[IUFRO Div 5] Opinion column for the conservation of tropical forests to be published in Reporterre

Dear Iufro colleagues, On the occasion of the International Day of Forests on  March 21st, a group of forest scientists of the Forests and Societies Research Unit of Cirad, thought it would be an opportunity to publish an opinion column to recall the urgent need to conserve and to safeguard the  tropical forests. This opinion column will be published in the French online newspaper Reporterre which has about 1.5 million readers per month. Please take few minutes to read it and if you agree with the contents, please sign it by filling the form available on this link: https://forms.gle/r981va1BNEEz8yfC9 If you want to sign the form, please do it before *March 13th, Midnight CET.* By signing this paper you are signing as an individual but you can also indicate your institution. The list of signatories and their institution (if you indicate it) will also be published on the Reporterre website with the paper. The original text is in French but I attached an English version of it for the non French speakers. We hope that this opinion paper will reach a large public and will be  of interest for others medias. With this, we hope that we will be able to increase our visibility and get opportunities to talk further about the urgency in saving the tropical forests. Please do not hesitate to disseminate this message to your scientists and students networks. cheers -- Plinio Sist #2708 Cirad-ES, Directeur-Director UR Forêts et Sociétés Tropical managed Forests Observatory (TmFO) Coordinator IUFRO 1.02.00 Silviculture of tropical forests Plinio Sist #2708 Cirad-ES, Directeur-Director UR Forêts et Sociétés Tropical managed Forests Observatory (TmFO) Coordinator IUFRO 1.02.00 Silviculture of tropical forests Campus International de Baillarguet, TA C-105/D 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5 France Tél : +33 4 67 59 39 13 Tel.Portable/Mobile Phone: +33 786 3289 46 http://ur-forets-societes.cirad.fr/