WFC 2021 in Seoul : Building a green, healthy and resilient future with forests

The six sub-themes of the XV World Forestry Congress address important current issues concerning forests and the products and services they provide.

After a first press release from FAO, we share with you an information about the XV World Forestry Congress that will take place in Seoul from 24 to 28 May 2021, organized by FAO. http://wfc2021korea.org/fre/sub02/theme.html

Congress 2021 is open to “diverse participants from around the globe, with representation from all regions and sectors including the public and private sector, NGOs, CSOs, scientific or professional bodies, and forestry societies, as well as those who simply care about forests and the environment“. The last congress was held in Durban (South Africa) in 2015 and was attended by many ATIBT members. ATIBT has had exchanges with FAO, and validates in principle the participation of our association in this event, to take advantage of this important forum and share our ideas.  We are therefore in time to propose themes to be presented. It is important to know that the complexity of the event and the number of conferences and side events is very large, so we will need “partners” to bring our messages to the highest level.

It is therefore important, at this stage, to decide which themes are essential for us. Different orientations are being discussed among some ATIBT members, and we would like to broaden the debate in order to choose the best themes that can be carried by many partners.

Among the main ideas that we have identified, we can mention the continuation of our work on sustainable tropical timber chains and the fight against illegal timber, including in European markets. We are certainly, on this subject, aligned with many other actors in the sector. Dialogue with Chinese organizations, but also with the NGOs present in Shanghai during our 2019 forum, should be a priority. We can also think about the situation of IFL’s in tropical forests, but also about how to better promote the certification of tropical woods on the markets and the continued promotion of the Fair&Precious brand.

Finally, 2021 will also be ATIBT’s 70th anniversary year, let’s think about it ! Of course, Covid-19 will dictate the conditions under which this Forestry Congress can take place.