| European
Tropical Forest Research Network |
HYDROLOGICAL SCIENCES FOR
MANAGING WATER RESOURCES IN
THE ASIAN DEVELOPING WORLD
(International Conference)
An International Conference on “Hydrological Sciences for Managing Water Resources in the Asian Developing world” will take place in Guangzhou (China) between 8-10 June 2006. The meeting is organised, amongst others, by the Department of Water Resources & Environment of Zhongshan University. The conference will focus on: (1) Hydrological science and engineering for solving water problems; (2) Management of water environment; (3) Sustainable water resources management. A few of the themes that will be discussed are: floods and other water-related hazards; human induced hydrological alternations; hydrological impacts of climate change; integrated watershed management; and water management experiences of developing and developed countries.
Please see the website for further details:http://cwre.zsu.edu.cn/mwra/ Or contact: Dr. TAO Jiang (eesjt@zsu.edu.cn) and Ms. YANG Yin (yangying300@sina.com).
Department of Water Resources
Environment
Zhongshan University
Guangzhou 510275
P. R. China
Phone: +86 20 8411 5902 (or 5903)
Fax: +86 20 8411 4575
With thanks to Nick Chappell (Lancaster University, UK)
FOREST AND WATER IN A
CHANGING ENVIRONMENT
(International Conference)
An international conference on “Forest and Water in a Changing Environment” will take place in Beijing, China, between 8-10 August 2006. The meeting is sponsored and organised by the Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University and USDA Forest Service (Southern Research Station).
The following themes will be discussed: (1) basic and integrated forest hydrologic processes; (2) global change impacts on eco-hydrology from the local to regional scale; (3) scaling eco-hydrology using remote sensing, GIS and modelling; and (4) watershed restoration effects on water quality and quantity.
Please follow the link below for more
information and registration: http://www.caf.ac.cn/fwce/fwce_e.cfm
(With thanks to Nick Chappell)
UNDP WATER GOVERNANCE FACILITY AT SIWI
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) is launching a new programme – The UNDP Water Governance Facility at SIWI (WGF) - to support developing countries to improve water governance.
“Prudent water management is crucial for reaching national development objectives and for improving the livelihoods of poor people,” says Mr. Håkan Tropp, Project Director for the UNDP Water Governance Facility at SIWI. “It is also a vital component of actions to improve environmental sustainability, by maintaining the integrity of ecosystems, and by bringing together stakeholders around a key resource that could either unite or divide societies.”
For individuals and organisations from governments, civil society and other stakeholders working with water governance related work in developing countries, the UNDP Water Governance Facility at SIWI will provide strategic support for:
For more information and to access the services of the UNDP Water Governance Facility at SIWI, please visit their website (http://www.watergovernance.org) or contact:
Håkan Tropp
Project Director, SIWI
Hantverkargatan 5
SE-112 21 Stockholm
Sweden
Phone: +46 8 522 139 74
Fax: +46 8 522 139 61
E-mail: watergovernance@siwi.org
Joakim Harlin
Water Resources Specialist, EEG,BDP
United Nations Development Programme
304 East 45th Street, 9th Floor
New York, NY, 10017
USA
Phone : +1 (212) 906-5863
Fax: +1 (212) 906-6973
E-mail: joakim.harlin@undp.org
In May 2005, INBAR organised a successful Bamboo Tour in Zhejiang, in collaboration with ICRAF (http://218.249.14.230/news.asp?vpid=15). The succes of the tour resulted in an invitation for INBAR to conduct a feasibility study on bamboo development for East African countries.The Bamboo tour also introduced bamboo products and processing machines to participants, including several companies.
As INBAR frequently receives individual requests to visit the bamboo sector in China, they are considering another tour in April- May 2006: these months are the best time to see bamboo shooting. Therefore INBAR would like to have an indication of the number of people interested in participating. If you are interested, please contact Fu Jinhe at jfu@inbar.int. If there are enough participants, INBAR will organise the tour. Please note that all particpants should cover their own costs.
Depending on the participants interests, topics to be covered may include: Bamboo weaving and handicrafts, Bamboo charcoal, Bamboo flooring, bamboo-based panel, concrete form, Bamboo curtain, mat, rug, Bamboo shoot processing, Bamboo products and market, Bamboo plantation, Bamboo botanic garden, Bamboo for landscape, Bamboo museum, and Bamboo and giant panda habitat.
