The Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) is awarding one extraordinary individual USD20,000 for improving our forests and the lives of people who depend on them. The CPF launched the first Wangari Maathai Award in 2012 to honour and commemorate the impact of this extraordinary woman who championed forest issues around the world. In 2014, the CPF will award another individual for their outstanding achievements for forests. Nominations close 30 May 2014. [more]

The Collaborative Partnership on Forests and the Government of Finland held a well-attended side event on integrating forests in the sustainable development goals (SDGs), on the fringes of the 8th Open Working Group meeting at UN Headquarters in New York. CPF Chairperson Eduardo Rojas-Briales and H.E. Jarmo Viinanen, Permanent Representative of Finland to the UN, opened the session explaining the interconnectedness and importance of forests to other issues being discussed in the SDGs – namely oceans, biodiversity and mountains. Participants noted the complexity of integrating forest issues in the SDGs, but noted that with coherent and incentivized goals, forests targets could be included in future SDGs. CPF members will soon issue a document with proposed forest targets, indicators and other background material. [more]

The World Agroforestry Centre and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, together with the Indian Society of Agroforestry and Global Initiatives, will hold the Congress in Delhi, India 10-14 February 2014.The Congress, entitled ‘Trees for Life: Accelerating the Impacts of Agroforestry’ , will draw over 1200 selected participants from the private, research and development sectors to share the current state of knowledge and accelerate the positive financial, environmental and social impacts of agroforestry. [more]

Nordregio is currently seeking to expand its team of senior level research staff working with regional and territorial development at different scales. With the responsibility to initiate, attract and lead externally funded research and innovation projects, a Senior Research Fellow requires you to be experienced in project development and project management. The geographic scope of your fields of interest includes an expert knowledge in at least one of the Nordic countries as well as a European perspective. Formally, you hold a PhD in human geography, statistics, economics, political science, sociology or an associated discipline. Application deadline: 30 May 2014. [more]

Why land governance matters for SDGs – interview with Iris Krebber, chair of the Global Donor Platform The Senior Forestry Officer will provide strategic, managerial and technical leadership, guidance and support on forest products development, marketing and trade, including wood and non-wood products; wood energy; small and medium scale industries and forest harvesting and engineering. [more]

INRA and the Doctoral School RP2E offer during 2014 one "Contrat Jeune Scientifique" (Young Scientist Contract) for 3 years (duration for completion of a PhD) followed by two years of postdoctoral research abroad. Research will take place at Nancy (France). Candidates may choose among four topics: Topic 1 - From leaf to whole plant: morphological, physiological and molecular determinants of transpiration and water use in poplar trees Topic 2 - Understanding the molecular dialogues within forest soil microbial communities and investigating their impact on plant health and growth Topic 3 - Functional characterization of a chloroplast-targeted candidate effector of the poplar rust pathogen Melampsora larici-populina: could the rust fungus hijack chloroplastic functions to achieve infection? Topic 4 Functional variability of the detoxification system in lignolytic fungi. Deadline for application: 12 May 2014. [more]

Key messages, summary and recommendations from the International Forum on PES are now available The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a regional intergovernmental learning and knowledge sharing centre serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. Our aim is to influence policy and practices to meet environmental and livelihood challenges emerging in the HKH region. [more]

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a regional intergovernmental learning and knowledge sharing centre serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. Our aim is to influence policy and practices to meet environmental and livelihood challenges emerging in the HKH region. [more]

25 April 2014 Editor’s Note: Land tenure in forested areas will be a key theme of discussion at the upcoming Forests Asia Summit, 5-6 May in Jakarta, Indonesia. At the Summit, a discussion session will explore issues related to the securing of traditional lands, social forestry initiatives and tenurial dynamics in Southeast Asia. Read more here. BOGOR, Indonesia — A global study on... Read more [more]

24 April 2014 Identifying indicators and targets on land at the global level are needed in order to deliver on better land governance, tenure and land rights particularly for stakeholders and NGOs that are involved at the ground level and at the national […] The post Why land governance matters for SDGs – interview with Iris Krebber, chair of the Global Donor Platform appeared first on Landscapes . [more]

