Forests and the bioeconomy: challenges and opportunities
Keynote speech by Elspeth MacRae, Scion, New Zealand
Read an interview with Dr. MacRae at: https://blog.iufro.org/2016/09/01/interview-with-dr-elspeth-macrae-scion-new-zealand/
Find biographic information at: http://www.iufro.org/events/congresses-regional/#c25751
The future holds tremendous challenges for the world with the increase in population probably being the largest one. As a consequence, we expect a need for a 70% increase in the amount of food available by 2050. The demographic changes and new lifestyles will put a growing pressure on the natural resources, exacerbate the effects of climate change, deplete soils and make water a scarce commodity, among other things. Read more…
How far should we go “native”? Re-conceptualizing biodiversity restoration in urban forests
Keynote Speech by Professor Makoto Yokohari, The University of Tokyo, at the IUFRO Regional Congress for Asia and Oceania
Restoring biodiversity by reforesting urban fabrics is one of common urgent tasks for cities in the world in general and in the Asia and Oceania region in particular. After all, seven of the ten largest cities in the world are in this region. One of these cities is Tokyo. It accommodates 10 million people. More than 30 million people live in the national capital region; this is one third of the total population of Japan. However, despite the high number of population in Tokyo, one third of its area is mountainous, largely covered by natural and planted forest patches.
We should be aware of the fact that where you find megacities you often also find high biodiversity. Consequently, when talking about biodiversity, we cannot exclude cities as they often coincide with biological hotspots. Of course, the green spaces in cities do not only serve the purpose of biodiversity but they are also used by people for recreation. Urban greens are areas of human comfort. But how to balance between human comfort and biodiversity? Read more…
Latest Progresses of Silviculture Research in China
Professor Zhang Shougong, Chinese Academy of Forestry, held the first keynote address at the IUFRO Regional Congress for Asia and Oceania on Monday, 24 October 2016.
As one of the leading scientists in silviculture and forest management in China, Professor Zhang Shougong, President of the Chinese Academy of Forestry, has long experience in establishment of planted forests and sustainable forest management. His research interests cover quality improvement and breeding of larch species, technologies for larch forest management and their application. Read more…