The International Center for Underutilized Crops (ICUC) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) are pleased to announce the relocation of ICUC’s Headquarters from the United Kingdom to Sri Lanka, last April, 2005. The ICUC is now co-located and hosted by IWMI at its Headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Established in 1992, the International Center for Underutilized Crops (ICUC) is an autonomous, nonprofit, scientific research and training center. The Center focuses on increasing the use of underutilized crops for food, medicinal and industrial products, and also for environmental conservation. It provides expertise and acts as a collaborative institute for tropical, subtropical and temperate crop development. The ICUC operates through regional offices and works in close collaboration with national partners for sustainable technology development for products and marketing of underutilized crops.
The ICUC and IWMI will develop a partnership of mutual cooperation. The global program of ICUC will continue to be run through its existing network in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.
For more information on the ICUC Program, please contact Dr. Hannah Jaenicke, Director of ICUC at h.jaenicke@cgiar.org or visit the ICUC web site: http://www.icuc-iwmi.org/
International Centre for Underutilised Crops
(ICUC)
PO Box 2075, Colombo
Sri Lanka
Phone: +94 -11 2787404
Fax: +94 - 11 2786854
E-mail: icuc-iwmi@cgiar.org
The International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR) ceased its operations in The Hague, the Netherlands on March 31, 2004. The ISNAR Division at IFPRI, based in Addis Ababa, incorporates some of the research responsibilities of the former ISNAR. Research activities are based on three broad strategic themes: (1) Institutional Change and Innovation Systems, (2) Organization and Management of Agricultural Research, and (3) Agricultural Science and Technology Policy.
Research involving a range of disciplines is envisaged on these themes, in collaboration with stakeholders and partners. This will include case studies, action research and syntheses that will distill lessons for adding value to the training and capacity building activities of the ISNAR Division. The division will continue to provide support to NARS and other agricultural R&D institutions.
More information about ISNAR Division activities can be found in the ISNAR brochure, which can be downloaded from the website: http://www.ifpri.org/divs/isnar.htm. The website also links to ISNAR Outputs and to the Learning and Capacity Strengthening Program, which is managed by ISNAR.
For additional information, contact:
Wilberforce Kisamba- Mugerwa
Director, ISNAR Division
w.kisamba-mugerwa@cgiar.org
ISNAR Division
IFPFI
P.O. Box 5689
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Phone: +251-1-46 32 15
Fax: +251-1-46 29 27
Email: ifpri-isnar@cgiar.org
Website: http://www.ifpri.org/divs/isnar.htm
For activities prior to April 2004, please visit ISNAR’s archived website at http://www.isnar.cgiar.org/index1.htm
CMAD: Centre for Mountainous Areas Development
The Centre for Mountainous Areas Development (CMAD) is a recently founded NGO located in central China.
CMAD aims to develop activities to alleviate poverty in mountainous areas. Using participatory methods, the organisation explores ways to develop the economy and improve income of the poor. Furthermore, CMAD works towards improving the overall functions and economic benefit of land resources, as well as developing an ecologically sound and sustainable natural resource management system. In these activities, the protection of ethnic minorities’ cultural heritage and cultural diversity are respected. Watershed management, rehabilitation of mountainous areas, and exploring compensation mechanism for watershed functions are also part of their agenda. If you would like to know more about CMAD, or would like to co-operate with them, please contact Li Weichang (Director) or Zhang Wanhua (Deputy Director).
(CMAD Headquarter)
Zhang Wanhua, Deputy Director
2#, Chezhan Road
Hefeng County, Hubei Province, 445800
P. R. China
Phone: +86-718-5294698
Fax: +86-718-5282423
E-mail: hbcmad@tom.com
(CMAD Beijing Office)
Li Weichang, Director
Chinese Academy of Forestry
Beijing, 00091
P. R. China
Phone: +86-10-62888530
Fax: +86-10-62887192
E-mail: liweich@public3.bta.net.cn
WOCAN: Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture & NRM
A new global network WOCAN has been formed for women professionals working in agriculture and natural resource management to build an alliance of women (and men who support them) to support a process of change for gender equality in programs of governments, national and international agencies. A fundamental principle of this network is that organizations themselves need to become gender sensitive in order to promote sustainable development for rural communities.
Since the WOCAN’s call for members on January 1, 2005, over 260 women and men of 73 countries have applied, with the numbers increasing daily. Of those accepted, 67 members are from Africa, 75 are from Asia, 5 are from the Pacific region, 15 from Latin America, 9 from the Middle East, 27 from Europe, 40 from North America, and 14 from international organizations.
