Posted by theiufroblog in Event No Comments Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

2021 World Wood Day: Carbon Capture and Storage in Forests, Wood and Non-Wood Products

Report by Hiromi Waragai, Dare to Explore! Trainee at IUFRO Headquarters

Photo: Welcome Message from IUFRO President Dr. John Parrotta

World Wood Day (WWD) is celebrated on 21 March every year in order to highlight wood as an ecofriendly and renewable biomaterial and to raise awareness on the key role wood plays in a sustainable world through biodiversity and forest conservation. Various physical activities such as children’s events, folk art workshop, an international woodcarving show, music performances, tree planting and woodturning demonstrations usually characterize the event. Due to the spread of COVID-19, however, 2021 WWD was celebrated fully online on the day with the traditional scientific symposium as main activity. The other activities will be spread over the entire year and presented via social media. IUFRO President John Parrotta offered a welcome address that can be watched here: World Wood Day 2021 Welcome Message from IUFRO President Dr. John Parrotta – YouTube

The theme of 2021 WWD was “CO2 & Wood: Carbon Capture and Storage in Forests, Wood and Non-Wood Products”. In line with this theme the “2021 World Wood Day Virtual Symposium and Third IUFRO Forest Products Culture Colloquium” World Wood Day 2021 on 21 and 22 March 2021 emphasized the importance that harvested long-lived forest products (wood and non-wood materials) play in mitigating climate change by storing carbon. Various strategies are needed to secure the long-lived carbon storage effectiveness of forest products through research and innovations in forest products technology as well as educational aspects concerning wood and forest culture. Therefore, the event was structured along six different topics to cover these perspectives:

  1. Carbon Capture and Storage in Forests, Wood and Non-Wood Forest Products;
  2. Wood in Construction and Building, including Wood Durability and Protection Needs;
  3. Building Components, Furniture, Musical Instruments, Artifacts Manufacturing and Design;
  4. Education on Sustainable Forests, Forest Products Utilization and Wood Culture;
  5. Challenges for Sustainability in the Forest-Wood Chain,
  6. Wood Products and Wood Biotechnology.
Photo from the welcome message by IUFRO President Dr. John Parrotta.

The meeting was organized by the International Wood Culture Society (IWCS) together with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), International Academy of Wood Science (IAWS), Estonian State Forest Management Centre (RMK), International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO Division 5.00.00, Research Group 5.15.00, Working Party 9.03.02), supported by the International Association of Wood Anatomists (IAWA), The Japan Wood Research Society (JWRS), International Society of Wood Science and Technology (SWST) and International Research Group on Wood Protection (IRGWP), and sponsored by The Korean Society of Wood Science & Technology (KSWST) and World Wood Day Foundation (WWDF).

More details about the symposium and promotional videos for the rest of the celebrations can be found at the World Wood Day 2021 websites http://www.worldwoodday.org and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUUqTXdNxUgWhofyWZ_45-Q as well as social media https://www.facebook.com/worldwoodday/ and https://www.instagram.com/worldwoodday/. You may also watch the video at https://player.vimeo.com/video/493981271. Finally, read the written report about the World Wood Day 2021 events at https://www.iufro.org/fileadmin/material/science/divisions/div5/51500/wwd21-virtual-event-and-symposium-report.pdf.