Forestry Communication Toolkit

Sustainable forest management

Key messages

Sustainable forest management curbs forest degradation and deforestation while increasing direct benefits to people and the environment.
At the local level, sustainable forest management contributes to people's livelihoods, income generation and employment. At the environmental level, it contributes to, for example, carbon sequestration and water and soil conservation.
In 2020, forests covered about 31 percent of the world's total land area; about 4.06 billion hectares.
Forests contain more than half of the world's terrestrial biodiversity and store carbon in both above- and below-ground biomass.
Total employment in the forest sector was estimated at 12.5 million people.
The world’s forest area is decreasing, but the rate of loss has slowed. The world has lost 178 million ha of forest since 1990, which is an area about the size of Libya.
Fire, forest pests and climate change are also contributing to loss of forests around the world.

Videos

Geya and the three forest pathways: Steps to a forest-led green recovery and inclusive, resilient and sustainable economies

Forest pathways have the potential to provide decentralized solutions that are highly cost-effective and can be implemented comparatively rapidly and at scale. In this graphic animation, the fictional character of Geya, who works as scientific policy advisor to the prime minister of her country, explores ways how to implement forest-based pathways (protect – restore – sustainable use) as a basis for green recovery. [more]

Sustainable wood: Housing a growing population

A growing population means more buildings to fit everyone. By 2030, we will have to house an additional 3 billion people. Using wood from sustainably managed forests means we can create homes that don’t cost us the Earth. [more]

All sustainable forest management videos

Publications

A guide to multiple-use forest management planning for small and medium forest enterprises

8 November 2023 This publication offers step-by-step guidance for planning how to take care of and use forests sustainably to meet specific environmental, economic, social and cultural objectives. It shows small and medium-scale forest managers how to address administrative, economic, legal, social, technical and scientific aspects of forest management, applying globally recognized standards. [more]

Traceability and transparency in supply chains for agricultural and forest commodities

20 October 2023 Without halting forest loss, the global community will not be able to meet climate targets. The overwhelming driver of forest loss today is associated with expansion of agricultural production. Traceability and transparency in supply chains for these products are therefore necessary to understand the impact of commodities on forests, and to support the design, implementation, and monitoring of effective solutions to address forest loss. This report was prepared by World Resources Institute, Efeca, and Kanopi Consulting with the technical support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. [more]

More publications

Press releases and editorials

Variety and genetic diversity of new trees key to successful forest and landscape restoration

16 January 2024 Rome – Ensuring the availability of seeds and seedlings from a range of tree species is crucial if we are to meet global targets on the restoration of degraded forests and landscapes, according to a new forestry working paper from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT . [more]

Charting a transparent path for global forest data and innovative climate action

8 January 2024 A growing population means more buildings to fit everyone. By 2030, we will have to house an additional 3 billion people. Using wood from sustainably managed forests means we can create homes that don’t cost us the Earth. Rome – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today launched a new phase of work – supported with $2 million from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) – to assist developing countries in monitoring and reporting data on both the state and changes in their forest cover more effectively and transparently. [more]

Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission encourages regional action to enhance management of nearly 20 percent of global forests

6 October 2023 Sydney - Action is needed to unlock the full potential of forests to achieve carbon-neutral economies in Asia and the Pacific, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission heard in Sydney this week as it met to discuss the challenges and evolving dynamics of the region’s forests. [more]

More press releases

Expert interviews

Can AI help to protect manage and restore forests?

FAO’s Julian Fox discusses how AI can be a gamechanger in helping countries to monitor their forests and tackle illegal activities, in a fraction of the time it took before. [more]

Halting deforestation: Concrete measures in the Paris Agreement

Christiana Figueres, Convener of Mission 2020 and former Executive Secretary of UNFCCC, explains how deforestation affects climate change and how concrete measures in the Paris Agreement can help halt deforestation. [more]

Forest and landscape restoration in Lebanon by Chadi Mohanna

Chadi Mohanna, Director of Rural Development and Natural Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Lebanon Highlights the work that FLRM has done with the Ministry of Agriculture in Lebanon; Calls attention to the sixth Mediterranean Forest Week held in April 2019; and Describes Lebanon’s restoration ambitions. [more]

Research and Development, Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI)

Dr Sarah Carter from the University of Wageningen explains how the Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI) works to close the knowledge and technology gap between countries in the age of satellites. [more]

Innovative monitoring tools for effective ecosystem restoration

Julian Fox comments on a recently published article in Science magazine highlighting how Open Foris was used by ETH Zurich and FAO to identify almost 1 billion ha for potential forest restoration worldwide. [more]

More expert interviews