Forests
Introduction
The United Nations vision is of a world in which all types of forests and trees outside forests are sustainably managed, contribute to sustainable development and provide economic, social, environmental and cultural benefits for present and future generations (UNFF, Strategic Plan for Forests 2017-2030).
The joint ECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section supports developing evidence-based policies for sustainable forest management and communicates about the many products and ecosystem services provided to society while assisting countries of the region to monitor and manage forests.
The joint ECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section supports developing evidence-based policies for sustainable forest management and communicates about the many products and ecosystem services provided to society while assisting countries of the region to monitor and manage forests.
Key areas of work
In focus
Visit our new data platform for forests in the region!
According to the most recent Forest Resources Assessment report published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FRA2020), the UNECE region has been one of few regions where forest area has increased over the last three decades, up by 33.5 million hectares. This puts countries in the UNECE region at the forefront of the global race to achieve one of the key indicators of Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land, pertaining to the overall increase of forest area.
However, this is only one of a few hundred forest features that are monitored, assessed and reported by countries and organizations. Much more information about conditions, dynamics, and the use of over 1.7 billion ha of forests in the UNECE region is regularly collected by different agencies. But until now, such data has often been dispersed over various online platforms and publications; not easy to find and difficult to access and interpret. Together, UNECE and FAO are aiming to change this with the new online platform, “INForest”, that gathers key information on forests and the forest-based sector in the UNECE region in one place, provides a user-friendly interface and highlights the wealth of information that is already available.
The platform was officially launched on 23 March 2021. The recording of the meeting can be accessed here. The user guide is here. “INForest” can be accessed here.
Highlights
Check out our new data platform for forests in the UNECE region - March 2021
New publication: Guidelines on the promotion of green jobs in forestry - February 2021
FPAMR 2019-2020 is out! - November 2020
Interested in learning more about the benefits of wood as a sustainable building material? Check out our webinar! - November 2020
Webinar on financing Forest Landscape Restoration - July 2020
New studies on sustainable forest management in the Caucasus and Central Asia - July 2020
New study on Forest Ownership in the UNECE region - March 2020
UNECE launches photography contest to celebrate World Environment Day - March 2020
Other forest-related events are available at the websites of: FAO, Forest Europe, EFI, UNFF, GFIS
