UNECE and FAO are organising the celebration of the International Day of Forests on 21 March 2016 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

The International Day of Forests 2016 was dedicated to the theme of “Forests and Water” as decided by United Nations Forum on Forests and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests.

The celebrations consisted of a half-day event aimed to raise awareness on the multiple links between forests and water sources. It featured country experiences and case studies emphasizing forest ecosystem services safeguarding water balance and supply as well as forests’ role in increasing landscape resilience to water-related hazards. It was followed by a reception.

Forest ecosystem services experts and senior government officials from the forest sector, international organizations, academia and NGOs presented the links between forests and the quality of water, and the impact of land management on mitigation water-related disaster risks.

The event was organised by the UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section jointly with the UNECE Secretariat of the Water Convention and its Protocol on Water and Health, the Housing and Land Management Unit and the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands as well as with the support from the Swiss Confederation and the Government of Finland. .

To mark the International Days of Forests the UNOG Cafeteria served a forest-inspired menu during lunchtime.

In addition, an exhibition of forest inspired photos by Jean-Jacques Kissling was displayed in La Passerelle in the Palais des Nations from 14 to 24 March 2016. Jean-Jacques Kissling is a photographer, born in Geneva, sensitive to the environment and society. His photos adorn collections in Switzerland, England, France, USA and Russia.

The concept for the event can be found here (pdf).