07 September 2015 - 11 September 2015
Durban, South Africa

IIASA at the World Forestry Congress 2015

IIASA forestry experts will co-organize several side events at the World Forestry Congress 2015, one of the most important global meetings for international forestry research.

© Tamas Zsebok | DollarPhotoClub

© Tamas Zsebok | DollarPhotoClub

IIASA's Ecosystems Services and Management Program will organize two side events and will contribute to a third side event under the Future Forests Project at this year's World Forestry Congress in South Africa. The congress focuses on policy problems and solutions, as well as the role of forests in sustainable development.

IIASA has a long history of research in forestry, bringing an international, interdisciplinary, and holistic view to the study of forests and land use change. At this year's congress, the first to take place in Africa, interconnections and international cooperation lie at the center of focus. Recent IIASA research has shed light on climate change and forest fires in Europe, future challenges for boreal forests, and the forestry sector in Scandinavia.  At the same time IIASA researchers are developing new methods for mapping forest cover and land use change, using data from citizen scientists.


Monday September 7th


The way forward via integrated South-South Cooperation:

Focus: The event focuses on the role of SSC within the forestry sector and the inter-connected issues of food security and climate change mitigation. Besides an overview of historical SSC success stories, the session discusses various lessons learned from past and present SSC initiatives. This session provides a forum for exchange among ongoing SSC projects in the training, education, science and policy sectors and will enhance planned SSC within forestry. The collaborative integration of all stake holders and a fluid transfer of local or regional development achievements is key for future SSC success at the economic, environmental and political level. 

Event Details
Time: 12:45 - 14:15
Location: Hall 3BC
Convening Organizations:
  • IIASA International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis - Stephan A. PIETSCH
  • ATIBT Association Technique Internationale des Bois Tropicaux - Ralph M. RIDDER
  • ICRAF World Agroforestry Centre - Peter A. MINANG
  • COMIFAC Commision des Forêts d'Afrique Centrale - Martin TADOUM
  • INPE Brazilian National Space Agency - Gilberto CAMARA
  • UP University of Pretoria - Coert J. GELDENHUYS
  • UNORCID UN Office for REDD+ Coordination in Indonesia - Felicity LE QUESNE
  • WWF - Indonesia World Wide Fund for Nature - Zulfira WARTA
  • IKI International Climate Initiative - Michael Huettner

Tuesday September 8th


Future Forests- Exploring integrated solutions on multiple challenges:

The challenge: the future of forests is increasingly linked to mega trends. These include demographic and social change, shifting economic power, and an increase in energy consumption all placing growing demands on natural resources including forests. Climate change will also have large impact on forests, but forests may at the same time hold solutions to mitigate climate change while replacing fossil energy. To meet these complex and interlinked challenges, future governance models need to balance and prioritize among stakeholder needs, from global to local levels, and support learning amongst actors about institutional interactions that promotes legitimate, effective and cross-sectorial solutions.


Event Details
Time: 12:45 - 14:15
Location: Hall 4D
Convening Organizations:
  • Future Forests Future Forests


Thursday September 10th


No north without south, no south without north: the urgent need for an integrated view on global forests:

The Earth system is an integral entity comprising a multitude of interconnected components. Forests of each biome impact the Earth system and vice versa. Important system interdependencies, e.g. with respect to climate, are often neglected in national and international actions and hence call for a holistic and integrated view on the all global forests. This event will present the risks and challenges global forests face, their system interconnectivities and mutual impacts. Issues discussed will range from deforestation in the tropics to impacts of climate change on forests on permafrost, and from problems of transition to sustainable forest management (SFM) to rising conflicts for land. 


Session background papers and session presentation
Tropical Forests: Current state, Key Pressures and Possible MeasuresLalisa A Duguma, Alexandre X Ywata Carvalho, Peter A Minang, Aline C Soterroni, Marina G Pena, Fernando M Ramos, Gilberto Câmara
Carbon Science Economics Convergence Research for Mid-Latitude EcotoneW.K. Lee (Korea University, BK21+ ELEC, Republic of Korea), A. Shvidenko (IIASA, Austria), F. Kraxner (IIASA, Austria), Y. Son (Korea University, Republic of Korea), S.W. Jeon (Korea University, Republic of Korea), J.Y. Moon (Korea University, Republic of Korea)
Challenges and opportunities of the temperate forest in the context of global climate policy Shuirong Wu (CAF, China), Yeheng Jiang (CAF, China), Shirong Liu (CAF, China), F. Kraxner(IIASA, Austria), A. Shvidenko (IIASA, Austria)
Challenges and risks in the boreal domainA. Shvidenko (IIASA, Russia), W.A. Kurz (Canada), P.Y. Bernier (Canada), F. Kraxner (IIASA, Austria), D. Schepaschenko (IIASA, Russia), S. Gauthier (Canada), T. Kuuluvainen (Finland), A. Onuchin (Russia), A. Shishikin (Russia)
The urgent need for an integrated view on global forests
Full set of presentations by speakers listed.


Event Details
Time: 12:45 - 14:15
Location: Hall 4D
Convening Organizations:
  • IIASA - ESM International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria - Florian Kraxner, Anatoly Shvidenko
  • MCC Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, Germany - Sabine Fuss
  • WWF - Int. World Wide Fund for Nature International, Switzerland - Rodney Taylor
  • SB-RAS Institute of Forest, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia - Alexander Onuchin
  • NRCan Canadian Forest Service (Natural Resources Canada), Pacific Forestry Centre, Canada - Werner A. Kurz
  • CAF Chinese Academy of Forestry, China - Shuirong Wu
  • USDA-FS US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station, USA - Richard Birdsey
  • KU, BK21+ELEC Korea University, BK21+ELEC: Brain Korea 21+ Ecoleader Education Center, Korea - Woo-Kyun LEE
  • ICRAF - ASB World Agroforestry Center, Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins, Kenya - Peter A. Minang
  • INPE National Institute for Space Research, Brazil - Gilberto Camara

FAO World Forestry Congress 2015

In 2015 the Congress will be a key occasion for the world’s foresters and forest supporters to gather, to share their expertise and experience, and to project a new vision for the future. This XIV Congress will be crucial as the world will be entering a new development era with the adoption of the post-2015 sustainable development goals. The Congress will be the first global forestry event after this, and it can therefore play a pivotal role in helping to define a sustainable roadmap.

Schedule and descriptions for all WFC2015 side events.



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Last edited: 01 March 2016

CONTACT DETAILS

Florian Kraxner

Research Group Leader and Principal Research Scholar Agriculture, Forestry, and Ecosystem Services Research Group - Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program

Anatoly Shvidenko

Distinguished Emeritus Research Scholar Agriculture, Forestry, and Ecosystem Services Research Group - Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program

Stephan Pietsch

Guest Senior Research Scholar Exploratory Modeling of Human-natural Systems Research Group - Advancing Systems Analysis Program

Congress Organizer

WFC2015

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Phone: (+43 2236) 807 0 Fax:(+43 2236) 71 313