Archive for September, 2019

Congress Spotlight #74 – Computer Science Solutions to Better Understand Forest Cover and Land Use Changes in Brazil

Congress Spotlight #74 – Computer Science Solutions to Better Understand Forest Cover and Land Use Changes in Brazil

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Using 21st century technology to examine the dynamics of land use and land cover (LULC) in tropical forests over time, and how those forests are affected by the changes, will be among the subjects discussed at the IUFRO World Congress in Brazil shortly.

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Congress Spotlight #73 – A Quest for Fairness in Forest Management Decisions: Integrating Indigenous Rights, Practices and Knowledge

Congress Spotlight #73 – A Quest for Fairness in Forest Management Decisions: Integrating Indigenous Rights, Practices and Knowledge

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“The practices, rights and knowledge of Indigenous Peoples in forestry are being increasingly recognized by national policies, international treaties and by business arrangements such as certification,” said Dr. Stephen Wyatt of the School of Forestry at the University of Moncton in New Brunswick, Canada.

Haida Heritage Centre at sunrise. Photo: Ngaio Hotte.

“But,” he said, “actually putting these into practice is challenging.”

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How will the Sustainable Development Goals affect forests and people?

How will the Sustainable Development Goals affect forests and people?

Since Agenda 2030 was launched in 2015, plenty of attention has been paid to the contributions which forests can make to its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, relatively little attention has been given to the possible impacts which the SDGs will have on forests, forest ecosystems and people benefitting from forests, and how this might contribute to, or undermine, the role forests play in improving human well-being and protecting the environment.

Photo: Safia Aggarwal, FAO
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Putting a Halt to Tropical Forest Loss is a Matter of Human Survival

Putting a Halt to Tropical Forest Loss is a Matter of Human Survival

(Vienna, 9 September 2019) Never before, it seems, have forests received as much public attention as at present. Sadly, the reasons for this are most distressing: forest fires of unprecedented dimensions all over the globe; a growing lack of resistance of trees to stressors such as drought, pests and diseases; and the uncontrolled exploitation of forests in environmentally sensitive areas.

© LEOFFREITAS/FLICKR/GETTY IMAGES
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Congress Spotlight #72 – Radioactive Contamination and Forests: Learning Lessons from Chernobyl and Fukushima

Congress Spotlight #72 – Radioactive Contamination and Forests: Learning Lessons from Chernobyl and Fukushima

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Forests, except in the most severe cases, are quite resilient to radioactive contamination and will continue functioning normally.

That is one of the surprising takeaways from the nuclear accidents in Chernobyl and Fukushima.

Dose rate reduction test by decontamination work in Fukushima.
Photo: FFPRI
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