8 June 2013: The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the forestry department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) have announced the launch of a sustainable forest management (SFM) project in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

The project intends to address shortcomings in the forestry sector in order to ensure that forests play a greater role in the green economy. The goals of the project are to: build stronger forest policies and institutions; enhance the contribution of forestry to a greener economy; promote sustainable forest products; and improve data collection.

The project will run for two years and will consist of capacity building workshops on forest policies, wood use for bio-energy, data collection and lessons learned and best practices. The project will also support the development of training materials and a web-based hub for forest knowledge. [UNECE Press Release] [Capacity Building in Central Asia and the Caucasus]