The September 21-28 World Forestry Congress in Quebec will see CIFOR stamp itself as one of the worlds leading forest research institutes through a number of prominent events and seminars.
These range from "Sustainable Development of Non-Wood Forest Products" and "Tropical Secondary Forests in Latin America, Asia and Africa", through to "CIFOR: A Decade of International Forestry Research" and "Forests for the Poor -The Rainforest Challenge".
Forests have sustained life on earth since time immemorial, providing food, shelter, energy, wood and wildlife habitat and ensuring soil and water conservation. Forests are a source of income, cultural identity and spiritual well being. One of today's greatest challenges is finding ways to balance the conflicting and growing demands of all those who depend on the forest for survival and development. The XII World Forestry Congress will explore innovative ways to address current and emerging issues, including those of a cross-sectorial and interdisciplinary nature. Discussions will be structured to help formulate recommendations and forge a vision of the future based on a balanced approach to sustainable forest management. Details about the WFC and CIFOR's presence visit are available from the contacts listed below or by visiting http://www.wfc2003.org.
Strengthening global partnerships to advance sustainable development of non-wood forest Products
Side event - World Forestry Congress
Radisson Quebec Hotel, 08.30-20.30, 20 September 2003
The culmination of a year-long global dialogue among stakeholders, this side-event will examine the conservation, development and management of non-wood forest resources and products. Participants from around the world will consolidate the state of knowledge and explore ways to strengthen institutional relations to support non-wood forest products science and development. The forum will formulate broad strategies and recommendations to advance research and action oriented programs on these products and their relationship to the sustainable development of social and ecological communities. Major themes will include "Commercialization: A reality check", "Linking NWFP Management with Livelihood Development" and "Institutional and Policy Dimensions". The key output of the event will be the "Quebec Declaration on Non-Wood Forest Products".
Sponsors and more Information
IUFRO: Jim Chamberlain - jachambe@vt.edu,
CIFOR: Brian Belcher - b.belcher@cgiar.org,
FAO: Paul Vantomme - p.vantomme@fao.org
Tropical secondary forests in Latin America, Asia and Africa: Status, experiences and challenges
Side event - World Forestry Congress
Palace Royal Hotel, 775 avenue Honoré-Mercier, Quebec, 2:30 - 14:00, 22 September, 2003 (STRANGE TIME)
Although not appearing as such in statistics - Secondary Forests occur extensively throughout the tropics and their area is increasing rapidly. Properly managed, secondary forests can make a vital contribution to sustainable development. They provide valuable and numerous environmental and socio-economic goods and services that are important for rural development. They also play an important role in biological conservation, restoring site productivity and relieving pressure on undisturbed forests. Interest in secondary forests has increased significantly in recent years. Various initiatives are underway to explore their status, extent and importance, to improve their management, and to define and implement appropriate policies and research strategies. Regional workshops in Latin America, Asia and Africa have brought together a wealth of information and invaluable insights, all of which will be presented and discussed at the side event.
Sponsors and more information
CIFOR: Cesar Sabogal, c.sabogal@cgiar.org
EC LNV: Herman Savenije, h.j.f.savenije@eclnv.agro.nl
FAO: Froylán Castañeda, froylan.castaneda@fao.org
GTZ: Helmut Dotzauer, dotzauer@samarinda.org
ITTO: Eva Müller, rfm@itto.or.jp
ICRAF/WAC: Bashir Jama, b.jama@cgiar.org
Forest for the poor - the rainforest challenge
Side Event - World Forestry Congress
Hilton Hotel, Québec, 22 September, 2003
The "Rainforest Challenge" is a powerful new research and development partnership recently formed by the world's largest and most experienced independent conservation organizations. These include: World Conservation Union (IUCN), Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). The partnership unites a growing team of the top experts and institutions from the South and the North and will operate for the next seven to ten years.
The side event will introduce and seek collaborators to examine rural poverty in the tropics and the continuing loss of unique forest ecosystems. It will also examine how the "Rainforest Challenge" can generate knowledge, develop technologies, and validate strategies that empower poor people to secure access to and use of forest resources. It will also look at how the "Rainforest Challenge" can reconcile local and global needs pertaining to environmental services and how to bridge the gap between science and policy in land use programs in pursuit of Agenda 21 commitments and Millennium Development Targets.
Sponsors and more information
CIFOR: Bruce Campbell, b.campbell@cgiar.org
IUCN: Stewart Maginnis, stm@iucn.org
WWF International:Jeffrey Sayer, jsayer@wwfint.org
ICRAF/ASB: Thomas Tomich, t.tomich@cgiar.org
CIFOR: A decade of international forestry research
Side event - World Forestry Congress
Radisson Hotel, Québec, 18:30-20:00, 23 September, 2003
Just as the values, technology and politics of society constantly evolve and change in the world around us, so does the world of forest research. During the past ten years, globalization, the growth in information and communication technologies, the influence of international processes such as the WSSD, increased networking, and changing consumption patterns have all affected the world's forests and hence research priorities and approaches. The rapid changes in forest tenure, markets, civil society, community forestry and governance are creating both opportunities and threats for the worlds forests and those who depend on them. Forest research must learn from the lessons of the past if it is to succeed in the future. This side-event will look at the road just travelled in forest research and the new directions it must pursue.
Sponsors and more information
Moderator: Hosny El-Lakani, Assistant Director General of Forestry, FAO (to be confirmed); Jag Maini, Former Head, United Nations Forum on Forests and Member, CIFOR Board of Trustees; David Kaimowitz, CIFOR: "Forest research that matters" d.kaimowitz@cgiar.org; Risto Paivinen, EFI: "The evolution of European forestry research over the last ten years", risto.paivinen@efi.fi and Jeff Sayer, WWF: "Responding to new challenges - issues of complexity, scale and multiple objectives" JSayer@wwfint.org.