IUFRO News
Issue 5, 2020

 

IUFRO NEWS 5, 2020

Dear Reader of IUFRO News:

We are happy to present to you issue 5 of IUFRO News 2020, volume 49.

Although many IUFRO activities and events scheduled for 2020 had to be postponed to 2021 or even cancelled, we are encouraged by the extraordinary level of communication that continues among IUFRO units via email, social media and online conferencing.

These activities, along with your continued communications with IUFRO Headquarters, keep our global network thriving despite the uncertainties of these times. For this, we are most grateful.

IUFRO News Issue 5 is also available for download as a PDF or Word file at: https://www.iufro.org/publications/news/electronic-news/

You are welcome to share this newsletter with your colleagues and publish the link on your organization's website!


Best wishes,

Alexander Buck
IUFRO Executive Director

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Social Innovations in Forest Dependent Communities and New Challenges Posed by COVID-19

Photo showing the Launch of IUFRO Unit 4.05.05 - Social innovation and entrepreneurship in Lviv, Ukraine, by Deputy Coordinator Dr. Mariana Melnykovych. Photo by Ihor Fedyshyn, UNFU

Forest dependent communities in rural and often marginalized areas are facing numerous challenges. The new IUFRO Unit 4.05.05 - Social innovation and entrepreneurship aims to contribute to research on social innovation and entrepreneurship that are potentially helpful for the development of marginalized rural areas. More

 

Restoring Forests for Sustainable Development – Policies, Practices and Impacts

Photo showing Atlas Mountains, Morocco. Photo: IUFRO

IUFRO‘s Special Project on World Forests, Society and Environment (WFSE) has started the work on a new topic focusing on forest restoration. A special focus will be placed on the interrelationship between forest restoration and climate change. More

 

 

International Day for Biological Diversity 2020: Our Solutions are in Nature

Photo collage by John Parrotta from his presentation on 5 October 2019

The International Day for Biological Diversity on 22 May 2020 was commemorated through its first ever online-only campaign. IUFRO President John Parrotta, in his inaugural speech at the IUFRO World Congress in 2019, underlined the importance of forests as the home of an estimated 80% of the Earth's terrestrial biodiversity. More

 

Governing and Managing Forests for Multiple Ecosystem Services across the Globe

Photo showing Poster hall. Photo by Maria Schlossmacher, EFI

The objective of this conference organized by the European Forest Institute and Swedish University of Agricultural Science and partners was to compile and synthesize the scientific evidence related to the current state of integrated forest management approaches worldwide. More

 

 

Studying Forestry to be Part of a Solution to a Problem

Photo showing Amanubo Amos during XXV IUFRO World Congress Gala Dinner. Photo by Morne Booij Liewes, FABI

Interview with IFSA President Amanubo Amos about reasons for studying forestry, challenges of international networking in times of a pandemic, and his hopes for a future where humans and nature are reconciled, acknowledging that their existence is not mutually exclusive. More

 

 

News from IUFRO Members: Scientists obtain a thickening agent from pine and eucalyptus cellulose to produce alcohol hand sanitizer

Photo showing viscous, whitish liquid in a bucket. Photo Embrapa Florestas (PR)

Researchers from Embrapa Florestas (PR) have shown that microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) derived from pine and eucalyptus is an effective thickening agent and emulsifier in the production of antiseptic alcohol. More

 

 

News from IUFRO HQ: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of IUFRO Headquarters Operations

Graphic showing globe with leaves. Graphic: Gerd Altmann on Pixabay

In view of the escalating climate crisis and the increased need to more drastically pursue changes towards a low-carbon economy, the IUFRO-HQ Team decided to accelerate its measures in the transition to a more sustainable future. To this end a new carbon policy outlines best practices for reducing the carbon footprint. More

 

 

 

Publications

Photo showing Student networking at IUFRO World Congress. Photo by Khalil Walji

IUFRO Spotlight #77 - Stepping up the Global Discussion on Forest Education

While there is a large body of knowledge in environmental education, research on forest education is meager. The Joint IUFRO-IFSA Task Force on Forest Education wants to raise awareness on this gap. More

