Archive for September, 2016

Governance and Forest Landscape Restoration at IUCN World Conservation Congress 2016

Summary on a session held at the IUCN World Conservation Congress, Hawai’i, USA, on 3 September 2016

The purpose of the session was to better understand governance challenges related to forest landscape restoration (FLR) implementation, and options to address these. The session was organised as follows: Stephanie Mansourian introduced the subject of governance and FLR. She was followed by four case study presentations: Nadine Crookes from Parks Canada, John Crockett from the US Forest Service, Gérard Rambeloarisoa from the Madagascar Biodiversity Fund and Chris Buss from IUCN, and then 20 minutes of questions and discussion. A total of 30-40 participants attended the one hour session. Read more…

Interview with Professor Makoto Yokohari Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Japan

Keynote speaker at the IUFRO Regional Congress for Asia and Oceania – Forests for Sustainable Development: The Role of Research


The Role of Forests in Urban Green Spaces

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Professor Makoto Yokohari, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Japan

Professor Yokohari, landscape and urban planning, urban ecology, and ecological landscape design are at the core of your academic interests. The IUFRO Regional Congress for Asia and Oceania draws attention to the particular role that forests play for the sustainable development in urban and peri-urban areas and has identified “Urban forestry for human health and community well-being” as one of its key themes.

Q: Urban green spaces have significantly gained in importance worldwide in view of rapid urbanization of society and the development of megacities. What are the major benefits of urban green spaces in general?

A: Three clusters of ecological functions, or benefits, can be listed, which are “human comfort”, “conservation of physical environment” and “conservation of biological environment”. The first cluster includes functions as landscape conservation and recreational uses, the second includes microclimate control and water retention, and the third includes conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity. Read more…

Interview with Dr Elspeth MacRae, Scion, New Zealand

Keynote speaker at the IUFRO Regional Congress for Asia and Oceania – Forests for Sustainable Development: The Role of Research

Forests and the Bioeconomy: challenges and opportunities

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Dr. Elspeth MacRae. Scion Photo

Innovative technologies for bio-energy, bio-materials and other products will be one of the major themes at the IUFRO Regional Congress for Asia and Oceania on 24-27 October 2016 in Beijing, China. Dr Elspeth MacRae leads wood and fibre processing activities, including biorefinery, biodiscovery and bioplastics at Scion, New Zealand. Her keynote speech will highlight state-of-the-art biotech research and the role of bioproducts. Read more…

IUFRO - The International Union of Forest Research Organizations