Members have offered their voluntary contributions as trainers, consultants, researchers, fund raisers, proposal writers, hosts for meetings, time to act as focal points, sources of expertise on gender relations in their countries, etc. If you qualify for membership, agree with our Guiding Principles, and would like to join us, please fill out the application form on our website: http://www.wocan.org.
Jeannette D. Gurung, PhD,
Director, WOCAN
jeannettegurung@wocan.org;
jeannettegurung@yahoo.com
DISCCRS: Climate change network for recent PHD graduates
The DISsertations initiative for the advancement of Climate Change ReSearch (DISCCRS) provides interdisciplinary training for recent Ph.D. graduates addressing climate change and its impacts.
DISCCRS (pronounced “discourse”) was founded in 2002 to meet the specific challenges involved in building successful interdisciplinary careers dedicated to understanding climate change and mitigating impacts. New PhD scholars from the natural and social sciences, humanities, mathematics, engineering and other fields may participate. Graduates from all countries are invited to join the DISCCRS Program and apply to be a DISCCRS Symposium Fellow.
DISCCRS manages a public web page to introduce graduates to the larger community and to provide resources for early-career development. The website includes information on information on DISCCRS symposia, dissertation abstracts of registered graduates, and careerdevelopment resources. Everyone who has registered their PhD dissertation with DISCCRS, receives the Electronic Newsletter weekly. The newsletter contains: updates on climatechange research; education and policy updates; forum section; and job and other announcements of opportunities. The newsletter is archived on the web page for public use.
Furthermore, DISCCRS organises symposia to bring together recent Ph.D. graduates across the spectrum of natural and social sciences, humanities, mathematics and engineering. The goal is to help new professionals meet the specific challenges involved in building successful interdisciplinary careers dedicated to understanding climate change and mitigating impacts.
Please visit the web site for more
information at: http://aslo.org/phd.html
Or contact:
C. Susan Weiler
Whitman College
Walla Walla, WA 99362
USA
Phone: +1 509-527-5948
Fax: +1 509-527-5961
E-Mail: disccrs@whitman.edu
The Climate, Community and Biodiversity Project Design Standards (CCB Standards) were launched at the Carbon Expo by the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) in May 2005. The CCBA is a global alliance of leading NGOs, research institutions and companies, promoting integrated solutions to land management. The CCBA has spearheaded the development of triple-benefit voluntary standards to identify land management projects that simultaneously minimize climate change, support sustainable development and combat the loss of biodiversity.
The CCB Standards evaluate land-based carbon mitigation projects in the early stages of development, and foster the integration of best-practice and multiplebenefit approaches into project design. The Standards: (a) Identify projects that simultaneously address climate change, support local communities and conserve biodiversity, (b) Promote excellence and innovation in project design; and (c) Mitigate risk for investors and increase funding opportunities for project developers. The CCB Standards will be beneficial to Project Developers, Project Investors and Governments. The Chinese State Forestry Administration, for example, announced in May 2005, that it will use the CCB Standards to guide the development of new CDM forestry projects in the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces.
For more information or to download a copy of the Standards, visit: http://www.climatestandards.org
John O. Niles
Project Manager, CCBA
C/O Center for Environmental Leadership
in Business
1919 M St, NW, Suite 600
Washington DC 20036
USA
Phone: 1-202-912-1438
Fax: 1-202-912-1047
Email: info@climate-standards.org
Source: Climate Change Info Mailing List (19
May 2005); http://www.iisd.ca/email/climate-L.htm
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT NETWORK (GDN) JOURNAL SERVICES
Free Journal Access Portal
GDN has teamed up with Project MUSE,
one of the academic community’s primary
electronic journals resources, to relaunch
the GDN Journal Access Portal. This portal
enables social science researchers based
in developing or transitional countries to
access a full-text online database of more
than 120 well-known social-science
journals, free of charge.
Eligible GDN-registered researchers can download full-text articles at no cost to themselves or their institution through the GDN Journals Access Portal. Journals in the collection include Demography, World Politics, The Journal of Democracy, Anthropological Quarterly, Technology and Culture, and several regional-studies journals.
The service is only available to GDN organisation contacts in developing and transition countries. This service is provided to research institutes and not individual researchers.
Further details of journals services, eligibility
and how to register are given on the
website: http://www.gdnet.org/online_services/journals/
and: http://www.gdnet.org/online _services/journals/gdn_journal_services/journal_access_portal/
GDN/BLDS Document Delivery Service
The Global Development Network (GDN)
and the British Library of Development
Studies (BLDS) have teamed up to offer a Document Delivery Service to meet the
information needs of research institutes in
the South.
