Human well-being is highly dependent on the well-being of the world’s forests. Among many other benefits, forests provide the resource for building materials and renewable energy, take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. They also protect against erosion and influence local and global climate. Many medicines are derived from forest plants.

The XXIII IUFRO World Congress from 23-28 August 2010 in Seoul, Korea, will be a great opportunity for researchers and decision-makers to learn, to share best practices, and to synthesize the newest and most innovative thinking on the forest challenges that affect all of us.

The Congress is hosted by the Korea Forest Research Institute (KFRI) and organized by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) – a non-profit, non-governmental international network of forest scientists, which promotes global cooperation in forest-related research and enhances the understanding of the ecological, economic and social aspects of forests and trees.

Leading professionals and expert scientists in all fields of forestry from all over the world will discuss the latest knowledge on critical forest issues – climate change; biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of forest resources; forest environmental services; and Asia’s forests for the future, among them – and how that knowledge can be used to underpin wise and workable decisions for sustainable forest management and sound policy initiatives.

In the months leading up to the Congress, IUFRO will release a series of news stories about some of the issues to be addressed at the Congress and related to the main Congress themes.