|
|
|
|
When the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change meets later this year in Warsaw, Poland, for its annual Conference of Parties (COP), CIFOR will be there to highlight the importance of forests in solving global climate issues. The Global Landscapes Forum, a two-day event on the sidelines of the COP, aims to find combined solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable resource use, poverty eradication, food security and a growing need for energy.
To register, click here.
Apply here to host a technical or networking session.
|
|
|
 Fires burning since June in Sumatra have caused air-quality problems in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia. In a new analysis, CIFOR scientists studied high-resolution satellite imagery and discovered that in the worst-hit area, 21% of the land surveyed was part of an industrial palm-oil or pulp plantation.
Related reading:
|
|
|
 A new online mapping tool for monitoring, reporting and verifying (MRV) carbon emissions enables researchers and practitioners to better manage forest inventories, its creators say. The open access Forest Carbon Database can be used to share measurements of carbon pools — reservoirs with the capacity to store and release carbon. Designed to map wetlands as part of the Sustainable Wetlands Adaptation and Mitigation Program (SWAMP), the interactive tool has been updated; users can now register sample plots and input data on forest carbon stocks, including tree biomass, dead woody debris, soil and underbrush.
|
|
|
 Conventional wisdom among researchers and development experts has said the loss of ecosystem services, especially those provided by forests, will have a profound impact on the poor, as deforestation and forest degradation decrease human well-being. However, evidence suggests something else is occurring.
Related reading:
|
|
|
 As climate change threatens the livelihoods of forest people, scientists are turning to traditional forest-related knowledge to better understand how local communities are developing more sustainable ways of farming and using forest products to adapt to their changing world.
|
|
|
 As more developing countries plan to make the transition to a green economy—defined as “low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive”—the spotlight is turning on the “true” value of forests. And it’s clear that they’re worth a lot more than the price of timber.
Related reading:
|
|
|
 Studies about the impact of logging on biodiversity in tropical regions should be scrutinized, conclusions toned down or even discounted, according to research that has revealed widespread methodological flaws. In rainforest-specific studies, researchers found, scientists often treat sites that have been logged and those that haven’t as if they were identical before the timber cutting, and perform statistical comparisons that cannot support the conclusions that are drawn from them, an example of a methodological flaw known as “pseudoreplication”.
|
|
|
 Formal collective action can improve the livelihoods of rural smallholders and encourage sustainable production of shea butter, frankincense and honey in dryland countries in West Africa, but each cooperative requires a unique structure to succeed, research shows. Scientists with CIFOR studied the benefits and challenges of using collaborative producer organizations as a mechanism for producing and marketing shea from Burkina Faso, frankincense (gum olibanum) from Ethiopia and honey from Zambia.
|
|
|
 A new tool designed to evaluate the impact of swidden on forest degradation could play a key role in monitoring REDD+ climate change mitigation programs, helping to settle debates over how to monitor, report and verify carbon emissions, which have been sticking points in global climate change negotiations.
|
|
|
 Payments for environmental services (PES) can both save the environment and alleviate poverty: true, false or none of the above? For two scientists, the goals and potential impact of PES are part of a longstanding debate that recently took a new turn.
|
|
 REDD+ is a global mechanism that aims to cut carbon emissions caused by deforestation and forest degradation. "Analysing REDD+" argues that a multi-level governance system is essential to ensure effective measurement, reporting and verification of carbon emissions in forests. Released in English last year, the book is now available in Spanish, French and Indonesian.
|
|
Arbonaut User Days 2013 Workshop
19 August 2013 - 21 August 2013, Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia. More information »
6th Annual ESP Conference 2013
26 August, 2013, Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort, Bali, Indonesia. More information »
9th International Flora Malesiana Symposium
27 August 2013 – 31 August 2013, Bogor, Indonesia. More information »
|
|
|
|
|
CIFOR advances human well-being, environmental conservation and equity by conducting research to help shape policies and practices that affect forests in developing countries. CIFOR is a member of the CGIAR Consortium. Our headquarters are in Bogor, Indonesia, with offices in Asia, Africa and South America.
Go to CIFOR’s website
Go to CIFOR’s blog
|
|
|
|
|