The GDN/BLDS Document Delivery Service allows you to search the huge BLDS online catalogue of development related resources from your desktop, then request copies of articles you and your research colleagues need at the click of a button. A ‘real-life’ BLDS librarian will receive your request, then photocopy or scan the article or book chapter you need and will send it to you via post or email. The costs of delivering the documents are covered by GDN so you there are no costs to you.
BLDS holds Europe’s largest research collection on economic and social change in developing countries. It has over 1000 journals, 4000 serials and over 80,000 monographs concerned specifically with development. A particular strength of the BLDS collection is its extensive coverage of Southern publications, particularly from Africa and South and East Asia. The collection represents a unique source of primary information, including grey literature, much of which is not digitally available.
Find out more and sign up for this service at
http://www.gdnet.org/online_services/journals/journal_services/document_delivery/
The winner of the Queen’s Award for Forestry 2005 is Dr Bentval Ravindra Prabhu of CIFOR, Zimbabwe. Dr Ravi Prabhu was presented with Award by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II last February. The Queen’s Award for Forestry is presented every four years to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to understanding forests and their management. Dr. Ravi Prabhu’s contributions to work on the Criteria and Indicators of Sustainable Forest Management were outstanding. He has also been a pioneering champion of moving from a rule based approach of forest management to an adaptive approach, where forest management changes over time as the objectives, context, and condition of the forest change. Dr. Prabhu has a firm commitment to and belief in transforming public sector forestry institutions into more dynamic, transparent and accountable, learning–based organisations.
Well known in international circles, he was appointed to be a member of the task force on environmental sustainable of the United Nation’s Millennium Project, established by Koffi Annan and led by Jeffrey Sachs. Although he has worked with industrial forestry, community forestry, and government bureaucracies, he is at his best when he works on how to bring these different groups together. He is truly creative and is always looking for new ‘out of the box’ ways to do things, which often prove successful.
Dr. Prabhu has spent most of the last ten years at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), where he is widely acknowledged to be one of the Center’s leading figures.
For further details contact cfa@cfainternational.org or call 01865 820935
Source: Commonwealth Forestry Association (CFA): press release
Permanent forest plots: CTFS-AA new site for Asia program
CTFS-AA “Tropical Forests of Asia: A Gateway to Forest Science”, http://www.ctfsaa.org was launched in January 2004 by the Centre for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS)-Arnold Arboretum Asia Program.
CTFS works with national partners all over the tropical world to build, maintain and analyze large-scale permanent forest plots. Within each plot, every tree over one centimeter in diameter is identified according to species and monitored through time. CTFS is now monitoring more than 3 million trees of 6000 species, at least 10% of all known tropical tree species. CTFS-AA focuses on the plots in Asia and is co-sponsored by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. CTFS-AA has a regional base at the National Institute of Education (Nanyang Technological University) in Singapore.
The website will contain information about the permanent plots in Asia, including background information on the Forest Reserve: history, lists of tree species and bird species. One of the highlights of the website will be a regional flora of South and Southeast Asia containing a searchable database of plant descriptions, images, and maps. Other website features will include a publication list and people database. As the web site is still being developed, not all the options are available yet.
Web address: http://www.cfss-aa.org
AJOL, the African Journals OnLine (http://www.ajol.info) has moved to African management. The National Inquiry Services Centre (NISC) South Africa has taken over the management of African Journals OnLine. Launched in 1998, the online aggregation of published African academic research was previously run by the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) in the United Kingdom.
The website gives access to more than 200 scholarly journals published out of Africa, and includes over 15,000 articles. AJOL provides information about each participating journal, including aims and scope, contact details and general information. It also includes Tables of Contents and abstracts (where available), as well some full-text articles for all participating journals.
For more information, please contact: Margaret Crampton (info@nisc.co.za)
AJOL
19 Worcester St, PO Box 377
Grahamstown, 6140,
South Africa
Phone: +27 46 622 9698
Fax: +27 46 622 9550
E-mail: info@ajol.info
Website: http:www.ajol.info
EC Access and Benefit Sharing Portal
The European Commission Environment Directorate General is funding the project: “Development of the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Section of the EC Biodiversity Clearing House”, implemented by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The project aims to improve the flows of information and to facilitate discussions on the use of genetic resources among stakeholders in the European Union.
