International Day of Forests 2020

The theme of the 2020 International Day of Forests celebration is “Forests and Biodiversity”. Forests are home to 80% of all land-based biodiversity. At the same time, they provide critical ecosystem services that affect the global climate, rainfall patterns, and watersheds. The theme of forests and biodiversity is of particular relevance to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and SDG 15 in particular, during the Decade of Action and the 2020 “biodiversity super year”.

Featured Messages from Senior Officials

Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Message on the International Day of Forests 2020 [Arabic | Chinese | English | French | Russian | Spanish ]
H.E. Ms. Mona Juul, President of the UN Economic and Social Council
Permanent Representative of Norway to the United Nations
Message on the International Day of Forests 2020
Mr. Boris Greguška, Chair of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) Bureau
Message on the International Day of Forests 2020
Mr. Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
Message on the International Day of Forests 2020
Ms. Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Acting Executive Secretary, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
Video Message on the International Day of Forests
Mr. Alexander Trepelkov, Officer-in-Charge, UN Forum on Forests Secretariat
Message on the International Day of Forests 2020

Global celebration

Every year, the Forum secretariat holds a special event to celebrate the International Day of Forests at United Nations Headquarters in New York which attracts participation from representatives of Member States, regional organizations, members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and non-governmental organizations. This year, in light of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and growing public health concerns, the event, unfortunately, had to be canceled. However, the global virtual celebration of the International Day continues through social media and other communication channels.