Delegates from around the world meet to explore ways to boost forest education.
22 June 2021, Rome - Today sees the start of the International Conference on Forest Education<http://www.fao.org/forestry/forest-education/conference/en/> - a three-day event to shine a light on the important role forest education plays in maximizing the contributions of forests and trees to the Sustainable Development Goals and in overcoming the growing disconnect between people, nature and forests.
Over a thousand experts are attending the conference, which is organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Tropical Timber Organizations (ITTO) and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), CIFOR-ICRAF and the Secretariats of the UN Forum on Forests and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, with support from Germany.
The results of a global survey on forest education at all levels - from primary schools to universities - will be announced at the conference, which builds on a year-long effort by the FAO-ITTO-IUFRO Global Forest Education Project<http://www.fao.org/forestry/forest-education/en/> to collect, synthesise and verify the status of forest education.
"Forests are vital for combatting climate change, for the livelihoods of forest-dependent people, and for providing a secure future for generations to come," said FAO Deputy-Director General Maria-Helena Semedo. "Yet around the world, the environmental, societal and economic importance of forests is being overlooked. We urgently need to revitalize forest education so more people come to value forests for the vital natural resource they are."
The conference aims to help chart a path forward for forest education globally. Delegates including policy-makers, forest educators and forestry students will review the three pillars of forest education and knowledge: formal forest education; non-formal and informal education; and traditional and indigenous knowledge systems.
Themes that will be tackled include addressing gender and ethnicity in forest education; tailoring forest education to the needs of the job market; bringing forests into the lives of primary and secondary schoolchildren; improving the quality of forest education at tertiary level; redressing out-dated perceptions of forest careers through strategic communications; and tapping into digital opportunities to strengthen forest education.
New digital tools to improve forest education
Two new digital tools, which will help drive forward improvements in forest education, will also be unveiled at the conference.
forestra is a new online gateway to global forest education which has been created under the leadership of IUFRO as part of a joint project with FAO-IUFRO-ITTO. forestra will store and facilitate sharing of information on tertiary education, technical and vocational education and training (both short and long-term), and forest-related public environmental education.
"As the world becomes more digitally connected, the opportunity for online resource access grows", said IUFRO President John Parrotta. "The forestra platform has been developed to facilitate this access to knowledge and information related to forest education through an innovative user-friendly search function. It will create connections between education, training and forest-related environmental awareness initiatives at all levels around the world."
In addition, a free online course on Legal and Sustainable Supply Chains (LSSC)<https://lsscourse.com/course/> in the timber industry, developed under the leadership of ITTO, will help support several audiences, including businesses, to meet market requirements.
"The livelihoods of millions of people around the world depend on timber, but these are increasingly under threat from illegal and unsustainable practices," said Steve Johnson, Officer-in-charge, ITTO. "This course will help entrepreneurs, forestry professionals, government officials and students understand best practices in the timber industry while also helping to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals."
Delegates will be invited to endorse a Call to Action on Forest Education at the end of the conference that outlines key actions to strengthen forest education, training and knowledge sharing. The Call to Action will be open online for endorsement by others after the conference.
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Related links
International Conference on Forest Education<http://www.fao.org/forestry/forest-education/conference/en/>
Global Forest Education Project<http://www.fao.org/forestry/forest-education/en/>
forestra [link when live]
Online course on Legal and Sustainable Supply Chains (LSSC)<https://lsscourse.com/course/> [link when live]
Dear all,
The International Tree Mortality Network, an initiative of the IUFRO
task force on monitoring trends and patterns in global tree mortality,
continues the online seminar series join on *June 22, 5 pm CEST*, with:
*Dr. Craig D. Allen*
*Title: The global emergence of hotter-drought drivers of forest
disturbance tipping points*
_Abstract:_ Current research is presented on global-scale patterns and
trends of forest responses to increasingly hotter droughts, particularly
extensive tree mortality and forest die-offs involving a range of
interactive disturbances (e.g., water stress, insect outbreaks,
high-severity wildfire). Diverse cross-scale observations and empirical
findings increasingly indicate that amelioration of hotter-drought
stress via fertilization of photosynthesis from elevated atmospheric CO2
concentrations may soon be overwhelmed by heat and accelerated
atmospheric drought. These findings highlight some current challenges in
realistically projecting the future of global forest ecosystems (and
their associated carbon pools and fluxes) with process-based Earth
system models. In particular there is substantial evidence that forests
dominated by larger, older trees may be disproportionately vulnerable to
increased growth stress and mortality under hotter-drought conditions.