One of this project’s outputs is the establishment of a web-based platform containing pertinent information on ABS in the European Union, such as legislation, policies, best practices, voluntary instruments, etc. Moreover, the web-based platform (the “EC ABS Portal”) will host a discussion forum where members can exchange views and experiences on various issues related to the use of genetic resources.
The aim of this portal is to help the EC achieve the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, especially the Bonn Guidelines adopted at the 6th Conference of the Parties in The Hague in 2002. It provides access to up-to-date information on EC policy and legislative measures related to ABS as well as links to web pages of international organizations active in this field. Furthermore, it includes details of contact points in all the Member States of the European Union and links to information on ABS in the Member States. Stakeholder profiles will be added in the near future, to allow visitors to assess if and how ABS issues would be of interest to them. It is envisaged that a number of European stakeholders will register on this portal and post their policies, codes of conduct, and other relevant documents which relate to ABS. The portal aims to raise awareness and to allow stakeholders to present their work in this field.
For more information and to become a member, please visit the website: http://abs.eea.eu.int/
The Brussels office of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) now produces an online daily news bulletin in French and English to keep CTA staff and ACP- EU officials informed on the key issues discussed and decided within the ACP-EU arena: http://brussels.cta.int
The objective of the CTA Brussels Weblog is to share the information produced by CTA Brussels as well as information from other groups on agricultural and rural development with a wider audience, specially focusing on the ACP partners and beneficiaries of CTA’s services and programmes.
The weblog is divided into three parts: (1) a “News” section, updated daily; (2) “Resources” section which include information on the EU, the ACP group, joint ACP-EU bodies and other organisations. This section also contains a calendar of events in Brussels; and (3) the programmes and activities organised by the CTA Brussels office with the respective documents.
Finally, there is also a possibility of a weekly Email alert by subscribing online. We welcome any contributions in form of comments, new information to be added or ideas on how to improve this weblog.
Contact:
Mrs Isolina BOTO
Head, Brussels Branch Office CTA
39, rue Montoyer
B-1000 Brussels
Belgium
Phone: + 32-2- 513 74 362
Fax + 32-2-511 38 68
E-mail: ctabxl@cta.int
website: http://brussels.cta.int
The Multidisciplinary Landscape Assessment (MLA) improves our knowledge of biodiversity and what biodiversity means to local people. An MLA approach leads to better informed decisions on policy, land use and payments for biodiversity services.
CIFOR efforts to increase the awareness of the importance of understanding local perceptions of biodiversity in collaborative conservation initiatives have been boosted with a major upgrade to CIFOR’s MLA Website. The updated version is available in English, Spanish, French and Indonesian. New features include: an improved database from Indonesia; downloadable datasets from Bolivia and Cameroon; information on extension materials from Kalimantan, presenting grass-roots perspective of biodiversity; and reports on new projects (Vietnam, the Philippines and Gabon).
MLA Website: http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/mla/_ref/home/index.htm
EASYPoL: on-line resource materials for policy making
EASYPoL is an on-line repository of resource materials for policy making. EASYPoL materials are developed and maintained by the Agricultural Policy Support Service of the Policy Assistance Division (TCA) of FAO. The purpose of EASYPoL was to facilitate access for different stakeholders to relevant resource materials for capacity building in policy work in agriculture, rural development and food security.
The materials are presented by topic, type and training paths. EASYPoL targets all audiences involved or interested in policy making.
New materials are continuously being developed and added to the existing collection. Please check the EASYPol news page to see the new issues.
We hope you find EASYPol a useful tool.
Feedback and comments are welcome and
should be addressed to easypol@fao.org.
Website: http://www.fao.org/tc/easypol/
Wetland for Life: an online network of naturalists has been launched. Wetlands for life is a forum to bring conservationists, researchers, students, professionals and interested persons together for sharing, discussing and generating ideas, issues and experiences in the natural resource management sector. Please visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wetland for membership.
Contact person:
Gandhiv Kafle
Institute of Forestry
P. O. Box: 203
Pokhara, Nepal
E-mail: gkafle@hotmail.com
Google Scholar enables you to search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research. Use Google Scholar to find articles from a wide variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as scholarly articles available across the web.
See: http://scholar.google.com/
Source: Forest Information Update (FIU)
LIBERIA FOREST INITIATIVE (LFI): NEW WEBSITE
The Liberia Forest Initiative (LFI) is an informal mechanism for coordination of activities amongst several national and multilateral government and nongovernmental organisations working on forestry in Liberia. The aim of the LFI is to promote sustainable forest management by: (a) supporting the rehabilitation and reform of Liberia’s forestry sector; and (b) enhancing cooperation and coordination of activities in Liberia.
