31 July 2014 We open this edition by drawing your attention to a newly-released report by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Resources and Rights Initiative (RRI), which offers an original and thought-provoking thesis: Forest community rights should be fostered as community-owned and managed forests are reportedly in a better position to cope with global warming. (In English and Spanish) In an attempt to keep erosion at bay on the river island of Majuli in India where he lives, a man has been planting trees for 35 years, transforming dry wasteland into what is now a forest of 550 hectares, an area larger than Central Park in New York. (In English and French) In Morocco a serval, a local feline slightly bigger than a lynx, has been photographed in the mountains of the Middle Atlas. Thought to be extinct in the wild in Morocco, its rediscovery has caused excitement among ecologists. (In Spanish and French) In the Honduran Flower Mountains, indigenous communities belonging to the Tolupan ethnic group are fighting for the survival of their language and cultural heritage, by staying united despite their extreme poverty and difficult livelihoods. (In Spanish) Kazakhstan is developing its new programme for forest management to 2020, aimed at creating the right conditions for the conservation of forest ecosystems and their effective management, using a sustainable development approach. (In English) [more]
30 July 2014 At a session on Sustainable Biomass for Energy and Industrial Raw Materials at the IUFRO World Congress scientists will discuss current issues in biomass development with a strong focus on forests. [more]
29 July 2014 FRA 2015-NEWS is an opportunity to keep you up-to-date with the latest news, activities and events related to the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015 (FRA 2015). [more]
18 July 2014 This guide presents a step-by-step approach to planning forest governance assessment or monitoring, collecting data, analyzing it, and making the results available to decision makers and other stakeholders. It also presents five case studies to illustrate how assessment or monitoring initiatives have applied the steps in practice, and it includes references and links to many sources of further information. Published with PROFOR. [more]
16 July 2014 This study provides fundamental information and guidance for policymakers and practictioners for the achievement of knowledge-based ecosystem restoration using native tree species. It draws attention to the importance of embedding genetic considerations in restoration activities, an aspect which is often overlooked both by restoration scientists and practitioners, but is nonetheless crucial to rebuilding resilient landscapes and ecosystems. It was coordinated by Bioversity International as input to FAO’s first report on The State of the World’s Forest Genetic Resources (June, 2014). [more]
16 July 2014 In an interview held on the occasion of the 12th UN-REDD Programme Policy Board Meeting, in preparation for the COP20 Summit to be held in Lima, Peru, later this year, the FAO Assistant Director-General for Forestry, Mr Rojas-Briales, stressed the importance of the National Forestry Inventory in Peru and elsewhere, as a key exercise to improve the monitoring of forests’ dynamic evolution and thereby develop consistent and effective conservation plans. (In Spanish) Uruguay, along with Belize and Sudan, has joined the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, something which is seen as a positive opportunity for the country to prepare for REDD+ and to set up an overall climate change mitigation strategy as well as a scheme for payments for environmental services. (In English and Spanish) In other news, a start-up company in California is giving new life to old smartphones, by using them to develop devices to combat deforestation and poaching in threatened habitats worldwide. (In English and Spanish) Shade-grown coffee, a form of permaculture in which coffee is grown under a canopy of native trees, is constantly losing territory towards sun-grown coffee varieties, resulting in increased deforestation and loss of biodiversity and habitat connectivity. (In English) A new study carried out by the French Development Agency in collaboration with Gabonese authorities underlines the fact that, if well managed, forest resources could contribute to Gabonese GDP by up to 20%. (In French) [more]
8 July 2014 Read reports about such diverse topics as genetic conservation of teak resources, management of landscape change, ozone and plants, green cities, or linking gender and adaptation to climate change. [more]
1 July 2014 Welcome to this new edition of Infosylva , dedicated mainly to the biennial meeting of the Committee on Forestry (COFO 22), held at FAO headquarters in Rome from 23 to 27 June 2014.This year’s COFO focused on “Enhancing the socioeconomic benefits from forests”. The themes discussed at the meeting and ensuing policy recommendations concerned forests’ role in meeting the basic needs and sustaining the livelihoods of the millions of people who live in them and rely on them, and in particular how to enhance their socioeconomic value while protecting this unique resource, so precious for the life and survival of our entire planet. Don’t miss all the new publications that were presented at the meeting and the many interviews highlighting the different topics covered. And of course don’t miss the international news review of this important event in forestry (FAO in the news). [more]
26 June 2014 Eucalyptus species and hybrids make up the most widely planted hardwood crop globally. An international team of researchers has now successfully sequenced and analyzed the genome of Eucalyptus grandis. [more]
23 June 2014 Congress session on urban forest diversity and ecosystem services aims to guide future research and policies related to sustaining urban forests and the critical ecosystem services provided by them. [more]