The fates of these old trees in response to global change are of vital
importance, given that they are essential as: a) disproportionately
large carbon sinks; b) among the most biodiverse and rare terrestrial
ecosystems; c) irreplaceable archives of environmental history; and d)
venerated for many cultural reasons. Key scientific uncertainties that
impede modeling progress are outlined, and examples of promising
empirical modeling approaches are illustrated.
_Bio:_ Craig D. Allen is an adjunct professor in the Department of
Geography & Environmental Studies at the University of New Mexico. He
recently retired as a research ecologist and founding leader of the New
Mexico Landscapes Field Station for the U.S. Geological Survey, based at
Bandelier National Monument in the Jemez Mountains of northern New
Mexico, where he has conducted ecological research since 1981. Craig
conducts place-based, long-term research on the ecology and
environmental history of southwestern US landscapes, and the responses
of western US mountain ecosystems and forests globally to climate
change, with many international collaborations. Since 1986 his office
has been co-located with land managers at Bandelier National Monument
where he continues to collaboratively volunteer, reflecting his
commitment to provide scientific and technical support to diverse land
management agencies, Native American tribes, and governmental and
non-governmental organizations. Craig received B.S. and M.S. degrees in
Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Ph.D. in
Wildland Resource Science (forest & landscape ecology, conservation
biology) from the University of California-Berkeley. He is an elected
fellow of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) and the American
Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
*Please register for the Zoom Webinar: *
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/8116233165351/WN_ge7sLbEyS16YUUA5FAJ9Ig
<https://zoom.us/webinar/register/8116233165351/WN_ge7sLbEyS16YUUA5FAJ9Ig>
Note that the talks might be recorded.
*
*
*Previous seminars:*
Seminar # 1: Matt Hansen - Global forest monitoring using satellite data
https://youtu.be/snUSGNb9bAQ <https://youtu.be/snUSGNb9bAQ>
Seminar # 2: Flavia Costa - Tree mortality in the Amazon
https://youtu.be/5wmzX9ldn4Q <https://youtu.be/5wmzX9ldn4Q>
Seminar #3: Belinda Medlyn
https://youtu.be/T6S9VKklbyc <https://youtu.be/T6S9VKklbyc>
Seminar #4: Nate McDowell
https://youtu.be/vdAXQ8CibKA <https://youtu.be/vdAXQ8CibKA>
Seminar #5: Lisa Hülsmann
https://youtu.be/Yzsa0p7lq7c <https://youtu.be/Yzsa0p7lq7c>
*Visit us at:*
https://www.tree-mortality.net/ <https://www.tree-mortality.net/>
https://www.iufro.org/science/task-forces/tree-mortality-patterns/
<https://www.iufro.org/science/task-forces/tree-mortality-patterns/>
---
Dr. (habil.) Henrik Hartmann
Group leader
Plant Allocation
MPI for Biogeochemistry
Hans Knöll Str. 10
07745 Jena, Germany
Contact:hhart@bgc-jena.mpg.de <mailto:hhart@bgc-jena.mpg.de>
Phone:+49.3641.576294
Mobile:+49.171.8188273
Website:
https://www.bgc-jena.mpg.de/bgp/index.php/HenrikHartmann/HenrikHartmann
<https://www.bgc-jena.mpg.de/bgp/index.php/HenrikHartmann/HenrikHartmann>
*Initiatives*:
International Tree Mortality Network
https://www.tree-mortality.net/ <https://www.tree-mortality.net/>
IUFRO Task Force on monitoring of global tree mortality patterns and trends
https://www.iufro.org/science/task-forces/tree-mortality-patterns/
<https://www.iufro.org/science/task-forces/tree-mortality-patterns/>
--
Dear IUFRO FRIENDS
Please consider attending the upcoming FABI International Seminar (29th April at 16h00 GMT +2) to be presented by Dr Andrew (Sandy) Liebhold. Sandy is very well known to the IUFRO Community having (for example) served Division 7 (Tree Health) Co-ordinator and Chair of the Scientific Committee for our 125th Anniversary Congress in Freiburg in 2017. If you are interested in tree health, biological invasions or forests and forestry in general - this will be a seminar for you to enjoy.
