Forest

A number of events, announcements and publications have been organized in celebration of the first-ever International Day of Forests, an event to be held annually on 21 March.

The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) has released an overview publication of its Sustainable Wetlands Adaptation and Mitigation Program (SWAMP), which outlines the project's role in informing national and international policy makers.

TREE AID has been given a fantastic opportunity to win funding for one of our tree planting projects in Mali.  The European Outdoor Conservation Association has chosen our ‘Regreening Ségou’ project as one of the nature projects put up for public vote. If our project receives the most votes, we will win up to €30,000 to spend on our vital work in [...]

The post Vote for TREE AID to win €30,000 appeared first on Tree Aid.

Manager of the Observatory for European Forests of EFICENT-OEF appointed

Sylva is pleased to lend its support to a new movement known as Grown in Britain that has been launched with cross-Government support and the involvement of all parts of the forestry sector across Britain. Its aims are to: Create a new and stronger market ‘pull’ for the array of products derived from our forests [...]

News 22.03.2013

 

The new book - Peatland Ecology and Forestry – a Sound Approach- is a great new tool to assist policy makers and forest managers in the boreal and temperate regions on how to make climate-smart and environmentally responsible peatland forestry decisions for the future.

The book gathers an impressive amount of research from various countries and regions (it makes use of common knowledge and the most recent reported findings from more than 900 references).

read more

This video from the U.S. National Interagency Fire Center dates back to 1942 and discusses the common errors found when fighting forest fires. Although over 70 years old, many of the common errors hold true today. Are you interested in joining a fire crew this year? Here are some places to start: British Columbia Wildfire [...]

ForestTalk.com - Your source for Canadian forestry news

More details about the Province of Aceh’s proposed spatial plan are emerging. The Jakarta Post reported this week that if the plan were approved in its current form, an area of 1.2 million hectares of forest would be converted “into plantation and mining areas and other purposes”. The plan proposes the creation of a transmigration [...] [...]

A US blending tax credit for biofuels could see palm biodiesel exports to the US from South East Asia increase markedly from negligible levels. The credit reportedly would make palm oil derived biodiesel competitive with petroleum diesel. Continue reading →

EU energy ministers and industry have questioned a draft European Commission proposal to amend the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED). The Commissions’ draft directive would introduce reporting requirements for emissions from Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) into EU rules on eligibility of biofuel feedstock for recognition in EU biofuel consumption targets. Continue reading →

Chest-deep in brackish, tea-coloured water, a team of scientists wades into a towering mangrove forest in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. It’s not the easiest place to do research. The trees are up to 25 metres tall and densely packed, with webs of entangled prop roots extending like skirts from each trunk. High tide floods the forest,... Read more

RISI, the leading information provider for the global forest products industry, today announces new program updates for the 15th Annual European Pulp and Paper Conference. The European Conference, the premier event for the pulp and paper industry, will take place April 22-24, 2013 at the Marriott Hotel in Vienna, Austria.

Over-hunting in tropical forests changes the forest itself, say Rhett D. Harrison, Sylvester Tan, Joshua B. Plotkin, Ferry Slik, Matteo Detto, Tania Brenes, Akira Itoh and Stuart J. Davies   People have hunted in tropical forests ever since we have been defined as human, but with modern weapons hunting is rarely sustainable. Our study in [...]

Save  $25: Enroll by April 16 and get an Early Bird Discount for Online Development Courses   Join us on May 7 for an intensive series of online field courses with other students from all over the world & save $25.

Questions? Just write us at Online.Learning@csd-i.org.   May 7, 2013
Enroll early in an Online Field Course by April 16 and save $25 Are you interested in:
OL 101. Designing and Funding Sustainable Development Projects OL 102. Project Architecture: Planning for Impact OL 341. Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change 1 OL 342. Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change 2 OL 340. Diploma Program: Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change OL 440. Diploma Program: Integrated CBA, DRR, & Rural Development   March 12, 2013
Advanced Courses

OL 303. Food Security, Nutrition and Home Gardens 1 OL 304. Food Security, Nutrition and Home Gardens 2 OL 332. Water Conservation and Management OL 333. Climate Smart Agriculture OL 345 Community Based DRR
OL 343. Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change 3 OL 344. Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change 4
BECOME THE SOLUTION. Are you a donor, development practitioner, or a student who wants to learn more about "what works" in development? Join students world-wide to design, fund and launch a community based field project. Student projects have utilized 270 different kinds of solution-oriented activities to address community need. Scan the list to see which would work best for your project.   Development professionals from 475 organizations in 146 countries have used our online field courses to develop projects impacting over 300,000 people.
Dear CSDi,

On behalf of the Zambia team, I wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude for the knowledge addition in our careers and the time you take to correct our assignments. This has opened doors for us to venture into designing our own projects, very sure we shall never go POOR.

You've indeed taught us how to 'FISH not provided FISH'. Thank you very much.

