The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
Improving the processing and trade of African wood and wood products (WWPs) has long been a focus for African policymakers because it stimulates multiple benefits for the African continent, including the creation of jobs, investment, and revenues. Further processing of WWPs in Africa will contribute to the continent’s industrialization and …
The Roadmap articulates a comprehensive set of policy solutions, establishing the architecture to better organize conversations among partners and policymakers. It also offers a starting point to consider the optimal approach and mix of policies required to advance desired wildfire resilience outcomes. Wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity in …
Overall consumption of primary processed wood products is expected to grow 37 percent by 2050 in a business-as-usual scenario, according to this report published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The global threats to climate, biodiversity and a healthy environment are mainly caused by the …
From drinking a glass of water to building a house, forests are precious resources for people’s lives and are key to solving many global challenges, including the climate crisis and poverty, according to this new report developed by the FAO in collaboration with the European Forest Institute (EFI). From drinking …
The current report was compiled by the FAO Regional Office for Near East and North Africa (NENA) and is aimed at providing member countries with a source of reliable and timely data on the status of forest resources in the region and supporting them in their evidence-based decision-making and planning …
It is estimated that between 50%-90% of Africa’s trade in tropical timber and products is illegal which has a significant negative impact on any national economy. It is well-documented that economic activities operating outside the law impact the economy, exacerbate poverty and worsen the quality of forest management. It is …
The Congo Basin is made up of six countries: Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The Congo Basin’s forests, being the second largest ‘lungs’ of the world after the Amazonian forests, have an area of about …
Global resource use could double by 2050, representing an opportunity for tropical timber producers, according to a study published by ITTO. It forecasts that tropical industrial roundwood production will increase substantially by mid-century but says the sector needs a boost if it is to maximize its contribution to carbon-neutral production. …
To meet global restoration needs and recover degraded forests and landscapes, adequate public and private investments are required to support restoration activities on the ground. The new FAO publication “Local financing mechanisms for forest and landscape restoration: A review of local level investment mechanisms” examines the pathways available to financing …
Populations in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) living on the fringes of forests indubitably rely on them for income and subsistence. But unsustainable practices can lead to resource degradation and depletion, threatening the very basis of their livelihoods. A forest-based ‘circular’ bioeconomy approach could stabilize sustainable natural resource use, yet bioeconomy strategies …
Bamboo is one of the most important non-wood forest resources used extensively by tribals and rural poor in Tripura. While it plays an important role in the economy of the State and in subsistence activities, employment generation and household income, the economic potential is significantly greater. At present only 1-2% …
The global production and trade of major wood products such as industrial roundwood, sawnwood and wood-based panels have surged to their highest level since the Food and Agriculture Organization began recording forest statistics in 1947. According to the latest data released by FAO, record volumes of wood-based products were produced …
FAO has released a new edition of its Yearbook of Forest Products, which compiles production and trade statistics on basic forest products including wood, wood fuel, charcoal, pulp and paper across the globe. The 71st edition of the yearbook shows volumes of production, consumption and trade in each country for …
The Roadmap put the SDGs into action to identify risks and opportunities for the forest products sector and provides solution pathways through which the sector can minimize negative effects and strive to maximize SDG impact in the 2030 horizon. It aims to guide, inform and influence decision-making and actions along …
Forests and landscapes in the Asia-Pacific region are under increasing pressure from economic development, climate change, demographic shifts, conflicts over tenure and land use, and other stressors. This, the third Asia-Pacific Forest Sector Outlook Study, presents scenarios and a strategic analysis to help policymakers and other actors understand the implications …
The publication takes stock and gives a ‘gap analysis’ of the current status of institutions and legal frameworks relating to the regulation of licit trade, and the prevention, detection and penalization of illicit trade, in wildlife and forest products. It also highlights useful components of existing instruments and possible issues …
This report presents a framework for strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of regulation of forestry and related sectors. It strives to identify and reduce regulatory burdens on private firms active in the forestry sector, while not compromising the objectives of government regulation. Illegal logging and deforestation, especially in developing countries, …
The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Refugee Agency (UNHCR) launched a new handbook to help restore forests in displacement-affected areas, where heavy reliance on woodfuel puts forests and woodlands in jeopardy. An estimated 2.4 billion people - about a quarter of the global population - depend on …
More than 1.5 billion smallholders throughout the world depend on forest landscapes to produce food, fuel, timber and non-wood forest products to meet their subsistence needs and generate cash income. Despite the large number of smallholders and the large collective scale of their production, policy makers have overlooked smallholders’ role …
This paper develops a broad framework to conceptualize the multiple ways forests contribute to poverty reduction and inform interventions in forest landscapes. The paper identifies five key strategies for reducing poverty in forest landscapes: improvements in the productivity of forest land and labor; strengthened community, household, and women's rights over …
