
| Editorial | by Eduardo Rojas-Briales |
| 
| | 
300 years of sustainable forestry
Celebrations are being held this year to mark 300 years since a German administrator became the first person to define the concept of sustainability. Hans von Carlowitz is being honoured for his seminal work, Sylvicultura oeconomica, which is generally accepted as the first publication to articulate the concept of forest sustainability. Read more and see also the latest edition of Unasylva on the same topic. |
| |
38th Session of the FAO Conference and 147th Session of the FAO Council FAO’s two highest governing bodies met in June to discuss a wide range of issues, many of them important for forestry |
A new tree in the woods – welcome to GlobAllomeTree! FAO and partners have launched a web-based platform to help forest and climate-change projects, researchers and managers calculate forest volume, biomass and forest carbon. GlobAllomeTree, the first international, peer-reviewed platform for tree allometric equations, currently has equations for 57 countries worldwide, from boreal forests to tropical rainforests. Read more and access the GlobAllomeTree platform |
3rd International Union of Forest Research Organizations Latin American Congress, 12–15 June, San José, Costa Rica Forestry profession needs to change, says IUFROLAT
Profound changes are needed in the forestry profession in Latin America if it is to meet the emerging challenges facing forests, according to participants at the 3rd IUFRO Latin American Congress held in Costa Rica in June. The congress, which had 600 participants, featured 300 scientific papers presented in 53 technical sessions and 182 posters. FAO was a co-sponsor of the event. Read more and Read IUFROLAT III’s key conclusions here |
Collaborative Partnership on Forests Retreat The Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) held its biennial strategic retreat at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, in July, where members agreed on: actions on recommendations emerging from the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) 10; the approach for engaging in post-2015 development agenda discussions; and future CPF communications and joint initiatives. In the coming months the CPF will work closely with UN-DESA to identify the role of forests in possible future UN Sustainable Development Goals and with UNFF on the forthcoming review of the international arrangement on forests, which will be assessed at UNFF 11 in 2015 |
Sustainable forest-based industries committee invigorated FAO’s Advisory Committee on Sustainable Forest-based Industries met in São Paolo, Brazil, in June, with renewed statutes and membership. The Committee discussed its inputs to FAO’s 2014–15 forestry programme and how this could better promote collaboration between FAO Forestry and the private sector. |
Indonesia’s recurring forest fires: need for land management solutions This year’s forest fires in Indonesia were particularly intense, affecting neighbouring countries and leading to calls for greater forest protection to reduce environmental and health impacts. FAO’s Pieter van Lierop told Inter-Press it is important to recognize that fire is used as a land management tool and that the exchange of good practices has to be part of official solutions. |
| **** | 
| Regional news | 
| | | Central American stakeholders review regional strategy for forest ecosystem management A multisectoral, multistakeholder consultation supported by FAO, GIZ and IUCN was held in San José, Costa Rica, in April to review the draft Strategic Programme for Forest Ecosystem Management in Central America. This revised regional strategy, which was first approved in 2008, is expected to be released in November when feedback from the consultation has been incorporated. | | |
Tanzania facing forest “energy crunch” The United Republic of Tanzania is facing an impending “energy crunch”, according to a recently completed forest inventory conducted as part of a Finland-funded FAO project. Population growth and a reliance on wood energy are causing the rapid degradation of the country’s forest resources, but disaster can be averted by an integrated response that goes beyond the forest sector. |
Highlighting the role of forest bioenergy for the future More investment along the wood-energy value chain is needed to maximize the potential of the forest sector in responding to growing demand for bioenergy, according to 270 participants at a UNECE/FAO workshop in St Petersburg, Russian Federation, in May. The workshop was convened during the 3rd International Scientific Conference on Innovations and Technologies in Forestry. |
Innovation essential to realize the potential of wood Process and product innovation is essential for the transition of the forest sector towards a green economy. This was the conclusion of a seminar organized in conjunction with InnovaWood in Geneva in April. Participants at the seminar considered that wood nanocellulose and polymer-based innovations in particular could be central to the wood sector’s role in a future green economy. |