To attend, it is necessary to register -please do so at https://www.fabinet.up.ac.za/index.php/event/FABISerminarSeries/
Background information on Sandy’s talk can be found below and details of the FABI International Seminar Series is on the web site above.
Best regards
Mike
[signature_678126525]
April, 2021
[cid:image002.jpg@01D735D0.F171B670]
Speaker: Dr Andrew Liebhold, US Forest Service Northern Research Station, Morgantown, WV USA
Title: Macroecology of Insect Invasions
Date: 29 April 2021 Time: 16:00 (GMT+2)
Abstract: Biological invasions are largely an unintended consequence of globalization. With increasing mobility, humans have accidentally transported organisms around the world, breaking the geographical boundaries that separated species ranges that persisted for millions of years of evolution. Among animals, the insecta is the most species-rich class, with thousands of insect species having been established outside of their native ranges and many of these species causing immense impacts on agriculture, human health and conservation of native ecosystems. Here, I report on a macroecological analysis of historical insect invasions spanning 300 years and 10 world regions. These data are used to compare frequencies of invasions among different insect orders and among different insect families. Species-area relationships for native insect assemblages are generally stronger than for non-native insect assemblages. Certain groups, such as the Hemiptera, Formicidae and the Staphylinidae are generally over-represented in non-native insect assemblages, while other taxa are under-represented. These patterns generally reflect characteristics of these insects that cause them to enter important invasion pathways and biological characteristics that facilitate invasions. These results ultimately allow us to better understand the socio-economic drivers of insect invasions and can be of use when conducting invasive pest risk analysis.
Biography: Andrew “Sandy” Liebhold has been a research entomologist with the US Forest Service Northern Research Station, Morgantown, WV USA since 1988. His research focuses on the ecology and management of biological invasions and the spatial dynamics of insect outbreaks. Liebhold received his PhD in Entomology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1984 and worked as a postdoctoral at the University of Massachusetts before joining the Forest Service. He is a fellow of the AAAS and serves on the editorial board of the journals Population Ecology and Biological Invasions. He also currently serves as a scientific coordinator with the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Science, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague and a visiting scholar with Scion Research in New Zealand.
This message and attachments are subject to a disclaimer.
Please refer to http://upnet.up.ac.za/services/it/documentation/docs/004167.pdf for full details.
Von: Sheila Ward <mahoganyforthefuture(a)gmail.com>
Gesendet: Mittwoch, 24. März 2021 00:04
Betreff: Join the e-list for IUFRO Working Party 4.02.01 Resource Data in the Tropics
Dear Colleagues:
You are invited to join the e-list for IUFRO Working Party 4.02.01 Resource Data in the Tropics, at https://lists.iufro.org/mailman/listinfo/wp40201/ We are focusing the unit on the discovery, curation, and use of legacy tropical forest datasets.
Much legacy data for tropical forests, including inventory and plot data, are in danger of being lost. Many tropical forest projects over the years have generated data, but the information is scattered among different institutions and people, some still only on paper, some digitized but in older formats.
These legacy datasets are invaluable for understanding how tropical forests change through time, including the cumulative impacts of land use and climate, and changes in patterns of biodiversity. change in land use and climate, and changes in patterns of biodiversity and carbon storage. Many of the forests represented in historical datasets no longer exist, so these data are the only record of the natural vegetation of the area.
There is also a need to develop a set of standard descriptive metadata, or a metadata scheme, for describing these datasets. This would assist not only with recovering and describing old data sets, but also ensure that future datasets can be consistently described and that their loss can be avoided in the future.
The first step is to review datasets referred to in older meta databases (e.g., ATROFI-UK and TROPIS) to determine if they are still available, and if they are in need of updated electronic curation. We are also reaching out via electronic media and networks, to find additional legacy tropical datasets and information on these studies. The next steps will be to develop an updated metadatabase regarding these datasets, develop with stakeholders policy on ownership and appropriate use, seek funding, and electronically curate such datasets.
We invite your participation in the e-list to discuss these and related topics.
IUFRO 4.02.01 Coordination Team
https://www.iufro.org/science/divisions/division-4/40000/40200/40201/
