Alignment and planting in SMM Komitibanda. Photo: Forest College & Research Institute, Telangana, India
The world is degraded. Worldwide, according to a 2018 UNESCO publication, land degradation affects 3.2 billion people – about 40% of humanity.
The degradation is human caused, drives species extinction, intensifies climate change, and adds to mass human migration and increased conflict, the report indicated.
So, a critical question becomes: how do we build or, perhaps more accurately, rebuild a sustainable world?
What’s your name and affiliation, and what’s your role in Division 6?
My name is Taylor Stein, and I am a professor of ecotourism and natural resources management in the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences at the University of Florida in the US. I happily serve as a deputy for IUFRO in a few areas. I am one of three Deputy Coordinators for Division 6, overall, but I also happily serve as Deputy Coordinator for Working Group 6.03, Nature Tourism, where I had previously served as Coordinator.
Riparian vegetation and landscape in Mongolia, a country where freshwater resources are scarce – Photo by Alexander Buck, IUFRO
More than 500 years ago Leonardo da Vinci said: “Water is the driving force of all nature.”
There is a corollary that could easily be added to da Vinci’s truism: Water is greatly aided and abetted in that role by forests.
Forests play an integral role in the water cycle by enhancing the world’s supply of clean water. Much of the globe’s freshwater is provided through forested catchments.
Forty Forest Department’s and other stakeholders participated in a training organized and financed by International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) learning best restoration practices of forest landscapes
Cork oak seeds (Viterbo, Italy). Photo by Dr. Giovanbattista de Dato
Forests in the Mediterranean and similar biodiversity hotspot regions are degrading rapidly due to the interaction of multiple stressors – both natural and anthropogenic.
The accelerated degradation poses a serious threat to the diversity of forest genetic resources (FGR).
Christmas trees have become a universal holiday season symbol. During the last 20 to 30 years, as the worldwide consumption of real Christmas trees has risen to exceed 80 million annually, the science and technology behind plantation Christmas tree production have also developed rapidly, particularly in Europe and North America.
Coning research: Michigan State University researchers are working to reduce precocious cone production in Fraser fir Christmas tree plantations. Photo by B. CreggRead more…
Students and faculty in the Department of Forestry at Michigan State University (MSU) share their experiences adapting to an online setting from a traditionally outdoor-focused program.
An MSU forestry student looks up at a stand of trees.
Several trees of different species died after the strong hot and dry period during the 2015-16 El Niño drought in Central Amazon (photo). Now scientists are trying to understand the impacts of this drought event, and subsequent tree mortality, on the carbon stocks in the Amazon basin. Photo by Adriane Esquivel Muelbert
Tree mortality appears to be increasing at unprecedented rates.
One may be tempted to think: So what? Trees regenerate. They’ll grow back.
But, for a lot of reasons, it’s not quite that simple.
IUFRO-SPDC strengthens skills needed in an increasingly complex world (online)
The online course “Systematic Evidence Evaluation on Forest Landscape Restoration” was organized as a collaboration between IUFRO’s Special Programme for Development of Capacities (IUFRO-SPDC) and the University of Oxford in the UK, and took place between the 12th and 16th of October 2020.
The subject of systematic evidence has become increasingly important in the last decade. The world is becoming more and more complex, and that asks for adequate policy making and smart management decisions. This course gives way to methods of evidence evaluation that support and encourage appropriate and accurate policy decisions and actions that can be taken about forests and forest-related land use.
The Green Jobs project is coordinated by the European Forest Institute (EFI) in collaboration with the International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA) and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO). It investigates the transforming employment trends in the forest sector while putting a special focus on the perspective of students and recent graduates from around the world. The young generation is a key actor of the future whether as professionals, leaders, or educators. Their skills and advocacy will be essential for strengthening the forest sector towards a sustainable future.
Building on a literature review and an expert workshop investigating the current changes of employment in the forest sector, the objective of the survey is to gain a better understanding of the perception of necessary skills and competencies; and employment-related ambitions and preparedness of forest-related students from around the globe.
The questionnaire will take ~20 minutes to complete. We encourage you to share the survey with any students or recent graduates in your networks and further appreciate sharing with contacts at universities that could help to spread the survey among the target group.
Take part in the survey and help us find out what students expect from their future career in the forest-related sector!
