The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is the main international organisation overseeing agriculture, fisheries and forestry issues. The FAO has three main roles in information gathering and dissemination, program supervision and policy development.
The FAO Forestry Department:
- provides a wide variety of reports on forestry issues ranging from technical papers and case studies, analysis of data and policy papers
- supports forest management projects, especially in developing countries
- promotes training and better forest management practices
- helps countries share knowledge and find new solutions.
The FAO provides a forum for international policy discussions on forestry through the FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO). There are also six Regional Forestry Commissions that report to this committee. The Australian Government is an active member of COFO and the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission, which represents our region.
We actively contribute to the forest data collection and reporting activities of the FAO, including the regular FAO Global Forest Resource Assessments.
FAO Committee on Forestry
The FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO) is a decision-making forum on forestry. It brings together all FAO member countries every two years at the FAO headquarters in Rome.
The committee:
- identifies emerging global forestry issues
- shares policy and technical knowledge
- provides advice and solutions to the FAO council.
Member countries, international organisations and non-government groups can take part in COFO discussions.
Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission
Established in 1949, the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission (APFC) is one of six FAO Regional Forestry Commissions that report directly to COFO. The APFC considers issues such as the state of forestry in the Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on approaches that recognise and maximise the contribution of forests and trees to food security, sustainable livelihoods and eradication of poverty. The APFC meets every two years to review progress, discuss emerging issues and set new agendas. The objectives of the APFC are to:
- provide advice on forest policy formulation
- review and coordinate implementation of forest policy at the regional level
- exchange information on suitable practices and solutions for technical problems and
- develop and support appropriate recommendations for member governments and the FAO.
The APFC is made up of 34 member countries, mostly from east Asia and the west Pacific.
Australia’s ongoing engagement with the APFC ensures the Australian Government’s forestry policy is properly represented in the Asia-Pacific region. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry traditionally represent Australia at the APFC.
The department hosted the 30th session of the APFC in person from 2-6 October 2023 in Sydney, Australia. The event brought together over 150 participants from 25 Asia-Pacific nations and international organisations to exchange views on key forestry matters affecting the region.
Attendees had the opportunity to engage with Australian forest professionals and visit sites highlighting Australia’s plant biosecurity measures, bushfire emergency response, value-added timber processing and First Nations land management.
Thailand hosted the 31st session of the APFC in November 2025.
Meeting reports provide a summary of the recommendations made during the sessions and outline regional issues identified by the Commission for the attention of the FAO COFO.