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.
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.
Human needs and our environment continue to change. Because of that, forest management practices, in terms of sustainable forest management (SFM), need to be updated, said Dr. Liu Shirong, Professor of Forest Ecology and Hydrology and President of the Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China.
Introducing nitrogen-fixing tree species of Erythrophleum fordii into Eucalyptus plantation for preventing soil fertility degradation while enhancing soil carbon sequestration in the Experimental Center of Tropical Forestry (ETCF), Chinese Academy of Forestry, Pingxiang city, Guangxi Autonomous Region, PR. China. Photo: Guo Wenfu, ETCF. Read more…
Communication has been defined as the process of passing information
and understanding from one person to another. But, to be effective, the
information passed must be in a language and terminology that the person
or persons receiving it will understand.
How does one decide how to manage a forest ethically?
Ema Image by arqgilson from Pixabay
One could simply say: do the right thing. But, the right thing for whom? And defining right and wrong – concepts that can vary according to moral climate or individual circumstance – is not all that simple.
Because of climate change, forest tree species have
three options. They can adapt, migrate, or extirpate.
“The outcome depends upon the tree species and
population, its genetic variation, its reproductive biology and flowering synchronization,
its migration potential and whether the environments in the areas it can
migrate will be hospitable enough to allow it to survive,” said Dr.
Paraskevi Alizoti of the Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Tree Improvement in
the School of Forestry and Natural Environment at Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki, Greece.
Altitudinally marginal population of Pinus mugo in Italy. Source: http://map-fgr.entecra.it/?page_id=1377 Photo by Piero BellettiRead more…
Since the 1980s most deforestation globally has occurred in tropical countries – Africa, South America and Asia. The high rate of deforestation and degradation contributes to the disappearance of 13 million hectares of tropical forests each year.
Secondary forests in Costa Rica. Photo by Geoffrey Venegas, CATIE.Read more…
IUFRO Spotlight #66 – A forest mix may best address global change
Mixed stand of Pinus sylvestris and Quercus pyrenaica in Matas Forest (Valsaín), Central Spain. Photo by Andrés Bravo-Oviedo.
Managing a mixed
forest in the context of environmental and social change is the focus of a
recent publication put together by members of IUFRO Research Group 1.09.00
(Ecology and Management of Mixed Forests).
The structure,
dynamics and functioning of such forests are increasingly relevant topics for
researchers.
The United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) held this week in New York shined a spotlight on the topic of forest education.International organizations and member countries alike discussed the importance of strengthening forestry education, beginning from a young age in elementary level education up to university level and beyond. The relevance of forest education at schools is based on ensuring the next generation understands the positive role forests can play in helping humanity combat some of our most profound challenges; contributing to mitigation and resilience efforts in the face of climate change, housing massive terrestrial biodiversity and positively contributing to food and water security all of which are outlined in the UN’s 2030 agenda and featured in their 17 sustainable development goals.
Dr. Mika Rekola, representing the University of Helsinki and IUFRO, was featured on a panel discussion where he presented his background paper co-authored by Dr. Monica Gabay. The paper highlighted three key messages.
