trees for climate, restored landscapes, and livelihoods - webinar series
- IUFRO Taskforce on Resilient planted forests serving society and the bioeconomy
- European Institute of Planted Forests
- TreeDivNet network
- Management of planted forests - Sustainable Forest Management Toolbox
- International Commission on Poplars and Other Fast-Growing Trees Sustaining People and the Environment
- Sustainable Wood for a Sustainable World
Contact
Ms. Faustine Zoveda
Forestry Officer (Planted forests and restoration)
[email protected]
Publications
Territorial approaches to forest governance
2025
This publication identifies current practices, positive and negative lessons, and institutional options for effective forest governance at larger scales...
Taking stock: what we grow together counts
2023
A practical guide for family farmers and producers to develop a planted forest inventory.
Developing bankable business plans
2021
A learning guide for forest producers and their organizations.
Community-based forestry assessment
2020
In 2019, FAO published a framework to help governments assess the extent and effectiveness of community-based forestry initiatives. This training manual...
Status of community-based forestry and forest tenure in Honduras
2019
This brief highlights the findings from a forest tenure and community-based forestry assessment in Honduras.