Dear D5 List Members I wish to inform you of an upcoming meeting organised by the Asia Pacific Association of Forest Research Institutes (APAFRI). "Asia and the Pacific Forest Products Workshop – Green Technology for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation", 14-16 December 2009, Colombo, Sri Lanka Climate change is a global problem, with global causes and effects. Climate change affects the basic elements of life for people around the world – access to water, food production, health, and the environment. Hundreds of millions of people would suffer from hunger, water shortages, and more frequent severe natural disasters such as droughts, typhoons and floods, as the climate changes. Addressing climate change and dealing with the impacts that cannot be avoided now, requires urgent efforts by all. Actions will require commitments and responsibilities to invest in capacity and capability building to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Programme The workshop will focus on two broad topics: energy reduction and carbon emission reduction – the two main objectives of green technologies. The programme of the workshop will have two main sessions: green technologies in manufacturing and green products development. Green technologies in manufacturing · Wood waste reduction in wood processing · Volatile Organic Compound-free adhesives and coatings technologies · Recyclable packing technologies · Energy reduction in wood processing · Process and material optimization Green products development · Chain-of-Custody Certification and Life-Cycle-Assessment – Impetus for green products development · New environmentally friendly products from the composite/panel industry · Challenges for environmentally friendly products · Biofuels The working language of the workshop will be English. If you wish to present a paper, or exhibit a poster, send your abstract of 300–500 words to Sim HeokChoh (simhc(a)frim.gov.my; sim(a)apafri.org) Abstracts should include the full names, addresses of authors, and e-mail address for the corresponding author. Deadlines: Submissions of abstracts – 15 September Notification of acceptance – 30 September Final Papers/Presentations – 15 November Venue Colombo, Sri Lanka Sources of Funding Participants should seek their own resources to attend the workshop. Efforts are being made to mobilize resources to support a limited number of invited participants, especially from developing countries in Asia and the Pacific. Those who are interested in participating in the workshop, but do not have their own funding, are still encouraged to register. The workshop organizers will attempt to provide partial support. Organization The workshop is an initiative of the International Union of Forest Research Organization (IUFRO). It is being organized by the Asia-Pacific Association of Forest Research Institutions (APAFRI) in technical collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Sri Lanka Forest Department, Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), and the Korea Forest Research Institute (KFRI). Registration The deadline for registrations for the workshop is 15 November 2009. Contact for Enquiries Sim Heok-Choh Asia Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutions c/o Forest Research Institute Malaysia Kepong 52109 Kepong Selangor, Malaysia Fax: 60 3 6277 3249 E-mail: simhc(a)frim.gov.my Dave Cown, Senior Scientist, Wood Quality Coordinator, IUFRO Division 5 (Forest Products) Scion (Trading name of Forest Research Institute Ltd.) Private Bag 3020 49 Sala St. Rotorua New Zealand Ph: +64 7343 5525 Mobile: 021 187 4022 Fx: +64 7343 5507 www.scionresearch.com