Dianah Nakubulwa
OL 341, January 2013
  STEP 1. Enroll in the first course of this series: OL 341. 341 Community Based Adaptation 1: Gain an insight into contemporary methods of developing community based, sustainable, impact-oriented projects. Gain practical field tools and develop a range of skills: facilitating participatory needs assessments and DRR assessments, designing projects, and evidence-based activities. Develop a real project in real time.
342 Community Based Adaptation 2: Planning for Impact. Imbed impact into your adaptation project design with a powerful set of management tools. Log frames, detailed budgets, timelines, compelling fact sheets, M&E plans, outcomes and impact. These tools will communicate to donors and stakeholders exactly what you are trying to accomplish and can be used for effective management of the project once funded. 343 Community Based Adaptation 3: The Community Focus. What does climate change adaptation mean at the community level? What practical tools are available today for communities to use in adaptation and in DRR? Conduct a baseline survey including climate vulnerability, risk assessment, an adaptation capacity analysis, and gain an understanding of local knowledge of a changing climate and of coping strategies. For practitioners who wish to begin working now at the community level to successfully adapt to the challenges that face us. 344 Community Based Adaptation 4: Sustainable Implementation. How do you launch and implement a community based adaptation/DRR project? The importance of community engagement and project co-management. Developing skill sets for your community to use in the adaptation process. Learning tools: monitoring & evaluation. Community empowerment during project hand-over. Sustainability, follow-up & mentoring 303. Food Security, Nutrition and Home Gardens 1: Implement a 12-month family gardening project. Develop a baseline of your community's food security and nutritional levels. Learn about food security, good nutrition, and the garden activities that support them—and then learn how to build a project that puts your community on the path to using their own skills to address their specific needs. Become the Solution. 304. Food Security, Nutrition and Home Gardens 2: How do you care for & maintain a food garden? How do you control pests? What happens if you have desert soil—or a shortage of water? Learn how to combine garden produce with daily staples to prepare nutritious meals that contain vitamins A, C and D. Increase family understanding of kitchen hygiene, cooking, and nutrition—including using delicious nutrition-packed recipes. 332. Water Conservation and Management: Students develop a community-based water use management plan with community members beginning with a participatory mapping of water resources and uses, and then consult with a water management expert to develop a training program in implementing conservation and water harvesting technologies. 333. Climate Smart Agriculture.  Students and their community members will develop a participatory mapping of crop systems, and soil and water resources, and then consult with an expert in soil, water and agriculture to develop a participatory training process for developing a Climate Smart Agricultural Program specific to their local context. The course includes an overview of climate smart agricultural practices complete with downloadable manuals and field guides for each technique. 345. Community Based DRR.  It is estimated that over 70% of all disasters are now related to extreme weather events. Because of this, disaster risk reduction should become an integral part of adaptation projects. Community based disaster risk reduction holds the same merit that community based adaptation does: ownership and sustainability.  101. From the Ground Up: Designing & Funding Sustainable Projects.  Develop a Real Project in Real Time. We'll walk you, step-by-step, through a community-based project using proven methods. Learn a range of skills including participatory needs assessments, community capacity building workshops, and evidence-based project design. You will learn strategies from others in the class facing similar challenges. Become the Solution. 102. Project Architecture: Planning for Impact. Imbed impact into your 101 project design with powerful management tools. LogFrames, detailed budgets, schedules, compelling fact sheets, M&E plans, outcomes & impact. These tools will communicate to donors & stakeholders exactly what your project will accomplish, and lead the effective management of the project once funded. See a complete course catalogue.
The Courses also Provide the Following Resources:

• $50 Scholarship opportunities for citizens of developing nations.
• 300 adaptation field activities.
• Compilation of 50 full program outlines for use in project design.
• Manuals & field guides for project activities.
• Instructors that provide project consulting, suggestions, and encouragement individually for each student assignment.
• Access to tools and resources on the Center site.
• There are no books to buy—all course materials can be linked to, or downloaded from the course site.

Who should participate? Course participants are of all different ages, genders and professions—and have included Northern and Southern staff from INGOs, field staff from in-country NGOs, donors, executive directors, students, scientists, consultants and people who would like to transition into development work.
CSDi Online Courses Capture a True Field Experience
Our online courses use each class assignment as a concrete step in developing a real project within a real community. You will take an assignment into the field and use it as a solution-oriented activity that you do together with community members—thereby finishing one component of the project you are developing in the class. And there you have it: an online field course with tangible, concrete results.
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Inter Press Service: Defence establishments around the world increasingly see climate change as posing potentially serious threats to national and international security, according to a review of high-level statements by the world's governments released here Thursday. The review, "The Global Security Defense Index on Climate Change: Preliminary Results," found that nearly three out of four governments for which relevant information is available view the possible effects of climate change as a serious national security...

New York Times: China’s state leadership transition took place this month against an ominous backdrop. More than 13,000 dead pigs were found floating in a river that provides drinking water to Shanghai. A haze akin to volcanic fumes cloaked the capital, causing convulsive coughing and obscuring the portrait of Mao Zedong on the gate to the Forbidden City. So severe are China’s environmental woes, especially the noxious air, that top government officials have been forced to openly acknowledge them. Fu Ying, the...

This yearly meeting of the Advisory Committee on Sustainable Forest-based Industries (ACSFI) provides guidance on the activities and work program of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Forestry Department on issues relevant to the paper and forest products industry. ACSFI is a statutory body of the FAO, composed of senior executives from the private industry sector worldwide. The Associação Brasileira de Celulose e Papel (BRACELPA), International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA) and FAO are organizing the event.

Altamira, Brazil – Today some 150 protestors from four indigenous groups and allied riverbank communities occupied a major work camp and halted construction of the controversial Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu River in the Brazilian Amazon.

I love to take photos, lucky enough for me I get the chance to go out and about and see many beautiful trees. There might be a picture of my goats in there too, it's not just because I love my goats it's also because they're foraging on their favourite tree, willow!