Expert Consultation on Global Forest Resources Assessment: Towards FRA 2020
12–16 June 2017 Joensuu, Finland
Press release
FAO Global Forest Resource Assessment 2020 Expert Consultation in Joensuu, Finland
Around 70 experts from over 25 countries, international organizations, processes, academia and nongovernmental organizations are meeting at the FAO Global Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) 2020 Expert
Consultation from 12-16.6.2017 in Joensuu, Finland.
FAO has been monitoring the world's forests at 5 to 10 year intervals since 1946 and FRA is now produced
every five years. To support decision-makers in improving the sustainable management of forests, FRA
provides consistent, up-to-date and accurate data on the world's forests and how they are changing, thus
informing the global community on forests’ contribution to mitigating climate change and the achievement of
many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This Expert Consultation will provide recommendations
on the scope of the next global assessment and will agree on standards to ensure increased consistency and
accuracy of reporting across countries, organizations and processes.
FRA is continuously evolving as needs change, new and better data become available, and new methods and
technologies are developed. Due to significant advances in the international forest policy arena, such as the
Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests
2017-2030 (UNSPF), FRA needs to adapt to respond to changing information needs, both in terms of scope and
reporting periods. At the same time, FRA is tasked with working to improve and streamline global reporting on
forests, with the aim of identifying synergies and reducing the reporting burden on countries. On a yearly
basis, FRA feeds into the SDG process by supplying data on two forestry targets under Goal 15.
FRA has received technical guidance and support from international specialists through Expert Consultations
held at regular intervals over the last 30 years. The first consultation on global forest resources assessments
took place in Kotka, Finland, in 1987, where also subsequent consultations took place in 1993, 1996, 2002 and
2006 (Kotka I-V). These meetings were organized by FAO and the United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe (UNECE), and with the support of the Government of Finland.
The FRA 2020 Expert Consultation is financially supported by the European Union, FAO, the Finnish Ministry
for Foreign Affairs and the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and is organized in collaboration with
the Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE).
For more information on FRA please visit http://www.fao.org/forest-resources-assessment.
For more information, please contact:
FAO: Maria DeCristofaro, [email protected]
Luke: Mr Mikko Salmi, [email protected], 029 532 5753