Enviro News Asia, New York — The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests will contribute to key deliberations at the 21st Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests, scheduled to take place from 11 to 15 May 2026 at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The session will focus on strengthening policy guidance and accelerating the implementation of global forest commitments, particularly under the United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030. Discussions will include reviewing progress made by member states, assessing contributions from partners, and exploring synergies between global forest goals and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as other international agreements on climate change, biodiversity, and desertification.
Zhimin Wu, FAO Assistant Director-General and Chair of CPF, emphasized the urgency of collective action in addressing interconnected global challenges. He stated that forests play a critical role in ensuring sustainability amid climate change, biodiversity loss, and food security concerns, highlighting UNFF21 as a vital platform to translate global commitments into tangible outcomes.
A series of high-level side events will accompany the session. FAO will co-organize a dialogue on the “Roadmap for Halting and Reversing Deforestation and Forest Degradation by 2030,” an initiative under development by the presidency of the COP30. The roadmap aims to identify practical measures to address deforestation drivers and is expected to be presented at COP31 in November 2026.
In addition, CPF will host a roundtable discussion titled “Accelerating Collaborative Actions Towards Achieving the Global Forest Goals” on 12 May. The session will highlight progress, share lessons learned, and identify opportunities to strengthen cooperation among stakeholders to deliver measurable outcomes.
Further FAO-supported side events throughout the week will address key issues such as integrated fire management, sustainable wood value chains for carbon neutrality, circular economy approaches, and forest-based bioeconomy strategies under initiatives like the Vienna Call for Action and the TERRA Global Productive Forests Initiative.
Established in 2000, the United Nations Forum on Forests serves as a global intergovernmental platform to promote sustainable forest management, conservation, and long-term political commitment. The forum brings together governments, international organizations, civil society, and private sector actors to advance forest-related agendas worldwide. (*)
