The XV World Forestry Congress opened on Monday, 2 May, to a packed agenda. More than 12,500 registered participants from over 140 countries gathered at the COEX convention centre in Seoul, Republic of Korea, and participated online.
In the morning, during an elaborate opening ceremony, participants enjoyed several traditional South Korean cultural performances, and were welcomed by Moon Jae-in, President of the Republic of Korea, and other dignitaries. Participants then gathered for a high-level dialogue on the main theme of XV WFC, “Building a green, healthy and resilient future with forests,” which featured leaders from the FAO, the World Bank, and youth and Indigenous representatives.
In a special event, FAO launched the 2022 edition of its flagship State of the Forest report, which points to the need for three mutually reinforcing pathways, namely: halting deforestation and maintaining forests, restoring degraded lands and expanding reforestation, and ensuring sustainable value chains. Other key findings of the report include: the need to enshrine tenure rights; provide incentives, and remove disincentives for forest conservation; and the urgency of addressing the conflict between forest conservation and other development needs.
Later in the afternoon, participants split into six parallel sessions, each focused on a different sub-theme, including: reversing deforestation and forest degradation; nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation; green pathways to growth and sustainability; forests and human health; managing and communicating forest information, data and knowledge; and forests without boundaries: enhancing management and cooperation. These sub-themes will form the basis for four further parallel sessions that will be held throughout the week.
In the evening, a high-level dialogue between the heads of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) agencies, with representatives of Major Groups, addressed forest-based solutions to multiple ongoing crises and conflicts, including climate change, displacement and food insecurity.
Many side events and partner meetings were also held in parallel throughout the day, and an exhibition hall presented stands and information on the conference’s theme.
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All ENB photos are free to use with attribution. For XV WFC, please use: Photo by IISD/ENB | Diego Noguera.
Opening Ceremony
Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General, on behalf of António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, addresses participants via a video message.
Byeong-Am Choi, Minister, Korea Forest Service
Princess Basma bint Ali of Jordan, FAO Goodwill Ambassador
Magdalena Jovanovic, President, International Forestry Students Association
Qu Dongyu, FAO Director General
Special Event: High-level Dialogue - Building a Green, Healthy and Resilient Future with Forests
Qu Dongyu, FAO Director General, delivers a keynote speech.
Speakers during the first panel discussion
Juergen Voegele, Vice-President for Sustainable Development, World Bank, addresses participants via a video message.
Juan Carlos Jintiach, Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin (COICA)
Yugratna Srivastava, Youth Task Force UN Decade and Youth Constituency Focal Point to UNEP
John Parrotta, President, International Union of Forest Research Organizations
Yannick Glemarec, Executive Director, Green Climate Fund
Moderator Jie-Ae Sohn, Ewha Womans University
Speakers during the second panel discussion
Byeong-Am Choi, Minister, Korea Forest Service
Jun Kim, Vice-Chairman and CEO, SK Innovation
Jessica Vega Ortega, Co-Chair, Global Indigenous Youth Caucus
Rosalie Matondo, Minister of Forest Economy, Republic of Congo
Bat-Erdene Bat-ulzii, Minister of Environment and Tourism, Mongolia
Participants during the High-level Dialogue
High-level speakers pose for a group photo
Press Conference
Participants during the press conference
Princess Basma bint Ali of Jordan, FAO Goodwill Ambassador
Eun-sik Park, Korea Forest Service, and Secretary-General of the XV World Forestry Congress Secretariat
Maria Helena Semedo, FAO Deputy Director-General
Byeong-Am Choi, Minister, Korea Forest Service
State of the World's Forests 2022 Technical Launch: Forest Pathways for Green Recovery and Building Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable Economies
Speakers pose for a photo following the session on the State of the World’s Forests 2022 Technical Launch.
Panelists during the launch of FAO’s State of the World Forests 2022 report
Tiina Vahanen, FAO Deputy Director
Gerardo Segura Warnholtz, FAO
Marco Boscolo, FAO, addresses participants remotely
Plenary: UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration – 8 More Years to Heal the Planet
Princess Basma bint Ali of Jordan, FAO Goodwill Ambassador
Moderator James Astill, Washington Bureau Chief, The Economist
Luc Gnacadja, Lead, UN Decade Science Task Force
Maria Helena Semedo, FAO Deputy Director-General
Angela Coleman, US Department of Agriculture Forest Service
Adriana Vidal, Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration
Rémi D'Annunzio, FAO
Christophe Besacier, FAO
Gabriel Labbate, UN Environment Programme
Sub-theme Sessions
Panelists during the sub-theme session 6: Setting the Stage: Landscape Approach and Cooperation in Forest Management
Tony Simons, Director General, World Agroforestry (ICRAF), and Executive Director, CIFOR-ICRAF
Thomas Hofer, FAO
Thomas Astell-Burt, University of Wollongong, addresses participants remotely during the sub-theme 4: Overview of the Connection of Forest Ecosystems to Human Health, Well-being and Social Stability.
Bishop Ngobeli, Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo, presents online on the South Africa open space landscape.
The dais during the sub-theme session 5: Towards Open and Transparent Reporting and Dissemination of Forest Data
Martín Monaco, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, Argentina, addresses participants remotely during the sub-theme session 1: Global Deforestation: Challenges and Opportunities for Concrete Action to Halt and Reverse Forest Loss by 2030.
Panelists of the sub-theme session 2: Setting the Scene of Forests and Trees as Nature-based Solutions
The dais during the sub-theme session 3: Managing Forests for the SDGs: Creating Value, Equality and Resilience from Forest Products and Ecosystem Services
CPF Dialogue: Climate Change, Conflicts and Food Insecurity - Forest Solutions to Tackle Effects of Crises
CPF Dialogue group photo
Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, addresses the session via a video message.
Sheam Satkuru, Executive Director, International Tropical Timber Organization
Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator, addresses participants via a video message.
Around the Venue
