About the XV World Forestry Congress
| Date | 2–6 May 2022 |
| Venue | Coex, Seoul, Republic of Korea |
| Participants | Over 15,000 participants from governments, academia, civil society and private sector were present from more than 160 countries either in person or online. |
| Theme | Building a Green, Healthy and Resilient Future with Forests |
| Hosted by | Korea Forest Service, Republic of Korea (KFS) |
| Organized by | Korea Forest Service, Republic of Korea (KFS) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) |
| Languages | English, French, Korean, Spanish |
| XV World Forestry Congress Secretariat KFS based Secretariat Team Korea Forest Service Government Complex-Daejeon BLDG. 1, 189 Cheongsa-ro, Seo-gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea 35208 FAO-based Secretariat Team Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy |
Historical context
The World Forestry Congress is held approximately once every six years. The first Congress was held in Italy in 1926. FAO has helped host countries organize the Congress since 1954. Responsibility for the organization and financing of each Congress lies with the host country. For information on past Congresses can be found here.
The Congress is a forum for the exchange of views and experiences on all aspects of forests and forestry, which may lead to the formulation of broad recommendations applicable at national, regional and global levels. The Congress also provides a periodical opportunity to produce an overview of the sector, in order to discern trends, adapt policies, create awareness in decision-makers, and influence public opinion. Given the high number of participants, it is a valuable forum for strengthening the role of forests in general as well as in the context of critical environmental, economic and social issues and taking into account the developments in the global sustainable development agenda.
The Congress is not an intergovernmental meeting; it has no formal constituencies nor country delegations. The implementation of recommendations is a matter for those to whom these are addressed – stakeholders like governments, international organizations, scientific bodies, forest owners, among others – in the light of their own particular circumstances.
Exchanges of knowledge within the forest sector, and between the forest sector and other sectors, benefit all countries. The diffusion of scientific and technical advances as well as the human contacts promoted by these congresses contribute to a better global understanding of the sector.
The Congress functions are advisory, not executive, and participants attend the Congress in their personal capacity. The implementation of recommendations is a matter solely for those to whom they are addressed in light of their own particular circumstances - governments, international organizations, scientific bodies and forest owners, among others.
The outcomes are brought to the attention of the FAO Conference which may consider endorsing, through a resolution, any declaration emanating from the Congress.
The Congress:
- bring together knowledge and experience to give guidance on the formulation and implementation of forest policy;
- expresses views which may help research organizations to identify future areas of study and international organizations to plan future work;
- promotes the elaboration and world-wide acceptance of technical standards such as an international forestry terminology, a uniform classification of forestry literature, and consistent research methods.
These prestigious events produce high quality papers, are recognized for their insightful deliberations and are known for reaching broad consensus on authoritative, although not binding, policy and technical advice to governments and international organizations.