Forest products and services

Legal and Sustainable Wood Programme

Micro, small and medium-scale forest enterprises

Sustainable Wood for a Sustainable World

Sustainable forest-based bioeconomy approaches

News

FAO and Bauhaus Earth report highlights wood’s role in cutting construction emissions

25/06/2026

Greater use of sustainably sourced wood could help reposition the construction sector from a major greenhouse gas emitter to a driver of climate change mitigation, according to a new report from FAO and Bauhaus Earth.

Vienna Call for Action urges progress on sustainable forest-based bioeconomy

26/02/2026

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) welcomed a call today for urgent action to accelerate progress towards a sustainable forest-based bioeconomy.

Global forest products trade and production show signs of recovery in 2024

24/12/2025

After a sharp decline in 2023, the global forest products sector saw signs of stabilization in 2024.

Publications

FAO Forestry Paper 159: Impact of the global forest industry on atmospheric greenhouse gases

2010

Planted forests - Uses, impacts and sustainability

2009

The significance of planted forests and recognition of their contributions to a range of development goals are anticipated to increase in coming decades. Planted forests provide not only wood, fibre and fuel, but also other non-wood forest products. Moreover, they sequester carbon, rehabilitate degraded lands, help in restoring landscapes, protect watersheds and agricultural soils, and provide recreational areas and amenities.

FAO Forestry Paper 154: Forests and energy

2008

Videos

Communicating forestry innovation at FAO

24/10/2025

From fibre to packaging, building materials & even waterproof sinks - innovation in forestry has been on show in Rome, at the From Seeds to Food...

International Day of Forests 2024: New solutions for a better world

21/03/2024

Innovation is unlocking the forests’ long-kept secrets and allowing us to use trees in ways we never imagined possible.

Sustainable wood: The manifesto

06/12/2022

Over the centuries, we’ve moved away from using wood as a building material, at great cost to the planet.

Sustainable wood: Climate-friendly cities

01/12/2022

Find more videos on the FAO Forestry YouTube playlist

Sustainable wood: Housing a growing population

27/10/2022

A growing population means more buildings to fit everyone. By 2030, we will have to house an additional 3 billion people. Using wood from sustainably...

Sustainable Wood: Building the future

13/10/2022

Wood can be a material of the future, helping to build a bio-economy for the planet's health and economic recovery. Durable “cross-laminated timber”...

Forests and sustainable production and consumption

21/04/2022

For millions of people across the world, wood helps provide safe drinking water, food and shelter - but wood can do much more and is a renewable resource...

Is your toothbrush made of plastic or wood?

21/03/2022

Replacing more of the plastic things we use every day with wood-based products from sustainably managed forests can help combat climate change and achieve...

Sustainable forests: a powerful ally against climate change

24/02/2021

Climate change is subjecting our planet to unsustainable pressures. Forests and trees trap and store carbon as they grow – standing at the frontline...