Applications Invited for Recognizing best practices and innovation in sustainable forest production and protection

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About the Organization

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.

Our goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With 195 members - 194 countries and the European Union, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide.

About the Event

On the occasion of its 80th anniversary, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will celebrate eight decades working towards global food security and sustainable development.

To commemorate its 80th anniversary, FAO has launched a call for nominations to recognize global forestry champions that have made outstanding contributions to sustainable forest management and agrifood systems transformation as well as other global processes that are relevant to FAO’s mandate.

Selection process:

Recognition will be given in one or more of the following ten thematic focal areas and achievements may span any period in the past 80 years.

To guide nominations, FAO has divided global forestry development over the past 80 years into four historical periods, each marked by shifting priorities, innovations or paradigm shifts.

The nominations should outline how their achievements intersect with these thematic focal areas and historical periods—through milestones, sustained influence or adaptive evolution.  Nominations can contribute to more than one theme or historical period.

Ten themes:

• Theme 1: Evolution of sustainable forest management practices
• Theme 2: Social and community forestry, and livelihoods
• Theme 3: Forest products and trade, finance and economics
• Theme 4: Forest biodiversity and genetic resources conservation and sustainable use
• Theme 5: Afforestation, reforestation and forest restoration
• Theme 6: Forest foods, nutrition, water and One Health
• Theme 7: Forests for disaster preparedness, reduction, rehabilitation and resilience
• Theme 8: Forests and climate change
• Theme 9: Forest monitoring and data for improved forest management
• Theme 10. Technological revolutions and innovations

Cross-cutting themes across all main themes:

• Science-policy interface in the forest sector
• Gender, youth, tenure and social protection (ref. to FAO Voluntary Guidelines on Land Tenure), traditional knowledge
• Forestry education

Four historical periods:

• 1945–1971: Building foundations for multifunctional forestry
• 1972–1991: Integrating forestry into environmental and development agendas
• 1992–2015: The Rio Forest Principles and sustainable development
• 2015–2025: Decade of innovation-driven transformation

Who can be nominated:

The call for nominations is open to governmental institutions; national, regional or local agencies; intergovernmental organizations; non-government organizations; academia; community service organizations; the private sector and other relevant stakeholders.

Nominations can be made by institutions, initiatives and programmes, which have made outstanding contributions to forestry development at national, regional, and global levels.

Selection criteria:

• Achieved long-term results in forest production, conservation, and sustainable use of forest resources, or increase of forest area, or restoration or afforestation and reforestation.  
• Implemented and achieved forest policies and/or strategies (short, medium or long term) and sustainability in institutional improvements/developments for better management of forest resources.  
• Degree of innovation (relevant for the selected time-period), including technical, social, financial, etc. innovations).
• Transferability and scale potential, including, where relevant, local, regional, and global contexts, and/or application in other countries or regions, and scaling up potential.
• Degree of contributions to preserving globally significant forest(s)/landscapes, traditional knowledge or cultural heritage (relevant for the selected time-period).
• Degree of participatory approaches, inclusiveness, promotion of vulnerable groups, youth and women, through relevant initiatives.

How to Apply

Submissions are open until 31 May 2025.

Recipients: FAO will inform successful applicants in September 2025. The selected nominees will receive recognition at a FAO global high-level event during the World Food Forum at FAO headquarters, Rome, Italy in October 2025.

Apply now

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