The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Secretariat of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) have the honour to transmit the following information in relation to the celebration of the International Day of Forests (IDF) in 2025.
The UN General Assembly established the International Day of Forests to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests and of trees outside of forests. Forests have been at the forefront of international discussions since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
To capitalize on this interest, members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) propose a central theme for the annual celebration of the International Day of Forests on 21 March, taking the theme of the annual sessions of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development and recent topics of interest into account.
For 2025, the CPF proposed the theme “Forests and foods”. The theme was supported by delegates at the 19th Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests held in 2024. The theme promotes the crucial roles of forests in food security, nutrition and livelihoods. In addition to providing food, fuel, income and employment, forests support soil fertility, protect water resources, and offer habitats for biodiversity, including vital pollinators.
Furthermore, it links to the 2025 HLPF theme of “Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science-and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for leaving no one behind”.
FAO and the UNFF Secretariat are producing various multimedia products in the six official UN languages as open and accessible sources to be used by everyone interested in celebrating the event.
The FAO International Day of Forests website features key messages, banners, events and a 60-second video spot, available in the six official UN languages. FAO is also holding a photo contest to invite members of the public to submit images that highlight how forests contribute to food security and nutrition. FAO will host a hybrid event at its headquarters in Rome to mark the day and highlight the role of forests in agri-food systems.
The UNFF Secretariat is collaborating with the Department of Global Communication on the United Nations International Day of Forests website to feature the celebration of the International Day at UNHQ, New York, and to make available digital content for user engagement. The UNFF website will promote the Day from the homepage and link to the UN International Day site.
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