Committee on Forestry
About the Committee on Forestry
The 28th Session of the Committee on Forestry (COFO) will be held on 28 September - 2 October 2026 at FAO headquarters, Rome, Italy in a hybrid format. The biennial sessions of COFO bring together high-level representatives, heads of forest services, government officials and partner organizations to identify emerging policy and technical guidance, seek solutions, and advise on future strategy and action.
The Committee on Forestry (COFO) is the highest FAO Forestry governing body. As a global Technical Committee, it reports to the FAO Council on programme and budget matters and to the FAO Conference on policy and regulatory matters.
Joining the Committee on Forestry
Membership in the Committee on Forestry is open to all FAO Member Nations. Membership now includes 125 countries (COFO Members). FAO Member Nations wishing to become members are invited to contact the COFO Secretariat.
Regional Forestry Commissions
Six regional forestry commissions were established by the FAO Conference between 1947 and 1959. Biannually, the commissions bring together the heads of forestry in each major region of the world to address the most important forestry policy and technical issues in the region.
COFO Working Group on Dryland Forests and Agrosilvopastoral Systems
The Working Group works to develop a comprehensive understanding of dryland forests and agrosilvopastoral systems to promote good practices for their protection, sustainable management and restoration.
Contacts
Pierre Taty (Republic of the Congo)
COFO 28th Session Chair
[email protected]
Malgorzata Buszko-Briggs
COFO Secretary
- Mr Pierre Taty, Chairperson of the Committee on Forestry, spoke at the Committee on Agriculture on 30 September 2024 - COFO Chair intervention on COAG 29 Item 2.3 Scaling up Actions on Agriculture and Forestry Linkages
- The Chair spoke at the 44th Session of the FAO Conference - Intervention at the 44th Session of the Conference Item 11.4 Report of the 27th Session of the Committee on Forestry, 1 July 2025
Past sessions
The 27th Session of the Committee on Forestry (COFO) was held on 22-26 July 2024 at FAO headquarters, Rome, Italy in a hybrid format. The biennial sessions of COFO bring together high-level representatives, heads of forest services, government officials and partner organizations to identify emerging policy and technical guidance, seek solutions, and advise on future strategy and action.
COFO 27 was held in conjunction with the 9th World Forest Week (WFW 2024) under the theme “Accelerating Forest Solutions through Innovation.''
The week featured a series of events and exhibitions bringing FAO Members, partner organizations, including youth and members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, together to discuss a broad range of topics related to FAO mandate and aligned with priority topics of the 27th Session of the Committee on Forestry.
Highlights
Flagship publication
The State of the World's Forests
Photo gallery
Events and activities from the Committee on Forestry and World Forest Week
Agenda highlights
A highlight of COFO 27 was the release of FAO’s flagship publication The State of the World’s Forests 2024 which provided an in-depth analysis of forest-sector innovations towards a more sustainable future. The week also featured discussion on scaling up agroforestry, the FAO Forestry Roadmap - From Vision to Action 2024-2031, on bioeconomy, climate change, ecosystem restoration, urban agrifood systems, integrated fire management, and agriculture and forestry linkages.