 

 

IUFRO Annual Report 2019

In 2019 we celebrated the strength and vitality of our network at the XXV IUFRO World Congress in Curitiba, the first ever IUFRO World Congress held in Latin America. In 2020 the world is all of a sudden struggling with an unprecedented global pandemic. This would have made a World Congress and many other IUFRO activities simply impossible. More

 

 

 

Graphic showing laptop screen with video conference. Alexandra Koch on Pixabay

IUFRO Blog: How I met my fellow scientists virtually

This blog site is intended to serve as a platform and discussion forum where IUFRO officeholders can share information about virtual meetings and discuss with each other. More

 

Photo showing Cape beech damaged by a canker disease. Photo by Mike Wingfield

Tree Diseases Can Change Entire Landscapes and Must be Taken Seriously

Plant pathogens are a serious threat to global food security. They also threaten trees, and if native tree species are wiped out, whole ecosystems shift. Read this article published in the "Conversation", by Mike Wingfield, IUFRO Immediate Past President; Brenda Wingfield; and Casparus J. Crous. More

 

 

More Publications

European Forest Governance Post-2020 / Non-wood Forest Products in Europe – A Quantitative Overview / State of the World's Forests 2020 / Biodiversity Scientists: COVID-19 Stimulus Must Safeguard Nature to Reduce Risk of Future Pandemics / Forest Microclimate Dynamics Drive Plant Responses to Warming / Call for Manuscripts on Pests, Pathogens and Invasions / News from Forest Policy and Economics. More

 

 

 

Announcements

Photo showing Alfred Oteng-Yeboah at conference. Photo IISD RS

Congratulations! Alfred Oteng-Yeboah to Receive John C. Phillips Memorial Medal

The John C. Phillips Memorial Medal is the highest award of the IUCN and recognizes outstanding service in international conservation. Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, who was involved in IUFRO as the Africa regional coordinator for the 2005-2011 IUFRO Task Force on Traditional Forest Knowledge, will be presented the medal at the IUCN Congress in January 2021. More

 

 

Photo showing the three recipients of the Marcus Wallenberg Prize 2020

2020 Marcus Wallenberg Prize: Model for forest growth during climate change

Joseph J Landsberg, Richard H Waring and Nicholas C Coops share the 2020 Marcus Wallenberg Prize for a model to predict forest growth in a changing climate. Satellite imagery offers the possibility to scale up the model to show how different environmental conditions affect the world‘s forests. More

 

 

Forest Europe Photo Contest

Do you have great photos of forests and other wooded land in the pan-European region with people in forests, utilizing the forests, supporting forest workers, forest villagers and all society enjoying the forest benefits? Then why don't you take part in this photo contest. More

 

 

Photo showing green frog on leave. Photo by 272447 on Pixabay

Rainforest XPRIZE: Discover. Understand. Preserve.

The $10 Million Dollar Rainforest XPRIZE is a five-year competition to enhance our understanding of the rainforest ecosystem. The winning team will develop novel technologies to rapidly and comprehensively survey rain- forest biodiversity and use that data to improve our understanding of this complex ecosystem. More

 

 

Photo showing deceased IUFRO Honorary Member Robert "Bob" Youngs. Photo source: https://seaverbrown.com/tribute/details/2166/Robert-L-Youngs/obituary.html

Obituary of Dr. Robert L. "Bob" Youngs

We regret to inform you that IUFRO Honorary Member Dr. Robert L. (Bob) Youngs, age 96, passed away on April 25, 2020 in Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A. Dr. Youngs actively participated in the organization the XV IUFRO Congress in Gainesville, FL, USA in 1971. He served as IUFRO Division 5 Coordinator from 1982-1990. More

 

 

 

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IUFRO News Issue 5, 2020, published in May 2020
by IUFRO Headquarters, Marxergasse 2, 1030 Vienna, Austria.

Available for download at: https://www.iufro.org/publications/news/electronic-news/
Contact the editor at office(at)iufro.org or visit https://www.iufro.org/ 

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