Frances Seymour appointed as CIFOR’s new Director General
After a global search involving more than 80 candidates from 36 countries, CIFOR’s Board of Trustees has appointed Ms Frances Seymour as CIFOR’s new Director General. She will replace David Kaimowitz who is stepping down after five years leading CIFOR. more

External review gives thumbs up to CIFOR
‘CIFOR is the leading international forest research centre within its mandate… its research and policy oriented outcomes are significant and in many cases outstanding.’ These were the words Niels Elers Koch used in summarizing the findings of CIFOR’s most recent External Programme and Management Review (EPMR). more

Turning publication into practice along a tributary of the Amazon
When CIFOR research assistant Flavio Contente first visited the community of Quiandeua in Pará, Brazil José was a tired and listless little boy, sapped of energy by persistent anemia. By the time Contente returned five months later, José was up and about, running and playing with the other children. The boy’s dramatic recovery shows what can happen when good science meets good communication. more

Sharper eyes watching the Amazon
‘If loggers in the Peruvian Amazon know they’re going to be audited they’re more likely to follow the rules,’ according to CIFOR scientist Cesar Sabogal. This could be the key to better managing timber extraction in these important environmental areas for years to come. more

Moving on to greener forests
After 11 years as a researcher and director general, David Kaimowitz has left CIFOR to join the Ford Foundation in Mexico. David’s five year reign as Director General will be remembered fondly and admired for many reasons. more

TroFCCA launch
We hear a lot about climate change, especially about how the oceans will rise and the islands will drown. What we don’t hear so much about is how it will affect forests and the people who depend on them. more

Savanna productivity network brings west Africa researchers together
CIFOR’s success depends heavily on strong and healthy partnerships. In October 2005 CIFOR worked with French partner CIRAD and Mali’s Institut d’economie rurale (IER) to hold a West African savanna productivity workshop in the capital of Mali, Bamako. more

Sharing opinions for shared solutions in Malinau
Unsurprisingly, different forest users often have very different opinions about how a forest should be managed. These differences make it hard for decision-makers to find workable long-term solutions. Indeed, sometimes their ‘solutions’ cause more problems than they solve, and even lead to conflict. more

Equal partners: Saving forests and improving livelihoods
In much of southern Cameroon, forests are inseperable from development and conservation. Villagers use the forest to supplement their livelihoods. They gather fruits and nuts, find building materials, and hunt animals. Timber mills need forests to provide raw materials. And local economies need timber mills to provide jobs and generate income. Meanwhile, Cameroon’s rangers and conservationists are keeping a close eye on the forest’s rare wildlife and valuable biodiversity. more

International workshop on Community Forestry in Peru
With an estimated 1,300 indigenous communities inhabiting over 12 million hectares of forest in the Peruvian Amazon, enormous scope exists for communities to be actively involved in forest management. And when you consider the vast number of other communities and people living in the Amazon, like river dwellers, peasants and settlers, it is obvious how important Community Forest Management is to the region. more

A clear path to community forestry in Liberia
Community forestry often means different things to different people: from allowing local communities to completely manage their forests, to only giving locals token access to the economic benefits derived from the forest. more

NTFP’s help Cameroon’s women fight poverty
Women are increasingly indispensable partners in development strategies. Nowhere is this more evident than in Cameroon where women working in forests are at the front-line in the fight against rural poverty. more

Asia Forest Partnership: Governance and Decentralisation in Asia Workshop
Decentralisation reforms are currently reshaping the distribution of authority and responsibility between government, industry and civil society across the Asia-Pacific region. more

Ecosystem Goods and Services from Planted Forests Conference
3-7 October, Bilbao, Spain more

Conflict and illegal logging in Papua
Sound information and constructive engagement will help reduce the potential for conflict in Papua’s forestry sector and reduce differences between stakeholders. more

CIFOR seeks contributions for major book
CIFOR is calling for contributors to a proposed book about Community Forest Management (CFM) in Tropical America. CIFOR is seeking case studies, examples and references that illustrate the experiences, lessons learned and future challenges facing CFM in this region. more

International Workshop on Bamboo Processing Technologies
Zhejiang, P. R. China, September 6-20, 2006 more

International forest seminar, Nov 2006, India
A seminar on ‘Forests, Forest Products and Services: Research, Development and Challenges Ahead’ will be held from 1st to 3rd November 2006 at HNB Garhwal University, India. more

CIFOR News briefs more

COMIFAC meeting generates agreement for Central African Forests
In March this year the Commission for Central African Forests (COMIFAC) convened a meeting in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, with the aim of reaching agreement on the implementation of the COMIFAC Convergence Plan 2006-2008. more

Staff Update more

CIFOR Board of Trustees more