Dear members of the IUFRO Network, dear colleagues,
On 21 March the world should be celebrating the International Day of Forests and World Wood Day to draw attention to the importance of forests, trees and forest products for all life on earth.
Sadly, most public celebrations had to be cancelled, including the main World Wood Day events, because of the unprecedented health crisis so many countries all over the globe are currently facing.
The current pandemic dramatically demonstrates the need for effective collaboration at a global scale and for unbiased scientific evidence. People are now depending on scientists to provide clear explanations, sensible guidance and effective solutions to overcome this crisis and to be better prepared for similar situations in the future. This goes far beyond medical and pharmaceutical research, as the crisis will have major social, economic and environmental consequences. Intense global research collaboration and knowledge-sharing in all fields, including forest sciences, will be more important than ever.
Against this background, we would like to assure you that the IUFRO Network is in place to support your collaborative efforts, especially by disseminating relevant news and information through all IUFRO communication channels.
IUFRO Headquarters is fully functioning and will be happy to receive and publish reports and announcements for IUFRO News, the blog and our social media (contact: wolfrum@iufro.org, burger@iufro.org).
We would like to wish you and your families all the best in these difficult times, and invite you to watch IUFRO’s short video message recorded for World Wood Day: http://www.worldwoodday.org/2020/home?p=395394559
Kind regards,
John Parrotta
IUFRO President
Alexander Buck
IUFRO Executive Director
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