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FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO)

COFO 23 The session hall during the opening day of COFO 23 and the 5th World Forest Week in Rome, Italy, on 18 July 2016. [FAO]

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations provides a forum for policy discussions on forestry through the Committee on Forestry (COFO) and its six Regional Forestry Commissions. The COFO is the highest FAO forestry statutory body. The biennial sessions of COFO are held at the FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy. They 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 other related agencies on appropriate actions to undertake.

COFO membership is open to all UN Members upon written notification to the Director-General of their desire to become Members of the Committee and in- tention to participate in its work.
 
Focal Office:
Forestry Management Bureau (FMB)
Date:
First Session - May 1972
Focal Persons:
HON. ROY A. CIMATU
Secretary, DENR
Tel. No. (632) 926 3011, 920 4301, 929 6626 loc 2258

Technical Focal
FOR. NONITO M. TAMAYO
Director, DENR-FMB Tel. No. (632) 927 4788

Alternate
FOR. EDNA D. NUESTRO
OIC-Assistant Director, DENR-FMB
Tel. No. (632) 927 4784, Fax: (632) 928 2778
Commitments:
As a member of COFO, the Philippines needs to participate in its meetings and activities in order to achieve the organization's terms of reference, namely:
1. Conduct periodic review of international forestry problems and appraise these problems with a view to proposing concerted action to be undertaken by Member Nations and the Organization in the form of resolutions;
2. Review the work program of the Organization in the field of forestry and its implementation;
3. Advise the FAO Director-General on the future work program of the Organization in the field of forestry and on its implementation; and
4. Review specific matters relating to forestry referred to the Committee by the Council or the Director-General, or placed by the Committee on its agenda at the request of a Member Nation and make recommendations as may be appropriate.
Sources / Relevant Links:
http://www.fao.org/about/meetings/cofo/en/
Status:

Updates

The 24th Session of the COFO (COFO 24) in 2018 examined the contribution of forests in achieving the UN SDGs and other internationally agreed goals; explored ways and means to accelerate progress, in particular, towards Goal 15; discussed actions for implementing the policy recommendations of the Committee on World Food Security regarding the contributions of forests to food security and nutrition; and reviewed opportunities and challenges for urban and peri-urban forestry.
COFO 24 also considered the implementation of FAO's climate change strategy and specific tasks related to forest resilience, health and forest fires and provided strategic direction for the future work of FAO in forestry. In this event, the report, State of the World's Forests 2018, was launched.
This Page was updated on 12 December 2019 and will be updated on 10 March 2021
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