22 June 2014 Since 2000 and the implementation of China’s ‘going abroad’ policy, mainland Chinese state-owned and private companies have significantly increased their interests in the resources and investment opportunities of the Congo Basin, bringing new opportunities as well as potential social and environmental costs. This report is a synthesis of some main findings of preliminary scoping studies conducted by CIFOR and partners in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon. It focuses on how Chinese trade and investment in the forestry, mining and agricultural sectors might relate to effects on forests and forest-dependent communities in the region. All studies were conducted under the CIFOR project ‘Chinese trade and investment in Africa: Assessing and governing trade-offs to national economies, local livelihoods and forest ecosystems’, initiated in 2010. The scoping studies yielded useful results, including an increased understanding of the main trends in natural resources trade between the target countries and China, and the major land-based productive sectors targeted by Chinese investors. The studies also considered the role of national agencies tasked with promoting investment and overseeing corporate adherence to environmental and social requirements, and provided a better understanding of the informal processes surrounding investment and acquisition of land and other resources. [more]
22 June 2014 Follow the work of FAO Forestry and its partners in the most recent issue of inFO news, a regular news bulletin published by the Forestry Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. [more]
19 June 2014 Several studies have analyzed the situation of the forestry sector in Ecuador, with different focus. For instance, Owen and Thiel (2006) assess the influence of policies on the economic dynamics of the forestry sector. Ibarra et al. (2008) explore the implications of forestry legislation in small-scale forest management by smallholders. Añazco et al. (2010) adopt a more comprehensive perspective to consider the current problems faced by the forestry sector and indicate the challenges to advance towards sustainable forest management. Unlike these, the analysis here is centered in the dynamics of timber harvesting in the Amazon undertaken by smallholders, colonists and indigenous people, and their relations with the domestic timber market. The most relevant studies on related issues were focused on describing the internal uses and trade flows of timber (Wunder, 1996), as well as the timber value chains with a national perspective (Ministerio del Ambiente del Ecuador, 2011). [more]
17 June 2014 Bolivia’s forest resources are of global importance, its main forest areas are located in subtropical and tropical regions. There is severe deforestation going on in the lowlands at a rate of approximately 200,000 ha per year, whilst forest degradation mostly concerns montane forests. Cattle ranching is the most important direct driver of deforestation, followed by mechanized agriculture at medium- and large-scale level, mainly for the production of soy bean, and finally small-scale agriculture. Underlying causes of deforestation include, among others, the opening of the agricultural economy to international markets and the weakness of institutions in charge of controlling land use. From 2006 on, under the government of Evo Morales, Bolivia adopted an official position against the marketization of nature and in defense of the rights of mother earth. In consequence to its rejection of REDD, Bolivia developed an alternative proposal called “Joint Mechanism of Mitigation and Adaptation for Integrated and Sustainable Management of Forests and Mother Earth”. This proposal was also promoted in international negotiations on climate change. It focuses on local experiences for a sustainable and integrated management of natural resources and fosters land use planning at different levels of governance. Our analysis suggests that there is still a lack of concrete approaches to mitigate the direct threats to forests; moreover, the control of illegal deforestation is still insufficient. We also note that in parallel to policies of nature conservation, there is a contradicting political agenda being implemented promoting the expansion of the agricultural frontier. Only the future will show if the vision of “Living Well in Harmony with Mother Earth” will really lead to effective measures to combat the loss and the degradation of the immense richness of Bolivian forest. [more]
16 June 2014 The most reviewed hit point of our past two weeks in forestry has been the launch by FAO of the first State of the World’s Forest Genetic Resources. As the culminating point of a three-year investigation involving 86 countries and about 85 percent of forest cover in the world, this report underscores the urgent need to preserve this irreplaceable wealth of biodiversity. (In English, Spanish and French) In a similar context, the new report Biocultural diversity links the loss of languages to disappearing habitats. In doing so, it reveals the parallel between linguistic diversity and biodiversity, showing the deep effects of the loss of biodiversity on the preservation of ancestral cultural heritage. (In English) In Germany, forest kindergartens – alternative educational spaces where children spend much of their time outdoors among the trees – are becoming increasingly popular for their beneficial effects on children’s health and wellbeing. (In Spanish and French) Edible food forests are taking root everywhere in the world, even in urban public spaces, as alternative places to grow fruit in the spirit of community. (In Spanish) Along with many other densely-populated countries, Vietnam is confronted with the need to find ways to limit the impact of people living inside and close to forests, by integrating their activities – at least their legal ones – into a framework of both conservation and economic development. (In French) And don’t forget to visit our webpage related to the upcoming 22nd session of the Committee on Forestry and the World Forest Week to be held 23-27 June 2014 in Rome, where you can find the provisional agenda and all the documents related to the sessions, along with the daily highlights of the event during the COFO week. Some of those sessions will also be webcast. [more]
13 June 2014 CLIM-FO-L is an electronic newsletter on forests and climate change compiled by FAO and issued monthly. It provides information on recent developments in climate change negotiations, scientific articles, publications, events and job opportunities. [more]
11 June 2014 IUFRO 2014 World Congress session aims to encourage forest managers to include forest-derived foods and medicines, as well as timber, in their planning, policies and practices. [more]
![Chinese trade and investment and the forests of the Congo Basin: Synthesis of scoping studies in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon [Chinese]](http://www.cifor.org/uploads/webservice/4721.jpg)
