The 9th Meeting of the IUFRO Working Party 7.02.09 Phytophthora in Forests and Natural Ecosystems was held on 17-25 October 2019 in La Maddalena, Sardinia, Italy. The conference was focused on forests and natural ecosystems and aimed to advance the discussion of concepts and ideas from pathology and biology to biosecurity. More…

The Sixth International Casuarina Workshop took place on 21-25 October 2019 in Krabi, Thailand. In line with the theme of the Workshop, "Casuarinas for green economy and environmental sustainability", the discussions were focused on assessing the impact of Casuarina planting in meeting the industrial biomass raw material demand and improving edaphic and climatic conditions. More…

The 6th International Conference "Conservation of Forest Genetic Resources" took place from 16-20 September 2019 in Shchuchinsk, Kazakhstan. Participants concluded, among other things, that forest exploitation, seed zoning, and reforestation regulations should be based on genetic data and that more studies of population genetic structure are needed for the major forest tree species. More…

Forests are continually changing under the influence of a wide range of disturbance factors. Insects and diseases, especially invasive species, are often on top of the list. A meeting on "Recent Changes in Forest Insects and Pathogens Significance" on 16-20 September 2019, in Suceava, Romania addressed phytosanitary aspects and risk assessment, among other things. More…

The symposium was held on September 24–27, 2019, in Freiburg, Germany, and brought together the international research community, users of various nondestructive testing technologies, equipment development and manufacturing professionals, and other groups to share research findings and new nondestructive testing products and technologies. More…

Students' views on the future of jobs and education in a changing forest sector were presented during a side event held together with the UNECE/FAO Team of Specialists on Green Jobs in the Forest Sector in the course of the 5th European Forest Week from 4-7 November 2019, in Geneva, Switzerland. More…

On 18 and 19 November 2019 the project team hosted an expert workshop at the EFI office in Bonn.

One of the aims of the workshop was to gain insights into forest sector employment, including green jobs and identify employment trends. More…

The IUFRO-IFSA (International Forestry Students' Association) Joint Task Force on Forest Education (JTF), which closely collaborates with IFSA's Capacity Development Commission through the Forest Education and Training sub-commission, actively engaged in events at the 25th IUFRO World Congress recently held in Brazil. Find out more…

For comprehensive information about the 25th IUFRO World Congress in Curitiba, Brazil, please visit:

https://www.iufro.org/events/congresses/2019/. The acceptance speech by the new IUFRO President John Parrotta has also been published in iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, Volume 12. More…

The teak session convened during the IUFRO World Congress in Curitiba deliberated on the current international situation with respect to the supply of quality plantation teakwood from sustainable sources that can be geared up to meet the rising demand of hardwoods. More…

The newly established IUFRO "Fire$: Economic Drivers of Global Wildland Fire Activity" Task Force kicked-off collaboration after being formally established at the XXV IUFRO World Congress with participation in the 7th International Wildland Fire Conference (IWFC) hosted October 28 to November 1, 2019, in Campo Grande, Brazil. More…

Forest Landscape Restoration Implementation: Progress on the Ground

This "Scientific Snapshot Analysis Project" of IUFRO-SPDC aims at an independent scientific exploration of efforts contributing to forest landscape restoration (FLR) in selected landscapes in nine Bonn Challenge countries. More…

New Strategic Partnership between IUFRO and BMZ to Better Link Forest Science with International Development Policies: The core activity of this new partnership will be carried out in the framework of IUFRO's Science-Policy Programme and its main instrument, the IUFRO-led Global Forest Expert Panels (GFEP) initiative. More…

IUFRO Headquarters is growing! Magdalena Lackner joined the team in Vienna, Austria, beginning of November. As a Project Manager for the Global Forest Expert Panels Programme (GFEP) she will facilitate the work on global assessment reports and related regional activities as well as the communication efforts of GFEP. More…

XPRIZE Announces $10 Million Competition to Preserve Rainforests Across the Globe. The $10 million Rainforest XPRIZE is a global four-year competition to enhance our understanding of the rainforest ecosystem. More…

Honours and Awards in IUFRO

"The Scientific Achievements Award of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations: 1971 – 2019" (new), and "Honorary Members of IUFRO: 1953 – 2019" (updated) by Victor Teplyakov. More…

NEW: Sustainable Development Goals: Their Impacts on Forests and People

This IUFRO-WFSE book discusses the conditions that influence how SDGs are implemented and prioritized, and provides a systematic, multidisciplinary global assessment of interlinkages among the SDGs and their targets, increasing understanding of potential synergies and unavoidable trade-offs between goals from the point of view of forests and people. More…

International Year of Plant Health 2020 - Protecting plants, protecting life

In December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH). There is an IYPH brochure that shows how FAO and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) are working to protect plant health worldwide. More…

On City Trees under Stress and Better Care for Urban Trees

Recently, IUFRO Officeholder Somidh Saha of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) had the chance to present current research activities about urban trees and forests to the Helmholtz Society. In two interviews (available in English and German) he talks about the situation of trees in cities and what is needed to improve it. More…