Forestry

©FAO Enric Català Conteras

Forest management

Model forests
Sustainable Forest Management Toolbox

 

The Sustainable Forest Management Toolbox is a comprehensive collection of tools, best practices and case studies to help forest owners and managers; policymakers; students and other stakeholders implement sustainable forest management.

 

News

02/10/2026

Forests and trees in the world's drylands sustain the livelihoods, food security and cultural identity of more than two billion people, yet they remain insufficiently recognized in global climate, biodiversity and land agendas, according to FAO.

01/10/2026

Director-General QU Dongyu praised Indonesia's efforts to reduce deforestation and welcomed the launch of its country report on the state of its forests during the 28th Session of FAO's Committee on Forestry.

29/09/2026

FAO and the Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE) have agreed to extend and strengthen their partnership on sustainable management of natural resources including forests for five more years. 

Publications

2013

Three hundred years ago this year, a book was published that, according to some, marked the start of the modern concept of sustainable forest management. This edition of Unasylva explores this claim and reports on efforts worldwide to manage forests sustainably for the long-term benefit of people and the environment.

FAO Forestry Paper 173 Multiple-use forest management in the humid tropics
2013

Societal demands on tropical forests at the local, national and global scales are profound and varied: the regulation of the hydrological cycle; the mitigation of global climate change; the provision of timber and non-timber products; food security; recreation; biodiversity conservation; cultural and spiritual values; livelihoods and employment; and many others.

Unasylva 239
2012

This edition of Unasylva comes in the wake of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, which, among other things, produced a document called The Future We Want . The articles in this edition of Unasylva suggest that awareness of the role of forests, and a willingness to pay for that role, will grow in coming decades; forests are too culturally, ecologically, economically and socially important to be neglected for much longer.