24 April 2014 Editor’s Note: The haze crisis will be a key theme of discussion at the upcoming Forests Asia Summit, 5-6 May in Jakarta, Indonesia. At the Summit, a workshop will examine the underlying causes and impacts of peat land fires, focusing on the role of conflicts over land ownership between communities and companies; impacts on human health; and the transboundary bill recently... Read more [more]

24 April 2014

The 44th annual celebration of Earth Day featured a photo exhibition in Rome, Italy. Organized by Earth Day Italia and Shoot4Change, the portraits depict managers of sustainable food production systems, botanical researchers and eco-carpenters amongst the 'heroes of the planet.'

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23 April 2014 ITTO has released its latest publication “Indicating progress: uses and impacts of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management”, which highlights the results of a comprehensive assessment of the ways in which criteria and indicators (C&I) have been applied and the extent to which they have contributed to improve forest policies and management practices. The study included an examination of five major C&I processes involving about 90 countries. [more]

23 April 2014 Editor’s Note: REDD+ will be a key theme of discussion at the upcoming Forests Asia Summit, 5-6 May in Jakarta, Indonesia. One discussion forum at the Summit, Seeing Green in REDD – sharing experiences on the equity and economics of REDD+ pilot projects, will draw together successful experiences in implementing REDD+ projects on the ground, with an emphasis on the... Read more [more]

23 April 2014 Globally, coffee production is in danger. An article in The Conversation says climate change will compound the economic problems already faced by coffee farmers around the world. read more [more]

23 April 2014 Wamena (22/02)-Dalam rangka mendorong partisipasi aktif kelompok masyarakat sipil dalam melakukan proses pemantauan penggunaan lahan dalam program pembangunan rendah emisi di provinsi Papua, proyek read more [more]

22 April 2014 LIMA, Peru — A study conducted in the eastern Colombian Andes shows that farmers and recreational homeowners are willing to pay higher rates to protect a water supply and improve the quality of their drinking water. The outcome of the findings from the study of the Chaina watershed may help stimulate programs that pay upstream... Read more [more]

18 April 2014 Urbanization can decrease emissions and resource use by 15% – learn how and explore opportunities for education and research. Courtesy of: CityTownInfo.com The post Cities – opportunities for sustainable landscapes? – View the infographic appeared first on Landscapes . [more]

17 April 2014 The Government of Vietnam acceded to the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 2006, on 10 April 2014 becoming the Sixty-ninth member of the Agreement, in accordance with its Article 39 (4).(1) Vietnam has a forest area of 13.38 million hectares(2) (including 3.5 million hectares of planted forest), which represent almost 41% of its territory. Vietnam is a major producer and exporter of wooden furniture and parts. Its exports valued USD 3.3 billion in 2011 (around 5.6% of the worldwide exports of furniture and parts). Vietnam is also a major importer of tropical industrial roundwood (around 932,000 m3 in 2011) and tropical sawnwood (484,000 m3 in 2011). The bulk of these imports came from Asian neighboring countries such as Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Cambodia and Myanmar. 1 http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i1757e/i1757e.pdf2 Figures according to Forest Resources Assessment 2010 (FRA 2010) http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/al664E/al664e.pdf [more]

17 April 2014 Planting trees and livestock-keeping might well go hand-in-hand in helping farmers both mitigate and adapt to a changing climate. Livestock are often adapted to relatively marginal environments and can diversify rural production, promoting climate resilience. At the same time, trees can provide animal fodder and shelter, soil enrichment and other benefits to farmers, further supporting […] 3 reads [more]

11 April 2014 By Angela Dewan The world is transitioning to a green economy, but the many synergies between greater sustainability and the forest-focused REDD+ mechanism are underutilized, according to a recent United Nations report. Countries with tropical forests have for years been […] The post REDD+ and a green economy are inseparable – but concerns for equity remain: UN report appeared first on Landscapes . [more]