The session entitled “The crucial roles of women, youth, and Indigenous peoples in forest conservation”, held at the Forest Pavilion during COP30 on 17 November 2025, brought together Indigenous leaders and youth representatives from four regions of the world to reflect on the roots of effective forest governance. At the heart of the discussion was a shared recognition that forest monitoring is a cornerstone of sustainable forest management: without reliable data, inclusive monitoring systems and transparent reporting, neither conservation nor climate action can be effective or equitable.

Ecuador's Ministry of Environment and Energy (MAE, Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía de Ecuador) promotes open access to information about its forests through the publication of the first cycle of the National Forest Assessment (ENF, Evaluación Nacional Forestal) in the FAO's Food and Agriculture Microdata catalogue (FAM), supported by the project Building global capacity to increase transparency in the forestry sector (CBIT-Forest).

Fifteen years ago, a Finnish-funded development project began reshaping how the world monitors its forests. Today, that initiative has evolved into Open Foris, a global suite of open-source technical solutions developed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), now used in over 190 countries.

Belém, Brazil – The UK Government today announced long-term funding of GBP 16.9 million for the Accelerating Innovative Monitoring for Forests (AIM4Forests) programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The Government of Colombia, through the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM, in Spanish), has published the data from the first cycle of Colombia’s National Forest Inventory in FAO's Food and Agriculture Microdata (FAM) Catalogue. This initiative is supported by the project “Building global capacity to increase transparency in the forest sector (CBIT-Forest).”

In an historic moment for the world's forests, the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) was successfully Launched at COP 30 in Brazil, mobilizing Over USD 5.5 billion and endorsements from 53 Countries. Most significantly, 34 tropical forest countries endorsed the TFFF Declaration, covering over 90% of the world's tropical forests. 

Forest data was at the center of the Global Transparency Forum 2025, a gathering organized under the Climate Transparency Platform to bring together governments, technical experts, and international organizations. Held in Songdo, Republic of Korea, the Forum provided a space to exchange experiences on how countries can meet the transparency requirements of the Paris Agreement.

New York – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is supporting the design of an ambitious new global facility for securing the future of tropical forests, discussed at a high-level event in New York this week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) today launched a new global partnership to help countries monitor and report on ecosystem restoration, including in Asia-Pacific, one of the most biodiverse yet ecologically threatened regions of the world.

A strong national forest monitoring system (NFMS) is the foundation for transparent, sustainable and science-based forest management. From 7 May to 6 June 2025, the Forestry Division delivered the Institutionalization of Forest Data online facilitated course in collaboration with the FAO eLearning Academy to provide participants with the knowledge and technical solutions necessary to integrate NFMSs into long-term national frameworks. 

Forests are home to a wealth of biodiversity; they protect our climate and support a wide range of livelihoods. Recognizing the critical role of forests and as part of its commitment to sustainable biodiversity conservation and forest management, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), under the FAO-Türkiye Forestry Partnership Programme, has launched a regional training programme for sustainable forestry – equipping participating countries with inclusive planning approaches and cutting-edge digital solutions.

Rome and Bandung, Indonesia – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations today unveiled the first major redesign of its open-source forest monitoring platform, Open Foris, since its launch over 15 years ago. 

Developed as FAO’s first open-source project, Open Foris has grown into a widely used suite of digital solutions for forest and land monitoring, with more than 250,000 users in 196 countries.

The Gambia is transforming how it monitors and manages its forest, leaving behind paper-based data collection and embracing digital solutions to map, measure, and manage its forests with greater accuracy and efficiency. Led by the Gambia's Department of Forestry and supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the country is preparing for the next National Forest Inventory (NFI) – a key effort to track forest resources and guide decision-making.  

Close to 20 countries from the region are meeting in Guatemala to enhance their forest monitoring systems, advance methodological harmonisation, and promote open data, in response to the growing international demand for transparent and verifiable forest information.

Since becoming a UN-REDD partner country in 2010, Zambia has made significant progress in meeting the key elements of the Warsaw Framework for REDD+, a foundation critical for accessing results-based climate finance. 

From 12 to 16 May 2025, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with funding from the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and in close collaboration with the Viet Nam Administration of Forestry (VNFOREST), launched project activities under the AIM4Commodities project in Viet Nam. The country is one of four pilot countries globally—alongside Colombia, Kenya and Lao PDR—supporting efforts to improve forest monitoring, increase supply chain transparency and strengthen smallholder resilience in the face of growing market demands for deforestation-free commodities. 

To inspire the next generation of forestry professionals, FAO welcomed 18 students from the Global Forestry (GLOFOR) master’s programme, the International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA), and the University of Padua passionate about forests and sustainable development.  

In early June 2025, the National Institute for Space Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais - INPE) in Brazil hosted the workshop “Uncertainty Assessment of BiomasBR Products in the context of Measurement, Reporting and Verification”. The event was held in São José dos Campos, focused on improving forest monitoring data and assessing its accuracy.  

In 2020, during the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, a bold idea emerged: estimate deforestation trends and associated drivers of deforestation across six Central African countries using FAO’s SEPAL platform.