Rome (Italy) – The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) will present the key findings of its biannual flagship publication, the State of the World’s Forests (SOFO) on June 23.

The UN agency indicated in a press statement on Friday.

It said that this year’s issue focuses on the role of socioeconomic benefits provided by forests, including income and employment, wood energy and forest products in housing.

The statement stressed the need to shift attention from trees to people, both for data collection and policy making.

According to the statement, the FAO’s Committee on Forestry (COFO), meeting in Rome to June 27 to 23,will review forest policy measures that promote sustainable production and consumption; ownership and management rights; access to resources, markets and financing.

The meeting will also focus on equitable benefit sharing; and valuation of forest products and services.

It said that the FAO would also appoint Prince Laurent of Belgium as Special Ambassador for Forests and the Environment in recognition of his long-standing efforts to promote global development and sustainable technologies.

It further said two publications dedicated to family forestry would be launched on June 26.

“A roadmap on the Way Forward for Forest Producer Organisations” and “Making change happen: What can governments do to strengthen forest producer organisations’’ will be launched on Thursday, June 26.

The presentation will be webcast in three languages English, Spanish and French.

COFO is the highest FAO Forestry statutory body, whose biennial sessions bring together heads of forest services and other senior government officials.

Other international organisations and non-governmental groups also participate in COFO. (PANA/NAN)