Have you noticed the forest inside the Palais des Nation, tasted food from the forest or followed the debates on sustainable forest management? On Friday 20 March, UNECE, FAO and UNOG joined forces to celebrate the International Day of Forests at the Palais des Nations.

The Italian corner served food from the San Francesco Woodland to a great number of visitors and staff in the Palais des Nations throughout the day; the two roundtables on Forests for Food and Food for Forests featured twelve highly interesting presentations on the linkages between forests and food; and the exhibition provided by the Polish State Forests, the Clean Forest Club and the Horticultural School of Lullier opened in the Salle des Pas Perdus; and the cafeteria of the Palais served forest food.

The UNECE-FAO report entitled Forests in the ECE Region: Trends and Challenges in Achieving the Global Objectives on Forests and the accompanying infographic video was launched in the evening during the Forests Gala Reception. The Polish State Forests and the Permanent Missions of Finland, Germany, the Russian Federation and the United States of America offered delicious food, wine and beverages from the forests. The UN Jazz Band graciously entertained the audience for the night.

The report is a contribution to the 11th Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests that will take place from 4-15 May in New York. Using the best available data, it examines progress of the forest sector in the UNECE region towards the achievement of the four Global Objectives on Forests, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007. On the basis of this assessment as well as the forest sector outlooks and policy commitments by UNECE member States, thirteen major challenges for the forest sector in the region are identified and analysed. The study provides policy recommendations for consideration in the discussions by UNFF.