January 2016: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has made available online the report of the 153rd session of the FAO Council, held from 30 November to 4 December 2015, at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy. The Council addressed a number of issues related to forestry, including alignment of the FAO Strategic Framework with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the outcomes of the XIV World Forestry Congress and the findings of the FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015, and recommended that FAO support strengthening the contributions of its work on forests to the FAO Strategic Objectives.

The Council considered a series of programme, budgetary, financial and administrative matters; constitutional and legal matters; the outcomes of the Committee on World Food Security; and governance and other issues. On forests, the Council welcomed the outcome documents of the XIV World Forestry Congress, held in September 2015, in Durban, South Africa, including the 2050 Vision for Forests and Forestry. It noted the key findings of the FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015 on the status of the world forest resources and their sustainable management; and recommended that FAO actively support strengthening the contribution of its work on forests to the Organization’s Strategic Objectives, including alignment with the SDGs, by means of, inter alia, technical support and promoting best practices and dialogue.

The Council also welcomed the alignment of the FAO Strategic Framework with the SDGs, noting that there would be opportunity for bringing further coherence while preparing the Medium Term Plan 2018-2021. [Report of the 153rd Session of the FAO Council] [InFO News 35 on Implications for FAO and FAO Forestry] [Documents of the 153rd Session of the FAO Council] [Natural Resources Policy & Practice Story on the 153rd Session]