Forest products and services

Sustainable Wood for a Sustainable World

Micro, small and medium-scale forest enterprises

Partnerships and initiatives

International Commission on Poplars and Fast-Growing Trees Sustaining People and Environment

Advisory Committee on Sustainable Forest-based Industries

Forest law enforcement, governance and trade

News

Grow the Solution initiative aims to promote wood-based products for climate

06/05/2024

The Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) Communicators Network Joint Initiative today launched a new initiative to encourage greater use of products made from sustainably grown wood as a key strategy for combating climate change.

FAO and EU launch 15 million euro project to boost sustainability of Uganda’s forestry sector

10/04/2024

FAO has launched a 15 million euro ($16.29 million) project funded by the European Union to help Uganda’s forestry sector contribute more sustainably to the economy and the environment.

Chris Steele-Perkins Magnum Photos for FAO

International Conference on Agrobiodiversity begins in Nepal

08/04/2024

Forest and farm producer organizations representing the world’s smallholder farmers, Indigenous Peoples and local communities are gathering in Pokhara, Nepal, this week to explore how to best manage the world’s agrobiodiversity.

Publications

FAO Forestry Paper 189: Enabling micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in legal timber production and trade

2022

This report explains the challenges facing forest sector micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and outlines strategies to support them to supply legal timber and timber products to domestic and international markets.

Contribution of the forest sector to total employment in national economies

2022

Forests and the forest sector are important sources of employment, livelihoods and incomes for millions across the globe, particularly in rural areas. Despite the relevance of forests for employment and income generation, limited quantitative information is currently available. This study employs a new method to provide sound total employment estimates in the forest sector on a global scale.

Carbon rights in the context of jurisdictional REDD+: Tenure links and country-based legal solutions

2022

More clarity on who ‘owns’ emissions reductions is still needed to access different sources of forest carbon finance and protect the rights of vulnerable groups, according to a new information brief released today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Videos

International Day of Forests 2024: New solutions for a better world

21/03/2024

Innovation is unlocking the forests’ long-kept secrets and allowing us to use trees in ways we never imagined possible.

Sustainable wood: The manifesto

06/12/2022

Over the centuries, we’ve moved away from using wood as a building material, at great cost to the planet.

Sustainable wood: Climate-friendly cities

01/12/2022

Find more videos on the FAO Forestry YouTube playlist

Sustainable wood: Housing a growing population

27/10/2022

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...

Sustainable Wood: Building the future

13/10/2022

Wood can be a material of the future, helping to build a bio-economy for the planet's health and economic recovery. Durable “cross-laminated timber”...

Forests and sustainable production and consumption

21/04/2022

For millions of people across the world, wood helps provide safe drinking water, food and shelter - but wood can do much more and is a renewable resource...

Is your toothbrush made of plastic or wood?

21/03/2022

Replacing more of the plastic things we use every day with wood-based products from sustainably managed forests can help combat climate change and achieve...

Sustainable forests: a powerful ally against climate change

24/02/2021

Climate change is subjecting our planet to unsustainable pressures. Forests and trees trap and store carbon as they grow – standing at the frontline...

Clean energy from sustainable wood

24/02/2021

The Sustainable Development Goals need forests

06/07/2018

Forests are critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and are a vital part of our global ecosystem. They not only contribute to...