United Nations Forum on Forests

About United Nations Forum on Forests

• It was established in 2000 by the UN Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC).
• It promotes the management, conservation, and sustainable development of all types of forests.
• The Forum meets annually at the UN Headquarters in New York, bringing together representatives of all member states and forest-related agencies for high-level dialogue on technical matters in odd years and policy matters in even years.
• The forum has universal membership, and is composed of all Member States of the United Nations and specialized agencies.
• India is a founding member of UNFF.
• The declaration of the 19th session aims to achieve agreement on a high-level political commitment to forest protection, with specific actions for effective implementation of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests (UNSPF) by UNFF and its stakeholders.

UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2017-2030

• It provides a global framework for actions at all levels to sustainably manage all types of forests and trees outside forests and halt deforestation and forest degradation.
• The UNSPF also provides a framework for forest-related contributions to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement adopted under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification etc.
• It serves as a reference for the forest-related work of the UN system and for fostering enhanced coherence, collaboration and synergies among UN bodies and partners.

Q1: What does ECOSOC do?

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) coordinates the work of the 14 UN specialized agencies, ten functional commissions and five regional commissions, receives reports from nine UN funds and programmes (see reverse) and issues policy recommendations to the UN system and to Member States.

Source: Early warning systems and controlled burning for forest fire management in talks at UN Forum on Forests