Dear IUFRO Meliaceae Working Party:
Abstract submission is now open for the IUFRO World Congress in Curitiba, Brazil, 29 September - 5 October, 2019. See http://iufro2019.com/abstracts-submission/ . The deadline for abstract submission is 31 Dicember 2018. Please consider participating in the Congress and please also tell your colleagues about this opportunity.
Below are the sessions that are linked to the International Society of Tropical Foresters, three of which are specifically linked to the Meliaceae. Session descriptions for all sessions are available at http://iufro2019.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/sessions-english-portuguese.pdf
SESSION A2a: Sustaining iconic and high-value species in natural forests and plantations
ISTF CONTACT: Erich Schaitza, EMBRAPA, Brazil (erich.schaitza@embrapa.br )
SESSION SUMMARY: Maintaining healthy populations of heavily used species like Araucaria and Swietenia is a challenge. Problems include habitat loss; overharvest (past or present); insufficient regeneration and genetic variation, failings in forest policy, governance, or regulations; and devaluation of products because of species removal from the market. The session will cover possible solutions, including, among other topics: corrections to harvest policies, regulations, and planning; sustaining regeneration and genetic variation of target species; corrective regeneration and silvicultural practices; modelling to balance extraction, regeneration, and genetic diversity; use of market demand to create value and interest in these species.
SESSION A4c: Monitoring and Assessing Urban Forest Services and Values at the National to Local Scale
ISTF CONTACT: Vindhya P. Tewari, Himalayan Forest Research Institute, India (vptewari@yahoo.com)
SESSION SUMMARY: Trees and forests within urban areas provide numerous benefits to city residents, but relatively little is known about their structure, the services provided by these forests and how these forests are changing. While many countries inventory and monitor rural forests, only recently have forest inventory and monitoring efforts been established within urban areas. The purpose of this session is to discuss the various approaches that countries across the world are taking to develop national inventories of urban forests. This session will not only address the approaches to inventorying and monitoring, but also mean to assess the services and values derived from the urban forests. By discussing current means to inventory and monitor urban forests, many nations can learn how to monitor and assess these important forests that directly affect the health and well-being of over half of the world’s population.
SESSION B5b: Small-scale sustainable energy alternatives for developing countries
ISTF CONTACT: Lamfu Fabrice Yengong, University of Buea, Cameroon, (lamfu2035yengong@gmail.com)
SESSION SUMMARY: In developing countries, wood accounts for 50-90% of the fuel used, and increased efficiency or replacements for wood are needed. This session explores sustainable energy alternatives. Presentations might include: utilizing waste through “3R” (reduce, reuse, and recycle); more efficient technologies for cooking with wood fuel; social costs of increasing scarcity of fuel wood; characteristics related to fuel wood energy content; solar cooking as an alternative; potential for material and energy recovery from waste; appropriate technologies for developing countries; integrated renewable energy production and utilization from biomass combustion and waste gasification, among other topics.
SESSION C1b: Advances in management and science for the high-value Meliaceae
ISTF CONTACT: Liu Jun, Research Institute of subtropical forest, Chinese Academy of forestry, China, (ywliu2005@163.com)
SESSION SUMMARY: Tropical timber species of the Meliaceae (including Cedrela, Entandrophragma, Khaya, Swietenia, and Toona) are among the world’s finest woods, and many species have other uses. Their sustainable management faces similar issues around the world. This session will share the latest in research and applications for a global perspective on these species. Topics could cover conservation of genetic resources, genetic improvement, advances in shootborer control, natural forest management, and development and products useful for human health, among others.
SESSION C1c: Improving high-value Meliaceae yields in plantations
ISTF CONTACT: Antonio Ferraz, Universidade Federal do Piauí, Brazil (acferrazfilho@gmail.com)
SESSION SUMMARY: This session will focus on better production of Meliaceae species grown in plantations. Many species (e.g. mahogany, African mahogany, Australian red cedar, Melia) have recently been grown as plantations around the world and research is needed over a wide range of topics. The main objectives are to share experiences and to find common research themes to build possible collaborations among researchers working with Meliaceae species in plantations around the world.
SESSION C9a: Discovery, curation, and uses of legacy tropical forest data sets
ISTF CONTACT: Sheila Ward, Mahogany for the Future, Inc., Puerto Rico (tropfordata@gmail.com)
SESSION SUMMARY: Legacy tropical forest datasets have been generated by various projects over time, and many are in danger of being lost. These datasets are valuable for understanding how tropical forests change through time, and many of the forests they characterize no longer exist. To safeguard these data, standardized metadata and electronic archiving schemes need to be developed. The purpose of the session is to share information on the potential uses of such datasets, their current status, and appropriate curation and metadata strategies.
SESSION F6b: Effective educational strategies for the next generation of forest professionals
ISTF CONTACT: Ruth Metzel, Azuero Earth Project, Panama, (ruth@proecoazuero.org)
SESSION SUMMARY: University-based programs on forest related fields are evolving and inherently need to change towards multidisciplinary programs. Some major drivers of these changes are globalization of the economy, climate change, and new technologies and informatics, in a similar vein solution for real life resource management problems around forest key issues like health, bioenergy, climate change are consistently calling for more holistic and cross-sectoral approaches. Universities curricula need to meet diverse higher demands, and new ways to approach these challenges involving various disciplines in a multicultural environment. This session will highlight finding on research aiming to understand those challenges and also research that addresses innovative strategies that allow forestry students and professor and providers of non-formal education to keep abreast with the time, such online classes, field practices, case studies among others.