Spotlight #84 – Task Force probes ‘whys’ behind increased tree mortality
Spotlight #84 – Task Force probes ‘whys’ behind increased tree mortality
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.
Read more…The world is fighting forest fires in the midst of a pandemic
The world is fighting forest fires in the midst of a pandemic
Interview with Dr. Andrey Krasovskiy originally published in French: https://journalmetro.com/perspective/2477417/monde-lutte-feux-de-foret-pandemie/
On 25 June 2020 by Miguel Velazquez, Métro World News
Dr. Andrey Krasovskiy is a Research Scholar working with the Ecosystems Services and Management Program (ESM) of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Austria: https://iiasa.ac.at/
He is a Member of the IUFRO Task Force “Fire$: Economic Drivers of Global Wildland Fire Activity”: https://www.iufro.org/science/task-forces/global-wildland-fire-activity/
Q: What is the outlook for forest fires this year?
Forest fires are likely to keep the dynamics from previous years. Along with the problematic regions, such as Amazon, where forest fires are driven by deforestation, and Indonesia, where extremely vulnerable peatland areas are located, considerable fire events are to be expected in boreal forests of Russia, the US, and Canada. The forest fires might also show relative increase compared to previous years in Central European countries. There is a danger that post-quarantine human activities will further add to forest fire frequency in the Mediterranean region, as well as globally.
Studying Forestry to be Part of a Solution to a Problem
Interview with IFSA President Amos Amanubo
Amos is a 25 year old Ugandan and a recent graduate from Makerere University, Kampala, holding a Bachelor’s Degree in Conservation Forestry and Production Technology. He has been the President of the International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA) since August 2019. His favorite pastimes are cycling through natural landscapes and meeting friends.
View from the forest: the interlinked crises of COVID-19, environmental degradation and inequity – A Guest Blog
The underlying cause of the COVID-19 pandemic is the spill-over of a virus from a presumed bat wildlife source – and its spread in the vast human population and its vulnerable systems. There are many questions yet unanswered about the virus’s source – which species of bat, was it sold in the Wuhan Wet Market, did a number of bat-human transmissions occur or were transmissions to other animal species involved in the development of a virus capable of human to human transmission. For the moment all efforts are on controlling the disease. It has emerged and spread rapidly around the highly connected planet. In the long run, understanding how to prevent further such pandemics will be a major focus.
Link to license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode
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
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.
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.
IUFRO Spotlight #67 – Tapping the potential of restoring disturbed tropical forests
IUFRO Spotlight #67 – Tapping the potential of restoring disturbed tropical forests
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.
Spotlight #59 – Shifting forest development discourses
Conservation provides employment for local inhabitants at Dzanga Ndoki National Park, Central African Republic. ©Peter Prokosch, http://www.grida.no/resources/1516
Many centuries ago, a Greek philosopher noted that change is the only constant in life.
And change is brought about, in many instances, through discourse.
Discourse has been described in part as: “an ensemble of ideas, concepts and categories through which meaning is given to social and physical phenomena…”
According to this definition, discourse refers to a particular set of related ideas, which are shared, debated and communicated using different formats.
Through various discourses, we can discover fresh information and be introduced to new and different perspectives. We are able to gain experience and insight. As a result, our thinking, our attitudes, and our approaches toward various issues can evolve and change.
Certainly the ways in which forests are viewed, managed and developed have changed as the discourses concerning them have evolved. Read more…
The power of science to halt deforestation
NOTE: This text is reblogged from a blog coauthored by Vincent Gitz (FTA) and IUFRO Vice-President John Parrotta about Session 16 on “The Role of Science and Research” at the Halting Deforestation conference: http://foreststreesagroforestry.org/the-power-of-science-to-halt-deforestation/
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A coffee plantation is pictured on a hillside in Lampung, Indonesia. Photo by U. Ifansasti/CIFOR
Science and research can offer significant contributions to halting deforestation and increasing the area of healthy forests around the world in a sustainable manner.
With halting and reversing deforestation seen as key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the objectives of the Paris agreement on climate change, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests organized from Feb. 20-22 the conference “Working across sectors to halt deforestation and increase forest area” in Rome, to discuss ways of meeting these targets in the coming years with various actors and stakeholders. Read more…
FTA and IUFRO highlight cooperation at Global Landscapes Forum
NOTE: This text is reblogged from a blog coauthored by Vincent Gitz (FTA) and Alexander Buck (IUFRO) about the Rainfall Recycling as a Landscape Function: Connecting SDGs 6, 13 and 15 discussion forum at GLF2017: http://foreststreesagroforestry.org/fta-and-iufro-highlight-cooperation-at-global-landscapes-forum/
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Clouds pass over homes on the banks of the Belayan River in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Photo by Nanang Sujana/CIFOR
The CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA) and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) are strengthening their collaboration to increase understanding and promote the role and value of forests and trees in landscapes.
At the recent Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) in Germany, FTA, IUFRO and the Swedish International Agricultural Network Initiative (SIANI) organized a Discussion Forum titled Rainfall Recycling as a Landscape Function: Connecting SDGs 6, 13 and 15. Read more…