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Editorial: Investment in forestry is an investment in people
Tiina Vahanen, Associate Secretary-General, XIV World Forestry Congress
When the world’s foresters and forest supporters come together for the XIV World Forestry Congress in Durban, South Africa, in September, they will have a unique opportunity to highlight the urgent need to give forests credit for the true value they provide... Read more
FAO Forestry news
XIV World Forestry Congress, Durban, South Africa
7-11 September, 2015
| Last call for events: deadline closing 27 February |
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Applications to organize an event related to the Congress's central theme or six sub-themes are still being accepted. The Congress organizers welcome proposals for side events, networking/regional events, launches or performances.
View more details here in English, French and Spanish.
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XIV WFC First Announcement, and registration opening soon
In a joint communication, FAO and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of South Africa have provided FAO member countries and heads of forestry with key information on the Congress in the form of a First Announcement. Recipients have also been advised that registration will open soon, with special rates for "early-bird" registration. Visit the Congress registration webpages for the list of registration fees in English, French and Spanish.
View here the XIV World Forestry Congress First Announcement.
Economics of climate change online conference gets off to a strong start
 FAO Forestry’s Eva Muller opened the Economics of climate change mitigation options in the forest sector online conference, by recalling forest and forest products’ key role in the global carbon cycle and in carbon emissions reduction, and the less-understood economics behind these dynamics.
Fifty technical presentations, including more than 30 country case studies, panel and plenary discussions, will provide a good international platform for sharing diverse insights and experiences.
Read more on the Economics of climate change mitigation options in forest sector online conference, and view the video of Eva Muller, Director, FAO Forest Economics, Policy and Products Division, delivering her opening remarks on 6 February.The conference proceedings will be available in March 2015.
Still time to sign up! About 700 people took part in the first three sessions and you can watch the recordings via the links here: sessions one, two and three. View here the instructions for accessing the three remaining sessions below:
- Wood energy (Friday, 20 February, 14.00, Rome time)
- Green building (Tuesday, 24 February, 15.00, Rome time)
- Sustainable packaging (Friday, 27 February, 14.00 Rome time)
Instructions on conference access can be viewed here.
Experts produce outline for increasing sustainable use of wood energy
Traditional and modern wood energy use can be a factor and/or driver of rural development, food security, climate change, biodiversity conservation and sustainable forest management, experts at an FAO meeting noted. Sharing and recording good practices and experiences as part of a holistic value-chain approach, and promoting sustainable wood energy in international forestry-related processes, including at a special XIV World Forestry Congress event, are the proposed next steps.
Read more on the expert meeting on wood energy organized by FAO Forestry in Rome on 10 February 2015 and attended by experts from the Center for International Forestry Research, FAO, French Development Agency, German Development Agency, Tropenbos International and the World Agroforestry Centre.
New online forum to increase capacity in legal preparedness for REDD+ and sustainable forest management
One priority of countries and stakeholders engaged in REDD+ Readiness is to have sound legal preparedness and a knowledge of REDD+ legal reforms to ensure successful programme delivery. To support this process, FAO Forestry and the FAO Development Law Service have developed an online discussion forum for the exchange of experiences in a “community of practice” on REDD+law and sustainable forest management.
Sign up for the online forum on Legal Preparedness for REDD+, being run in English, French and Spanish, and scroll down the Committee on Forests 21 webpage for more information on the 25 September 2012 side event on Legal preparedness for REDD+ exploring needs and sources of expert support, whose success led to the creation of the new forum.
Collect Earth: using satellite imagery to increase capacity in agrosilvopastoral systems monitoring and assessment
Monitoring and evaluation experts of the “Action Against Desertification” project have increased their capacity in monitoring agrosilvopastoral systems and developing a baseline assessment, following FAO-organized training in the use of Collect Earth, an Open Foris initiative tool for analyzing freely available satellite imagery. This sharing of experiences and methodologies concluded with the customization of the tool to meet the project’s monitoring needs.
Read more on the presentations, tools and conclusions of the FAO capacity building workshop on Baseline assessment and ongoing monitoring of agrosilvopastoral systems with Collect Earth, in support of the “Action Against Desertification” project within the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel initiative, held at FAO headquarters from 12–16 January. Also visit the Collect Earth website.
Global news
The Rome Promise: a better deal for drylands and dryland communities
A new collaborative network and a dynamic roadmap to advance comprehensive drylands monitoring and assessment are the pledges embodied in the Rome Promise, the key outcome of the FAO-hosted Drylands Monitoring Week 2015. Experts identified new opportunities for accelerating related action on drylands, an area covering 40 percent of global land mass, for the benefit of dryland users.
Read more on the Rome Promise on monitoring and assessment of drylands for sustainable management and restoration and on the presentations and results of Drylands Monitoring Week 2015. The two workshops were organized by FAO, the World Resources Institute and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with funding support from the Global Environment Facility and the European Union within the framework of its cooperation with African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States.
Expert Group meeting concludes with options for the future International Arrangement on Forests
Members of the Ad Hoc Expert Group on the International Arrangement on Forests (IAF) gathered in January for a second meeting to discuss the review of the IAF, including, among other things, the future of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, (CPF) of which FAO is the chair. FAO and other CPF members contributed to the discussions, which resulted in a series of recommendations and options for the future IAF that the United Nations Forum on Forests will consider at its 11th Session in May.
Read more in the advance unedited report of the second meeting of the Open-ended Intergovernmental Ad Hoc Expert Group on the International Arrangement on Forests, 12–16 January 2015, held in New York, which FAO’s Eduardo Rojas and Eva Muller attended, and also read the position paper "Views by CPF members on the future of the CPF" (22 December 2014). More information can be found on the United Nations Forum on Forests IAF webpage.
Meetings and events
Meetings
- 3rd World Teak Conference 2015 – Strengthening Global Teak Resources and Markets for Sustainable Development Asociación Ecuatoriana de Productores de Teca y Maderas Tropicales, FAO, International Teak Information Network, IUFRO – Guayaquil, Eduador, 11–15 May 2015
Collaborative Partnership on Forests events calendar, including:
United Nations events 2015
Partner and country events
International Days - March to May 2015
Publications and videos
Publications
Videos
International Day of Forests, 21 March 2015:
Forests | Climate | Change
To celebrate the invaluable ways in which forests and trees sustain and protect us, particularly as our natural defence against climate change, FAO has produced a video spot to promote the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) theme for the 2015 International Day of Forests: Forests | Climate | Change. Help us to increase understanding of the forests-trees-climate change nexus and to rally greater global support for action, by sharing the video spot with colleagues, partners, communities and friends.
View the video spot in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish, and Russian, now also available in Italian and German. More information on other free, online promotional products and on how you can contribute to the celebrations is available at the FAO Forestry 2015 IDF webpage. Also visit the CPF website to see how FAO's partners will be marking the day around the world.
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http://forestry.fao.msgfocus.com/u/15Gsv0mBdlmGwr2DJDT
