Rome – The 28th Session of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Committee on Forestry opened on Monday with a call for stronger global action to address mounting threats to forests while fully recognizing their critical contribution to food security, livelihoods, climate resilience and sustainable agrifood systems. …During the opening session, FAO launched the 2026 edition of State of the World’s Forests, which focuses on forest and landscape restoration as a key response to food insecurity, climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation. According to the report, 1.56 billion hectares of land worldwide are degraded, including 460 million hectares of forest land. At the same time, restoration efforts are gaining momentum, with 91 countries committing to restore 190 million hectares of degraded forests. …The report notes that achieving global restoration targets by 2030 remains a significant challenge but also represents a strategic investment that can generate long-term benefits for sustainable agrifood systems, rural development and environmental resilience.