LFI support to Liberian forestry sector reform is organised around three main themes: commercial forestry; community forestry and conservation. In addition, the LFI works on cross-cutting issues, such as: governance and the rule of law; transparency and information management; policy development; legislation; capacity building; and security.
For anyone interested in forestry in Liberia or forestry in post-conflict countries more generally, information and a comprehensive collection of documents can be found on the LFI website at: http://www.fao.org/forestry/site/lfi.
With thanks to Adrian Whiteman (FAO) [Adrian.Whiteman@fao.org]
The Asia Pacific Forest Genetic Resources Programme (APFORGEN) aims to promote more equitable, productive and sustainable management of tropical forest genetic diversity in the member countries in the Asia Pacific region.
The main activities of the Programme are: (1) Promoting the establishment and strengthening of national programmes on forest genetic resources, (2) Locating forest genetic diversity, (3) Developing and applying appropriate conservation methods and strategies, and (4) Increasing the level of management and use of tropical forest genetic diversity in the participating countries.
APFORGEN also facilitates regional activities, including information exchange, development of regional conservation strategies and action plans, country-tocountry technology transfer and exchange of forest germplasm. The Programme focuses on priority forest species identified by the participating countries. Lists of priority species may be found on the APFORGEN website: http://www.apforgen.org
APFORGEN has currently published nine Priority Species Information Sheets on the website, which can be easily and freely downloaded. The sheets cover the following species: Acacia mangium, Pinus merkusii, Shorea leprosula, Tectona grandis, Hopea odorata, Azadirachta indica; Pterocarpus indicus; Dalbergia cochinchinensis, and Eusideroxylon zwageri.
Several publications, Country status reports, regional status reports and the workshop proceedings of the Inception Workshop held from 15-18 July 2003 in Kuala Lumpur can also be downloaded from this site.
Please contact APFORGEN at:
APFORGEN Secretariat
c/o APAFRI Secretariat
FRIM, Kepong,
52109 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Phone:+60-3-62722516
Fax: +60-3-62773249
E-mail: secretariat@apforgen.org
Website: http://www.apforgen.org
JOIN THE IUFRO ON-LINE DIRECTORY OF EXPERTS
International forestry faces an overabundance of definitions and a shortage of clear information about differences in use among languages and regions. The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) has been addressing these issues, as users of scientific and technical vocabulary, e.g., scientists, wood and forestry professionals, students, politicians, journalists, and translators, may benefit from expert assistance on how particular terms and definitions are used locally.
The IUFRO Working Group on “Trends in forest terminology” has developed a Directory of Experts, which includes experts in forest-related fields who are willing to answer terminological questions. This Directory is supported by IUFRO and maintained by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL http://hermes.wsl.ch/didado/lterpw.searchfterms.
If you would like to pose a terminology question to an expert, please visit the IUFRO On-line Directory of Experts at http://www.wsl.ch/forest/risks/iufro/. To join the Directory as an expert, please download the subscription form, fill it out and mail it to the Working Unit coordinator (iufroterm@wsl.ch).
240 experts in forest-related fields have now joined our Directory. Together they represent 42 languages and 395 fields of expertise. The searchable Directory is available via the Web, but the questions and answers are exchanged on a person-toperson basis. Please feel free to use this Directory. Details about languages and fields of expertise are available at: http://www.wsl.ch/forest/risks/iufro/directory_update.ehtml
We will gladly welcome you as a new member of our Directory of Experts. We need experts in all languages and all forestrelated disciplines!
For more information, please contact:
Michèle Kaennel Dobbertin
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and
Landscape Research WSL
“Forest ecosystems and ecological risks”
Zuercherstrasse 111
CH-8903 Birmensdorf
Switzerland
Phone: +41 44 739 25 96
Fax: +41 44 739 22 15
E-mail: michele.kaennel@wsl.ch
THE GLOBAL FIRE MONITORING CENTRE (GFMC)
The Global Fire Monitoring Centre (GFMC) was designed as an information and monitoring facility, for national and international agencies involved in land-use planning, fire and other disaster management, scientists, and policy makers to utilise in their planning and decision making.
In many ecosystems fire is an essential, accepted and important element in natural ecosystem processes and sustainable and productive traditional land-use systems. However, excessive use leads to ecological destruction. Climate variability adds to the severity of fire impacts. Projected demographic and climate change scenarios suggest that this situation will become more critical during the next decades. The state of fire science in most vegetation types provides sufficient knowledge for decision support at fire policy and management levels. However, in many countries this wealth of knowledge and expertise is either not known or is not readily accessible or available for developing fire policies and management. The GFMC was established to fill this gap.
