India Showcases Forest and Climate Action at FAO COFO 28 in Rome
India presented its forest-restoration and climate record at the 28th Session of the FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO 28), held in Rome from 28 September to 2 October 2026 alongside the 10th World Forest Week, themed 'Forests for food, resilience and prosperity'. India reported forest and tree cover of 82.74 million hectares, or 25.17% of its geographical area, per the India State of Forest Report 2023, and reaffirmed its Bonn Challenge pledge to restore 26 million hectares by 2030. FAO's State of the World's Forests 2026, released at the session, put globally degraded land at about 1.56 billion hectares.
The FAO Committee on Forestry, set up in 1971, is FAO's highest forestry statutory body and meets biennially at Rome | The India State of Forest Report is published every two years by the Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, under MoEFCC | The Bonn Challenge, launched in 2011, aims to bring 150 million hectares of degraded land into restoration by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030