4:22 p.m.
Dear Meliaceae Working Perty:
This publication may be of interest.
Regards,
Sheila Ward
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: IUFRO Headquarters <office(a)iufro.org>
Date: Fri, Sep 1, 2017 at 4:55 AM
Subject: IUFRO Anniversary Congress Spotlight #53: Humans and Wildlife:
Sharing Space in a Crowded World
To: Dear IUFRO Officeholder <mahoganyforthefuture(a)gmail.com>
[image: IUFRO Spotlight]
IUFRO Anniversary Congress Spotlight #53: Humans and Wildlife: Sharing
Space in a Crowded World
*The 125th Anniversary Congress on 18-22 September 2017 in Freiburg,
Germany, will offer a wide selection of scientific sessions highlighting
innovative research and interdisciplinary research approaches of relevance
to forests, and focus on the transfer of scientific knowledge on critical
global forest-related challenges to national and international political
agendas. In a series of "Congress Spotlight" articles individual sessions
shall be showcased to give a foretaste of the richness and scope of
research findings that will be presented at the Congress. Keep updated at:
http://iufro2017.com/ <http://iufro2017.com/>*
*Humans and Wildlife: Sharing Space in a Crowded World*
PDF for download
<https://www.iufro.org/download/file/27191/6532/anniversary-congress-spotlight53-human-wildlife-th4_pdf/>
<http://www.iufro.org/index.php?eID=tx_cms_showpic&file=18569&md5=bff896c9a3782423e357350714f571453af3e806¶meters%5B0%5D=YTo0OntzOjU6IndpZHRoIjtzOjQ6IjgwMG0iO3M6NjoiaGVpZ2h0IjtzOjQ6IjYw¶meters%5B1%5D=MG0iO3M6NzoiYm9keVRhZyI7czoyMjoiPGJvZHkgYmdjb2xvcj0iYmxhY2siPiI7¶meters%5B2%5D=czo0OiJ3cmFwIjtzOjM3OiI8YSBocmVmPSJqYXZhc2NyaXB0OmNsb3NlKCk7Ij4g¶meters%5B3%5D=fCA8L2E%2BIjt9>
*Elephant dung found on a village farm, with crop damage, nearby Pendjari
Biosphere Reserve (Northern Benin). Credit Dr Chabi DJAGOUN*
There's a line in a song by U.S. singer-songwriter Dee Moeller that goes:
"The wide open spaces are closing in quickly, from the weight of the whole
human race…"
That line could well be the sub-title for a session to be held at the
upcoming IUFRO 125th Congress in Freiburg, Germany entitled: *Co-existence
of humans and wildlife in changing landscapes and climate*.
Current human population growth is causing an increasing demand for natural
resources and a growing pressure for access to land which, among other
things, affects wildlife habitat and the interactions between wildlife and
humans, said Dr. Chabi Djagoun, of the Laboratory of Applied Ecology in
Cotonou, Benin.
So it is clear that human-wildlife interaction – and conflict – will not be
eradicated in the near future, said Dr. Djagoun, who is the session
coordinator.
"A key question is: under what conditions is co-existence between humans
and wildlife still possible in the 21st century, as population and resource
pressures, economic growth and globalization become ever more intense?" he
said.
One of the reasons he proposed this session is because human-wildlife
conflict has important consequences for local populations in terms of food
security, macro- and micro-economies, safety, well-being and wildlife
conservation.
"Wildlife conservation issues can be peripheral to many IUFRO scientists,
who may be more directly concerned with wildfire or tree diseases or stand
dynamics, but this technical session is very important as a way of
informing the IUFRO community of the importance of the co-existence of
humans and wildlife in changing landscapes and climate," he said.
"In addition to looking at policy implications, we want to discuss efforts
to reduce human-wildlife conflict (HWC) and ways to harmonize peaceful
co-existence between them to preserve biodiversity, including threatened
wildlife populations, and to ensure sustainable use of ecosystem services,"
Dr. Djagoun said.
As an example of harmonizing human-wildlife co-existence, he noted a recent
study in the Southern Benin wetlands where fishermen were suffering loss of
catch and equipment damage from native otters. The study suggested damage
could be reduced – without reducing the harvest – by checking equipment
twice daily and, since otter activity is primarily nocturnal, by fishing
during the day.
Dr. Djagoun also noted that climate change can have significant negative
impacts on the natural environment, including the loss of biodiversity and
changes in ecosystems.
"Climate change can deeply modify the co-existence of humans and wildlife.
In developing countries with a greater dependence on natural resource-based
livelihoods, it can impact the socio-economic status of communities, hamper
progress towards development goals and present an overall threat to
sustainable development," he said.
The IUFRO session will focus on trying to understand the dynamics of
wildlife and human interactions in Africa and mechanisms of co-existence in
multi-use landscapes.
While interactions between humans and wildlife are a significant problem in
Africa, it is a central issue in conservation science and policy-making
worldwide, Dr. Djagoun said.
As examples he noted that alligators are found in golf course ponds in the
southern U.S.; tigers overlap spatially with people collecting natural
resources in Nepal; and Australian dingoes are seen in a negative light
when they prey on livestock, but are also seen as beneficial when they prey
on rabbits, rats and other pests.
Two of several questions he hopes to have answered at the session are:
- How can local rural communities benefit more from sustainable use and
conservation of wildlife, in order to enable co-existence and offset the
costs of living with wildlife? And
- How can the voices of rural communities affected by HWC, as well as
those of the scientific communities, be effectively heard among
policy-makers and donors, to ensure that interventions address needs and
interests and promote wildlife as assets rather than liabilities?
*________________________________*
*The September 18-22 Congress in Freiburg will celebrate IUFRO's 125th
anniversary. Founded in 1892 in Eberswalde Germany, IUFRO has grown to
unite more than 15,000 scientists (who cooperate in IUFRO on a voluntary
basis) in almost 700 member organizations in more than 120 countries.IUFRO
promotes global cooperation in forest-related research and enhances the
understanding of the ecological, economic and social aspects of forests and
trees. It disseminates scientific knowledge to stakeholders and
decision-makers and contributes to forest policy and on-the-ground forest
management.About 2000 scientists from 89 countries are expected to attend
the Congress. The Human-Wildlife Co-existence session in Freiburg will be
one of 172 scientific sessions that will cover a wide array of topics
dealing with various aspects of forest research.See you at the IUFRO 125th
Anniversary Congress in Freiburg, Germany!Look out for #IUFRO2017
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/iufro2017?f=tweets&vertical=default&src=hash>
on Twitter and @iufro2017 <https://www.facebook.com/iufro2017> on Facebook!*
*________________________________*
The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) is the
only worldwide organization devoted to forest research and related
sciences. Its members are research institutions, universities, and
individual scientists as well as decision-making authorities and other
stakeholders with a focus on forests and trees.
Visit: http://www.iufro.org/
*________________________________*
*IUFRO 125th Anniversary Congress Spotlight #53, published in August 2017by
IUFRO Headquarters, Vienna, Austria.Available for download at:
**http://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/
<http://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/>*
*Contact the editor at office(at)iufro.org <office(a)iufro.org> or visit
http://www.iufro.org/ <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=104>*
If you do not wish to receive *IUFRO Spotlight* publications, please email
us at: office(at)iufro.org <office(a)iufro.org>
*Imprint: http://www.iufro.org/legal/#c18944
<http://www.iufro.org/legal/#c18944>*