The GFMC provides a web-based, publicly accessible global portal for wildland fire documentation, information and monitoring. The regularly updated national to global wildland fire products of the GFMC are generated by a worldwide network of cooperating institutions. The online and offline products include:
The GFMC is an Activity of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). For more information, visit the website.
The Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC)
Fire Ecology Research Group
c/o Freiburg University
P.O. Box
79085 Freiburg
GERMANY
Phone: +49 -761-808011
Fax: +49 -761-808012
E-mail: info@gfmc.org
Website: http://www.fire.uni-freiburg.de
EARTHWATCH: Tropical forest research
Results from tropical forest research sponsored by the Earthwatch Institute are now available on the internet. The website: http://www.earthwatch.org/site/pp.asp?c=dsJSK6PFJnH&b=393555 gives a concise overview of three decades of Earthwatch results covering themes such as canopy research, forest fragmentation, sustainable forest use, tropical forest restoration, and creatures of the forest. The site also contains a full list of peer-reviewed publications resulting from tropical forest research supported by Earthwatch Institute. Information on grants for scientists, educators, students and others is also provided.
Earthwatch’s mission is to engage people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment. Earthwatch Institute has supported over 100 scientists in the frontiers of tropical forest research, with field grants totalling more than $3.8 million, resulting in more than 200 peer-reviewed publications. In addition, Earthwatch has facilitated more than 5,000 volunteers, including more than 500 teachers, 310 African fellows, and 36 students to conduct forest field research alongside both distinguished and innovative young scientists.
Website: http://www.earthwatch.org/site/pp.asp?c=dsJSK6PFJnH&b=393555
CDM MANUAL FOR PROJECT DEVELOPERS AND POLICY MAKERS - 2005
The “CDM Manual for Project Developers and Policy Makers - 2005” is now available
on the website of Global Environment
Centre Foundation (GEC):
http://gec.jp/gec/gec.nsf/en/Publications-Reports_and_Related_Books-CDM-Manual-2005
The CDM Manual is the comprehensive guide for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), both for Annex 1 countries and non-Annex 1 countries. The CDM Manual includes the CDM-related rules and procedures about Normal Size CDM, Small Scale CDM, and Sink CDM (Afforestation/Reforestation). The first version of the CDM Manual was publicised on the occasion of COP10 held in 2004, in Buenos Aires, Argentine.
The 2004 version
of the manual is also available online:
http://gec.jp/gec/gec.nsf/en/Publications-Reports_and_Related_Books-CDM-Manual-2004.
The updated 2005 version was released at COP11 and COP/MOP1 in Montreal, Canada, and it reflects the discussion and decisions made by the CDM Executive Board (CDM-EB) between COP10 and CDM-EB20 (July 2005). GEC believes that the updated CDM Manual is useful for a wide range of stakeholders, especially CDM developers and policy makers, to promote further CDM projects.
Another GEC publication is “CDM
Methodologies Guidebook” (Naoki Matsuo,
2004) which can be downloaded as pdf file
containing the full text (11.6MB) or in parts
(chapters: 1 to 5 MB pdf files)
URL: http://gec.jp/gec/gec.nsf/en/Publications-Reports_and_Related_Books-CDM_Meth_Guidebook
The Guidebook outlines the theoretical basis for CDM Methodologies, discussing issues such as baseline scenarios, main elements of the baseline, the relation between methodology and Project Design Document (PDD), and monitoring methodology, and much more. For those who are dazzled by CDM terms, the terminology pages at the end of the document can be very useful.
For more information, please contact:
Tomoya MOTODA (Mr.)
Programme Officer, Research and
Coordination
Project Division
Global Environment Centre Foundation
(GEC)
2-110 Ryokuchi-koen, Tsurumi-ku
Osaka 538-0036
JAPAN
Phone: +81-6-6915-4121
Fax: +81-6-6915-0181
E-mail: cdm-fs@gec.jp
Website: http://www.gec.jp
PARTICIPATORY BIOLOGICAL MONITORING
“Broadening Participation in Biological Monitoring: Guidelines for Scientists and Managers.” by David Pilz, Heidi L. Ballard, Eric T. Jones. (2005)
This publication is one of the outputs of a one year project and is intended to advance participatory biological monitoring in forest management. One of the project’s goals was to synthesize the literature and stakeholder knowledge on participatory monitoring and provide a tool (guidelines) that will help forest managers and scientists: 1) broaden participation to meet biological monitoring needs while maintaining scientific standards, and 2) build positive long-term relationships with participants and their local communities. The guidelines are designed as a reference tool to work with any type of project whether bottom-up or top-down, large or small, volunteer or small contractor. While oriented toward natural resource managers and scientists in the U.S., the guidelines may be useful to anyone interested in participatory processes and biological monitoring.
