9:48 a.m.
*The **International Society of Tropical Foresters* is organizing or
co-organizing seven sessions for th*e **XXV World Congress of the
International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO2019)** to be
held 29 Sept – 5 Oct 2019 at Curitiba, Brazil. *Please consider submitting
an oral or poster presentation for one of these sessions or another
IUFRO2019 session (see below). *Abstracts for presentations can be
submitted until 31 Dec 2018 at* http://iufro2019.com/
*You* will need to be registered for IUFRO2019 to submit an abstract, but
you do not need to pay until later. You will also need to indicate the
session of preference. See https://iufro2019.com/abstracts-submission/ for
details on abstract submission. Information on all IUFRO 2019 sessions can
be found at
http://iufro2019.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/sessions-english-portuguese…
. IUFRO will have financial assistance available for certain participants
(see https://iufro2019.com/scientist-assistance-program-sap/).
*ISTF-linked technical sessions at IUFRO2019*
*SESSION A2a: Sustaining iconic and high-value species in natural forests
and plantations*
ISTF CONTACT: Erich Schaitza, EMBRAPA, Brazil (erich.schaitza(a)embrapa.br )
SESSION SUMMARY: VERSION IN BOOK: Araucaria and Swietenia are threatened by
habitat loss; overharvesting; insufficient regeneration and genetic
variation, failings in forest policy, governance, or regulations; and
devaluation of products. The session will cover possible solutions,
including: harvest policies, regulations, and planning; regeneration and
genetic variation; silvicultural practices; modelling to balance
extraction, regeneration, and genetic diversity; and market demand to
create value.
*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(a)yahoo.com <vptewari(a)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. The purpose of this session is to discuss approaches to
inventory urban forests, so that Nations can learn how to monitor these
important forests that directly affect human health and well-being.
*SESSION B5b: **Small-scale sustainable energy alternatives for developing
countries*
ISTF CONTACT: Lamfu Fabrice Yengong, University of Buea, Cameroon, (
lamfu2035yengong(a)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(a)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 shoot borer 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(a)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(a)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(a)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,
solutions 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 findings on research aiming to understand those challenges
and also research that addresses innovative strategies that allow forestry
students and professors and providers of non-formal education to keep
abreast with the time, such online classes, field practices, case studies
among others.
With its focus on being a communication network, ISTF can help you connect
with others interested in tropical forests and forestry. To join, please
visit this link please fill out the membership form at GoogleForms
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy9FqCZ5Yj3TTA-mDJkgwm8n1jbCkEGlFrXMBRK2wNbLP6FA/viewform?c=0&w=1&fbclid=IwAR1A5Ze_kl9PpuSzZRTBZaNyTLLOTHam2fiiAlsU9q7mwdXefWWerHu1ogM>
or
send a message to tropicalforesters(a)gmail.com.