FAO and IUFRO mark 75th anniversary of collaboration on forests
FAO and IUFRO mark 75th anniversary of collaboration on forests
©FAO/Pilar Valbuena Perez
Rome - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) today marked the 75th anniversary of their collaboration for the benefit of forests and people worldwide.
At a ceremony at FAO headquarters in Rome on the sidelines of the 27th Committee on Forestry, FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo and IUFRO President Daniela Kleinschmit committed to enhancing their work together at a time when science-based innovation holds the key to solving global problems.
“Our collaboration with IUFRO is crucial for enhancing the role of forest solutions to global problems, particularly in strengthening science and evidence-based decision-making,” said Semedo.
“I look forward to the continued collaboration of our two organizations in the future to jointly tackle the most pressing challenges and hazards that affect both forests and society,” said Kleinschmit.
Stepping up cooperation
The two organizations pledged to build on their long-standing cooperation for greater impact. Potential was highlighted for the two organizations to work together to assist in the development of a culture in the forest sector that fosters science-based innovation to bring about positive change, support transformative partnerships across their respective networks and create enabling environments that incentivise forest sector innovation.
The ceremony came at the start of a week of high-level talks on forests in Rome where forest policymakers and experts from over 100 countries are meeting this week for COFO and the 9th World Forest Week, with discussions centred on scaling up innovation to accelerate progress towards conserving and using forests sustainably.
FAO is the lead agency on forestry in the UN system and IUFRO is the leading organization for forest science cooperation, bringing together over 15,000 scientists in around 630 member organizations in 115 countries. The two organizations first signed a collaboration agreement in 1949, four years after FAO was established. They renewed this formal agreement 60 years later, in 2009.