The online version of this publication,
published by the Institute for Culture and
Ecology (IFCAE), is available at:
http://www.ifcae.org/projects/ncssf3/welcome.htm.
UNEP releases Atlas: “One Planet, Many People: Atlas of our Changing Environment” (2005)
“A picture is worth a thousand words” The UNEP Atlas provides visual evidence of environmental changes taking place around the world. This colorful and approachable atlas contains photographs, satellite images, maps and narratives providing insights into the many ways people around the world have changed, and continue to change, the environment.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), United States Geological Survey (USGS), and the University of Maryland launched One Planet, Many People: Atlas of our Changing Environment, in celebration of World Environment Day on June 3, 2005.
The focus is on the status and trends over several decades, both in physical and human geography. The 334-page hardbound atlas documents visual evidence of global environmental changes resulting from natural processes and human induced activities, including changes in land use, biological diversity, and climate. The atlas provides, among others, a collection of spectacular “before and after” satellite image pairs on various themes for 80 sites around the world.
You may access the Atlas on line at http://www.na.unep.net/ . Please note that downloading chapters from the website requires a reliable internet connection and some patience, due to all the satellite images and photographs. But it is worth it: the pictures are impressive!
Paper copies may be purchased from Earthprint at http://www.earthprint.com UNEP, 2005
Hardback ISBN: 92 807 2571 8
Price: USD 150.00 + shipping costs (20
USD for Europe; 30 USD to the rest of the
World)
ID21 NATURAL RESOURCES HIGHLIGHTS
The Natural Resources Highlights is a new publication from id21. id21 is a free service that communicates the latest UK-based international development research to decision-makers and practitioners working in developing countries. It aims to be part of the process of putting international development policy into practice. Id 21 is one of the family of knowledge services from IDS and enabled by the United Kingdom’s Department For International Development (DFID).
The Natural Resources Highlights are easy to read, offer practical policy solutions to development problems and direct the reader to the original researchers and research reports. These highlights are produced on six themes: water, forestry, agriculture, rural livelihoods, land and conservation. They will be published once a year. Paper versions are available free to people living in countries or regions with limited internet access. PDF versions are available for free to all users. To access these documents, please visit: http://www.livelihoods.org/post/id21-postit.html
If you would like a free subscription to the
paper versions, please forward your contact
details (including full postal address) to:
id21
Institute of Development Studies
University of Sussex
Brighton, BN1 9RE
UK
Or email Tim Woods, editor id21
(T.Woods@ids.ac.uk)
For more information about id21 services,
please visit: http://www.id21.org
Please note that the id21 issue on water
includes an article on how protecting forests
can improve water management, with
reference to payment schemes for
environmental services. See:
http://www.livelihoods.org/post/Docs/id21water.pdf
The issue of forestry 2005 has several articles on how forestry can reduce poverty, with themes including forest products, forest markets, forest policies and the potential role of environmental services payments.
INFOSYLVA covers forestry news from FAO and the world. It is a new free electronic information service from FAO. Infosylva includes news from FAO as well as links to selected forestry-related news clippings from newspapers and journals published around the world and available online in English, French or Spanish. The aim of this e-bulletin is to keep readers informed of forestry events reported by the media around the world and to encourage discussion. To subscribe, please send an e-mail to mailserv@mailserv.fao.org, the subject should be left blank, and the message text should read: subscribe INFOSYLVA-L
Rainforests is a quarterly magazine disseminating information throughout the world in the hope that a greater understanding and appreciation of rainforests will lead to their increased protection. The objective is to help other organisations and individuals raise awareness on rainforests by publicising the work of the many conservation groups throughout the world.
The articles in the magazine pay special attention to the wildlife of the rainforests, and are illustrated with beautiful pictures. The first issue covers topics such as orangutan rehabilitation work, elephant conservation, and birdwatching.
For subscriptions: online at
http://www.naturalert.org; or contact:
Sean Whyte
PO Box 3830,
Bath BA13WX,
UK
Phone: +44 1225 444929,
E-mail: sw@naturealert.org