The Forest Dialogue's (TFD) goal is to reduce conflict among stakeholders over the use and protection of vital forest resources. Since 1998, TFD has brought together more than 2,500 diverse leaders to work through complex and controversial forest issues in what we call Initiatives. TFD utilizes the multi-stakeholder dialogue (MSD) model to progress from building trust among participants to achieving substantive, tangible outcomes. A primary reason for TFD's success is that participants are committed to advocate for and work to implement these consensus-based outcomes. TFD was created to provide international leaders in the forest sector with an ongoing, inclusive platform focused on developing mutual trust, shared understanding, and collaborative solutions around global issues confronting sustainable forest management. TFD is governed by a steering committee composed of a diverse group of individuals representing key stakeholder perspectives from around the world.