The year 2025 started with the launch of the new IUFRO website. This comprehensive update marks a significant step forward in supporting forest science and fostering global collaboration across the IUFRO network.
This collaboration happens mainly in IUFRO's thematic structure. While the nine Divisions - permanent thematic units with their Research Groups and Working Parties - and one Task Force from the previous term continued to focus on their core topics, twelve new Task Forces addressing emerging cross-cutting issues started their work in pursuit of their goals through to the next IUFRO World Congress in 2029 in Nairobi, Kenya. Many of the network activities around the world are highlighted in this Annual Report.
The first year after an IUFRO World Congress is also the first full year of a new IUFRO Board, which traditionally meets in Vienna, Austria, where the IUFRO Headquarter is located.
At the Vienna Board meeting in May the Guiding Principles of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion were approved. These are vital to the global science community and fundamental to IUFRO's overall mission of advancing forest science for the benefit of all.
The Board also officially approved the formation of a new Mentorship Committee, a forward-looking initiative designed to promote professional growth.
Furthermore, the Board approved the new Regional Science-Policy Information Networks (SPIN), an activity which follows the Directors' Forum and aims to enhance collaboration between heads of institutions and research organizations and policy actors in regions. The first two regional networks were established in Africa and Europe.
In June the IUFRO Science-Policy Programme (SciPol) presented its global assessment on Forests for Social and Economic Resilience and the related policy brief.
And in September, a key highlight of the IUFRO Special Programme for Development of Capacities (IUFRO-SPDC) was a three-day workshop back-to-back with the 5th World Teak Conference in India, where early-career scientists learned about how science can best contribute to the restoration of degraded forest landscapes.
