Open letter to FAO on the occasion of March 21st 2014 – International Day of Forests: Defining Forests by their true meaning!

An open letter from a coalition of social movements, NGOs, and activists to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, urging a revision of the official definition of 'forests' to better reflect the biological diversity and the needs of forest-dependent communities.

• The authors argue that the FAO's current definition of a forest is reductionist and timber-centric, focusing solely on tree crown cover and height while ignoring biological diversity and the cultural relationship between forests and the people who live in them. This definition is claimed to primarily serve the interests of the rubber, pulp/paper, and timber industries.
• The FAO's definition allows large-scale monoculture tree plantations—including eucalyptus, acacia, and rubber—to be classified as 'planted forests' or 'reforestation.' The authors contend that this masks the reality of deforestation and ignores the negative impacts of industrial monocultures, such as the displacement of forest-dependent communities and the risk of genetic contamination of surrounding forests.
• The document highlights the critical dependence of millions of people on forests for food sovereignty and livelihoods. It notes that at least 300 million people directly depend on forests, including indigenous peoples and peasants who use non-timber forest products and practice sustainable agriculture. The authors state that these communities, particularly women, are most affected by forest destruction.
• The coalition demands that the FAO initiate a review process to formulate a new forest definition. They insist that this process must be led by and effectively engage the women and men who directly depend on forests to ensure the definition supports their modes of living and organizations.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2014). Open letter to FAO on the occasion of March 21st 2014 – International Day of Forests: Defining Forests by their true meaning! https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Declaration-March-21st-2014-on-Forest-Definition.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. Open letter to FAO on the occasion of March 21st 2014 – International Day of Forests: Defining Forests by their true meaning! 2014. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Declaration-March-21st-2014-on-Forest-Definition.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=Open letter to FAO on the occasion of March 21st 2014 – International Day of Forests: Defining Forests by their true meaning! |date=21 March 2014 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Declaration-March-21st-2014-on-Forest-Definition.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{friendsoftheearthinternational2014open, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{Open letter to FAO on the occasion of March 21st 2014 – International Day of Forests: Defining Forests by their true meaning!}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2014}, month = mar, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Declaration-March-21st-2014-on-Forest-Definition.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }