Title XV WORLD FORESTRY CONGRESS (WFC 2021)
Date 2–6 May 2022
Venue
Coex, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Participants
Governments, academia, civil society, private sector and anyone who has an interest in forests
Theme
Building a Green, Healthy and Resilient Future with Forests
Hosted by
Korea Forest Service, Republic of Korea (KFS)
Organized by
Korea Forest Service, Republic of Korea (KFS)
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Languages
English, French, Korean, Spanish
Secretariat
XV World Forestry Congress Secretariat
KFS based Secretariat Team
755, Hanbat-daero, Seo-gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea 35209
FAO based Secretariat Team
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Financial Support for the XV World Forestry Congress Participants
The Secretariat of the XV World Forestry Congress will provide financial support to enable active participation by all regions, countries and stakeholders in the Congress.
To ensure equitable, inclusive participation by a global community, recipients will be selected with priority given to those from low- and middle-income countries (as defined by the World Bank) who would not otherwise be able to attend the Congress. The selection process will also aim to achieve geographic balance across countries and regions, giving due consideration to women and youth.
The financial support may include the registration fee, airfare, accommodation, and subsistence depending on individual choices you can make in the Application Form. If you are selected to receive financial support, however, you are required to participate in the full five days of the Congress unless there are exceptional circumstances.
To apply for financial support, you need to fill out the Application Form available to download below and then submit it via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 31 January 2022.
Registration overview
The XV World Forestry Congress welcomes both stakeholders in the global forest sector and members of the general public who are interested in forests and the environment. To register online, please click on the Register Now button below. The deadlines for the different types of registration are as follows:
* Early Bird: 26 August 2020 to 15 January 2022
* Late Bird: 16 January 2022 to 15 April 2022
* On-site: 1 May to 6 May 2022
For an online group registration, a single account can be used to pay the registration fee of more than one person. Please refer to the procedure below and contact the support team for inquiries regarding online registration (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Minister Byeong-Am Choi of the Korea Forest Service
In the Republic of Korea, forests have always been intimately interwoven with people’s lives and thus have gone through many changes as the nation has had a turbulent history. First of all, the government’s reforestation programme in the 1960s evolved into a concerted, nationwide effort in 1970 and turned barren mountains into lush green forests, earning the country a global reputation as a successful example of restoring forests after decades of occupation and war. When our country suffered a financial crisis in the late 1990s, forests provided laid-off people with jobs through public forestry projects. The discovery of this new role of forests led the government to shift the focus of forest policy to more active forest management in order to realize the benefits of forests. Since the start of the 21st century, in response the growing demand for a healthier environment, the government has been providing ecosystem services to the public by tapping well-managed forest resources, including places of respite, and recreational and environmental education opportunities.
The Republic of Korea was selected as the host of the XV World Forestry Congress to be held in 2022, thanks largely to its success story in reforestation and its continued commitment to promoting international cooperation in the forest sector. It is the first time the Congress has convened in the Asia-Pacific region since it was held in Indonesia 43 years ago.
The World Forestry Congress is the most influential conference in forestry, serving as the global platform for members of the international community to come together and issue recommendations and declarations on major forest issues. The XV World Forestry Congress in 2022 will set the stage for a timely discussion of how forests can help address and adapt to climate change, combat desertification, preserve biodiversity, and resolve other global environmental issues. At the same time, the coming global gathering will provide a great opportunity to build cross-border cooperation and partnerships in forestry. Additionally, Korea’s economic development model and success story in reforestation will offer valuable lessons to those countries now in similar circumstances to what our country has gone through in the past.
The theme of the XV World Forestry Congress is “Building a Green, Healthy and Resilient Future with Forests.” As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps the world, it is necessary, indeed, to discuss forests in relation to what role they can play in creating a green, healthy future. The Republic of Korea cordially invites you to have productive discussions at the Congress about the role of the forest sector in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and in implementing international conventions on forestry and the environment.