The UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) at its fifteenth session, requested the UNFF Secretariat, in consultation with other members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) and with input from members of the Forum, to compile an initial assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on: (i) sustainable forest management (SFM), (ii) the forest sector, forest-dependent people, indigenous peoples and local communities, (iii) forest financing and international cooperation, and to present this assessment to the Forum at its sixteenth
session in April 2021.
To initiate this assessment and collect information, the UNFF Secretariat conducted five assessments in different regions. The UNFF consultants who carried out the regional assessments will share the findings of their assessments with the EGM participants. The meeting will provide an opportunity for experts to share their experiences and lessons learned. The main objective of the expert group meeting is to discuss and share views on: (i) the impact of the global pandemic on forests and forest sector, including risks, threats and challenges; (ii) potential responses and measures for forests and forest sector recovery; (iii) the role of forests in the post COVID-19 recovery; and (iv) potential opportunities, if any, that COVID-19 has brought to the fore to enhance contribution of forests to inclusive and long-term sustainable development.