UNITED NATIONS FORUM ON FORESTS

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is organising a Country- Led Initiative (CLI) event as part of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) from 26-28 October, 2023 at the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

What is United Nations Forum on Forests?

In October 2000, the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC), in its Resolution 2000/35 established the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), a subsidiary body with the main objective to promote “… the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests and to strengthen long-term political commitment to this end…” based on the Rio Declaration, the Forest Principles, Chapter 11 of Agenda 21 and the outcome of the IPF/IFF Processes and other key milestones of international forest policy.

The Forum has universal membership, and is composed of all Member States of the United Nations and specialized agencies.

The eighteenth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF18), held in New York from May 8-12, 2023, brought together delegates from around the world to discuss the relationship between sustainable forest management (SFM), energy, and the achievement of the United Nations mandated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The agreement on the first-ever UN Strategic Plan for Forests was reached in January 2017 during a special session of the UN Forum on Forests, and it provides an ambitious vision for global forests in 2030. The plan was approved by the UN Economic and Social Council on April 20, 2017, and then by the UN General Assembly on April 27, 2017. The Strategic Plan includes six voluntary and universal Global Forest Goals and 26 associated targets to be met by 2030. It includes a target of increasing forest area by 3% globally by 2030, which equates to an increase of 120 million hectares, or more than twice the size of France. It expands on the vision of the 2030 Agenda and recognizes that real change necessitates decisive, collective action both within and outside the UN System.