The sixteenth session of the Committee on Forestry of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) convened in Rome, Italy, from 10-14 March 2003.

Over 350 delegates participated, including 113 FAO member States, as well as observers from one UN member State, the Holy See, eight United Nations agencies and programmes, and 23 IGOs and NGOs. Discussions focused on major forestry policy issues, such as the role of the Regional Forestry Commissions in implementing the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests’ and Intergovernmental Forum on Forests’ proposals for action, forests and freshwater, national forest programmes as a mechanism to implement the key outcomes of the World Food Summit (WFS) and World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD); decisions of FAO Governing Bodies; FAO programmes in forestry, including the future of forests and implications of the Forestry Outlook Study for Africa; review of FAO programmes; and the FAO medium-term planning process, particularly regarding forests, poverty and food security, forests and water, forests and climate change, forest governance, and forest biological diversity. Loosely structured side and satellite events, hosted by FAO, IGOs and NGOs, enabled participants to engage in detailed discussions, and provided a measured sense of progress to the meeting. For the ENB report outlining these discussion in detail, visit: http://enb.iisd.org/linkages/FAO/COF16/