Committee on Forestry

Committee on Forestry (COFO)

The Committee on Forestry is the highest FAO Forestry statutory body. The biennial sessions of COFO (held at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy) bring together heads of forest services and other senior government officials to identify emerging policy and technical issues, to seek solutions and to advise FAO and others on appropriate action. Other international organisations and, increasingly, non-governmental groups participate in COFO.  Participation in COFO is open to all FAO member countries.

At its 19th meeting (March 2009), COFO: 

• endorsed the FAO Strategy for Forests and Forestry, which, as requested by the 18th Session of COFO, had been developed through a consultative process
• supported the recommendation of the Independent External Evaluation of FAO (IEE) to increase the share of the overall FAO budget that is allocated to forestry
• proposed to hold the next session of the Committee in October 2010, subject to agreement of the FAO Council and Conference
• agreed that sustainable forest management is the key to the forest sector’s response to climate change, and stressed the need for sufficient financing to achieve these outcomes
• recommended that FAO, in collaboration with other organisations, strengthen national capacities to develop effective responses to climate change
• recommended that FAO reinforce its capacities to support member countries in implementing forest policies and reforming forestry institutions; and
• supported the recommendation of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture that FAO prepare a report on the State of World's Forest Genetic Resources.

The FAO Strategy for Forests and Forestry adds more detail to the policy framework provided in the Non-Legally Binding Instrument on all types of forests developed by the United Nations Forum on Forests. In particular, this strategy and the work program of FAO assist member countries with implementing the global policy framework to support the delivery of sustainable forest management.

The FAO Strategy for Forests and Forestry, the final report and other documents from this meeting can be found at COFO 19.