FAO appoints new Forestry Director

Rome - FAO Director-General QU Dongyu announced the appointment of a new director of the FAO Forestry Division last week.

Zhimin Wu, from the People’s Republic of China, has an extensive background in the forestry sector, with 38 years’ experience in national and international forestry roles.

Prior to his appointment at FAO, Mr Wu served as Director-General of the Wetland Management Department of China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA) since 2019, while also Director-General of the Ramsar Administrative Authority in Beijing.

FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo offered her best wishes for the new appointment: “This is an exciting time to be part of a new and more flexible FAO, perfectly adapted to a dynamic and rapidly evolving world. The Forestry Division is carrying out urgent work essential to meeting Global Forestry Goals (GFG) by 2030 and to the Sustainable Development Goals, and to contributing to FAO’s mandate of ending hunger and malnutrition.”

Zhimin Wu holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology from the Chinese Academy of Forestry, a Master of Forestry from the Australian National University, and a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature from Zhengzhou University.  

He started his career in 1984 as a programme officer in the Department of International Cooperation of China’s Ministry of Forestry, State Forestry Administration. Since then, he has held many senior positions, including that of Director-General of the same department in which he began. Among other roles, he has also served as Vice Chairperson of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF).

Mr Wu’s appointment coincides with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, launched in June 2021, and now moving into full implementation. The Decade calls for action to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of forests and other ecosystems. It takes place in the context of global restoration and climate goals, such as the Bonn Challenge, which aims to bring 350 million hectares of degraded and deforested landscapes into restoration by 2030.

For this to happen, FAO has a key role to play in enhancing linkages between forestry and agriculture, identifying solutions and supporting Members in restoring their production systems, including forestry and agroforestry.