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Forests cover 31 percent of the world's land and are fundamental to life on our planet.
Home to more than half of the world’s land animal and plant species, forests are a direct source of food, income and shelter for millions of people, and provide energy for heating and cooking for 2.6 billion. Forests are key to mitigating climate change, absorbing carbon dioxide from the air, storing more than half the global carbon stock in soils and vegetation and regulating rainfall. If sustainably managed, forests are also a source of renewable raw materials, helping to build an economy which allows nature to regenerate.
Through its Forestry Programme, FAO seeks to restore forests, improve the lives of forest-dependent people, and support countries to manage their forests in a sustainable way. FAO’s work is fully aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, creating more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.
Highlights
![SOFO 2024](https://www.fao.org/images/forestrylibraries/cards/53_sofo_600x400px_en-min.jpg?sfvrsn=ce06b30c_8)
Flagship publication
The State of the World's Forests
![Restoration key to healthy Mediterranean forests](https://www.fao.org/images/forestrylibraries/cards/56_socialcard_220724_unasylva255_600x400px.jpg?sfvrsn=34457810_12)
International forestry journal
Restoring the Mediterranean region – status and challenges
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![Forest path Forest path](/images/forestrylibraries/default-album/cofo-27/web-banner-02.tmb-th600x400.jpg?Culture=en&sfvrsn=242c237d_6)
The FAO Forestry Roadmap – towards systematic and innovative solutions for global challenges
30/07/2024
![Photo credit Giulio Napolitano Photo credit Giulio Napolitano](/images/forestrylibraries/cards/photo-credit-giulio-napolitano.tmb-th600x400.jpg?Culture=en&sfvrsn=d5f70258_1)
Enhancing efforts for productive and resilient dryland landscapes in Southern Africa
29/07/2024
![Costa Rica Photo credit: FAO/SEPAL Costa Rica Photo credit: FAO/SEPAL](/images/forestrylibraries/default-album/banners/costa-rica-photo-credit-fao-sepal.tmb-th600x400.jpg?Culture=en&sfvrsn=6ae7cfe0_1)
FAO’s Open Foris and SEPAL win Google Geo for Good Impact Award
29/07/2024
Contact
Forestry at FAO
The Forestry Division leads FAO’s work in promoting the sustainable management of forests and balancing economic, social and environmental interests in landscapes surrounding them. It liaises with member countries, partners, civil society and the private sector to encourage more effective policies for management and to strengthen the role of forests in reducing the effects of climate change and helping humanity to adapt to them.
The Division also collects, analyses and shares information on the world’s forest resources and the production, trade and consumption of wood and non-wood forest products. The Committee on Forestry and six regional forestry commissions guide FAO in its technical forestry work.
Multimedia
![](https://www.fao.org/images/forestrylibraries/default-album/elearning_newcropped.jpg?sfvrsn=ae57d091_11)
E-learning
Online self-paced forestry courses
![Agroforestry ©Simon Maina](https://www.fao.org/images/forestrylibraries/default-album/agroforestry-1-fao_simon-maina300.jpg?sfvrsn=fc8a6531_18)
Photography
Forestry events, projects and themes
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![Drylands Summer School 2024 Drylands Summer School 2024](https://www.fao.org/images/forestrylibraries/cards/drylands-summer-school-2024b7087345-d292-4d33-8bfb-449ad3d49c50.jpg?sfvrsn=f6d0139_1)
Nairobi (Kenya)
Drylands Summer School
12/09/2024 - 15/09/2024
FAO's second drylands summer school will explore transformative approaches to building climate-resilient dryland systems.
![cop_biodiversity_webbanner sq](https://www.fao.org/images/forestrylibraries/default-album/banners/cop_biodiversity_webbanner-sq.png?sfvrsn=bd169439_1)
Hybrid Event, Cali (Colombia)
UN Biodiversity Conference 2024 COP16
21/10/2024 - 01/11/2024
COP16 is the first Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP since the Global Biodiversity Framework, also known as The Biodiversity Plan was adopted...
![International Commission on Poplars and Other Fast-Growing Trees Sustaining People and the Environment International Commission on Poplars and Other Fast-Growing Trees Sustaining People and the Environment](https://www.fao.org/images/forestrylibraries/default-album/events/international-commission-on-poplars-and-other-fast-growing-trees-sustaining-people-and-the-environment.png?sfvrsn=79d5f5ac_3)
Bordeaux (France)
27th Session International Commission on Poplars and Other Fast-Growing Trees Sustaining People and the Environment
21/10/2024 - 25/10/2024
The mission of IPC is to reduce poverty and improve ecosystem services worldwide by fostering the sustainable management of fast-growing trees.