African legislators pledge support for forests East and southern African national legislators agreed at an inter-parliamentary hearing on “forests for people” in Tanzania in July to serve as goodwill ambassadors to raise awareness on forest conservation and promote best practices. In support of the initiative, FAO’s Foday Bojang presented the FAO guidelines on community-based forest management, a key tool for forestry practitioners in Africa. Read more and view the guidelines here. |
Community involvement key to reversing desertification Villagers and the local authority to Kouloumboutey, Niger, are striving to reverse decades of desertification that began with the drought-caused famine of 1984–85 and was exacerbated by overgrazing and excessive tree-felling. Close community involvement is a key driver of success of the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative, of which Niger is a member |
| **** | 
| Upcoming meetings and events | 
| | | | | |
- The 19th Session of the African Forestry and Wildlife Commission will take place concurrently with the 3rd African Forestry and Wildlife Commission week in Windhoek, Namibia, from 30 September to 4 October, under the theme Development of the Forest and Wildlife Sectors for effective contribution to food security and a green economy in Africa Read more including the session brochure
- 29th Session of the European Forestry Commission Working Party on the Management of Mountain Watersheds, France, 3–5 September 2013
- 4th Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership, Erzurum,Turkey,17–20 September 2013
Collaborative Partnership on Forests – events calendar, including: - IUFRO Resources for the Future Task Force meeting, Vancouver, BC, Canada, August 27–29 2013
- 11th Session of the UNCCD Conference of the Parties, Windhoek, Namibia, 16–27 September 2013
- 19th Session of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties, Warsaw, Poland, 11–22 November 2013
- Global Landscapes Forum, Warsaw, Poland, 16–17 November 2013
- 3rd World Agroforestry Conference, Delhi, India, 10–14 February 2014.
Call for abstracts is now open, deadline for submissions 30 September 2013. - 24th IUFRO World Congress, 5–11 October 2014, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
An open call for the submission of abstracts for technical and poster sessions was issued on 15 July 2013. Submissions will be accepted until 15 October 2013 - 25th IUFRO World Congress, Cuntiba, Brazil, October 2019 – news release
|
| **** | 
| Publications and videos | 
| | | | | |
Videos
- Egypt celebrates International Day of Forests. Egypt’s celebration of the 1st International Day of Forests took place over two days in March, with ceremonies involving the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation and a non-governmental organization, Nawaya. Government officials, students and youth planted trees to raise awareness about planted forests and the many roles of trees, including in combating desertification. Watch the video (Arabic with English subtitles)
- Projet de lutte contre la pauvreté et la désertification, Maroc. Inter-regional programme FAO/GCP/INT/093/SPA to combat poverty and desertification through watershed co-management. Pilot phase Oulad Outat watershed, Midelt Province, Morocco, financed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation and implemented by FAO and the High Commissioner for Forestry and Combating Desertification, Kingdom of Morocco. Watch the video (French)
- La importancia de los saberes tradicionales de las poblaciones indígenas y de las alianzas internacionales. Marco Vivar, National Coordinator, Ecuador, FAO inter-regional project to reduce poverty and combat desertification through collaborative watershed management. Watch the video (Spanish)
Publications |
Unasylva: a stroll down memory lane |
| 
| 
| 
| 
| In this series, we feature extracts from early editions of Unasylva, FAO Forestry’s international journal of forestry and forest industries. The following text was provided by Christel Palmberg, Unasylva Editorial Advisory Board member FAO's programme for forestry and forest products
“At the Fifth Session of the FAO Conference held in Washington in November 1949, the Director-General of FAO and the Director of the Division of Forestry and Forest Products submitted to the delegates a number of documents outlining the work – past, present and future – of the Organization in regard to forestry and forest products. A condensation of these documents is presented for the information of the readers of Unasyvla.
"... The field of forestry is very wide compared with the resources of FAO and so many projects have been recommended by successive sessions of the FAO Conference, by regional conferences, and by meetings of specialists that the most rigorous selection of items for the future work program was necessary. The Director-General had to select a relatively few key projects, placing the emphasis on those which were likely to have early and practical results and in which FAO could take some effective action. ...” Unasylva, 4(2), April–June 1950 | 
| 
| 
| 
|
|
| | | | | Unasylva 240 300 years of sustainable forestry |
|
| Sustainable management ofPinus radiata plantations |
|
| Edible insects Future prospects for food and feed security |
|
| 
| 
| 
| 
| Kenya's award-winning project in the Mau forests
 Egypt: International Day of Forests
Morocco: Watershed management
 Ecuador: Interview with Marco Vivar
Edible insects
 Forests for food security
 Changing landscapes of the Mediterranean
 | 
| 
| 
| 
|
|
| |
|