3:49 a.m.
Dear members of D5, friends of IUFRO, forest scientists/academics, IFSA
members, and NGO's concerning forests,
On behalf of IUFRO Division 5 coordinators, I like to announce that another
important event in the IUFRO calendar for 2016 is the IUFRO Regional
Congress for Asia-Oceania, Beijing, 24-27 October 2016 co-organized by
IUFRO and The Chinese Academy of Forestry (please see www.iufro-ao2016.org).
Overall theme of the congress is: “*Forests for Sustainable Development:
The Role of Research*”, The SEVEN congress thematic areas are available
upon which proposed sessions could fall into. Here is a call for session
proposals from among D5 officers and others interested in forest research.
Deadline for submitting session proposals is *31 January 2016* which is
fast approaching indeed! Details of preparing session proposals are
extracted from the congress website and hereby described below.
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*Call for Session Proposals*
*Deadline for Submissions: January 31, 2016*
The Congress Scientific Committee invites submission of session proposals
for the IUFRO Regional Congress for Asia and Oceania 2016. In keeping with
the spirit of the Congress title – *Forests for Sustainable Development:
The Role of Research*, the Congress Scientific Committee is developing a
program that will highlight the role of forest science in informing
forest-related policies and management in Asia and Oceania to cope with the
significant environmental, social and economic changes in the region and
address the consequent challenges. The Congress program will reflect the
forest science community’s diverse contributions, inside and outside the
region, across the full range of natural and social science disciplines at
various levels, from the gene to the globe, with special emphasis on key
issues and research areas identified in IUFRO’s 2015-2019 Strategy.
Session proposals will be accepted that address one or more of the
following Congress
themes:
1. Sustainable forest management for enhanced provision of ecosystem
services;
2. Forest and landscape rehabilitation and restoration;
3. Combating desertification, disaster and risk management, and climate
change mitigation and adaptation;
4. Planted forests for fostering a greener economy;
5. Innovative technologies for bio-energy, bio-materials and other
products;
6. Urban forestry for human health and community well-being;
7. Social and cultural aspects of forests, including traditional
knowledge, human health, community participation and gender roles;
8. Forest and agro-forest management for food security, enhanced
livelihoods and non-timber forest products.
*Who may submit a session proposal?*
All who share an interest in the future of forests and forest science
session are invited to submit session proposals. We encourage proposals
that involve collaboration between two or more IUFRO Divisions or Task
Forces and/or with organizations not formally associated with IUFRO, and
from university students at all levels. We strongly recommend IUFRO
officeholders and others actively involved in IUFRO Research Groups,
Working Parties, and Task Forces
communicate with their respective Division representatives on the CSC (or
Task Force coordinators, please see the list of CSC Members) before
submitting proposals – this will greatly facilitate broader involvement of
IUFRO divisional units and Task Forces in the scientific program and avoid
overlaps among sessions.
Session proposals from non‐IUFRO member organizations are encouraged
although preference will be given to those that are prepared jointly with
IUFRO Divisional units and Task Forces–if assistance is needed to identify
appropriate partners within IUFRO, please contact the CSC Chair or other
members of the CSC.
*Preparing and submitting a session proposal*
Proposals should be submitted between now and January 31, 2016 (please see
Important Dates) by submitting online (http://www.iufro-ao2016.org/) and
then sending email to iufro_ao2016(a)163.com attached with the completely and
appropriately filled Session Proposal. *Proposals will not be accepted
after **January 31, 2016*.
Session proposals should include basic information on session organizer(s),
session title, alignment with Congress themes, and a short abstract of the
session proposal, that describes the session objectives, content and
proposed session format (i.e., presentation of individual papers and/or
posters, moderated panel discussion, or other forms of presentation) and
lists proposed speakers (if known), their organizational affiliations and
tentative titles of their presentations. Proposed sessions should be
organized to be 2 hours in length. For sessions involving oral
presentations, were recommended that each speaker be given 15-20 minutes
for his/her presentation.
Please note that the abstract submission process will be open to all, so
session organizers may need to include oral presentations and/or posters
that were not originally proposed for their
sessions. Please be aware of this possibility and the need for flexibility
in designing your session. In the event that the number of accepted
abstracts for a particular session exceeds
the number that can be accommodated in a single session, organizers may be
given an additional session slot in the Congress program.
*Criteria for selection*
Session proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by members of the Congress
Scientific Committee with primary consideration given to their scientific
quality and relevance to the Congress themes. Other factors that will be
considered are: the involvement of two or more IUFRO units (Divisions, Task
Forces, Research Groups and Working Parties) and/or non‐IUFRO
organizations; geographic and gender diversity of proposed session speakers
or presenters; and the involvement of students and young scientists.
Proposals will be evaluated as they are received, so we strongly encourage
submissions well in advance of the January 31, 2016 deadline.
Acceptance decisions will be made no later than March 15, 2016. An open*
Call for Abstracts *will be issued on April 1 with *online abstract
submission* until May 15 and *acceptance *decisions by July 15, 2016.
*Responsibilities of session organizers*
Session organizers of accepted proposals are expected to communicate with
prospective presenters regarding *submission of abstracts* (online, from
April 1 through May 15, 2016), and will be asked to review abstracts
submitted for their sessions during the *abstract review* *period* (i.e., May
15 to July 15, 2016). Session organizers may be asked to assist the CSC in
the editing of accepted abstracts. They will also be responsible for
moderating sessions (or assigning session moderation responsibilities) and
are encouraged to pursue publication options for papers presented in their
sessions.
Abstracts of papers and posters presented during the Congress will
be printed and included in a Congress abstracts volume. As formal Congress
proceedings with full papers will not be published, session organizers
should explore alternative publication options (books, special issues of
journals, etc.) for their sessions.
We look forward to hearing from you and for your active participation in
the design of an excellent scientific program for the IUFRO Regional
Congress for Asia and Oceania 2016 in Beijing.
*------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
Please feel free to contact me, or any member of the CSC listed on the
congress website if you wish to seek clarifications concerning session
proposal.
Also, please free to invite your colleagues who are not familiar with IUFRO
to also bid for sessions similarly.
Thanks and Cheers,
Andrew Wong
--
Andrew H.H. Wong, D.Phil (Oxon.)
Deputy Coordinator, IUFRO D5 (Forest Products), www.iufro.org
Executive Council, IRGWP, www.irg-wp.com
Email: awong.unimas(a)gmail.com
ahhwong(a)frst.unimas.my
Fax: +6082-583160
Tel: +6082-582936
Mobile: +6017 3992509
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas)
Faculty of Resource Science & Technology
94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak
Malaysia
www.unimas.my