14th April 2020 Newsletter
Institute News
NZIF Members are invited to share their COCID-19 experiences and any relevant insights they may have learned to other members through the NZIF Newsletter. This a members’ forum. All comments are welcome.
NZIF Presidential Elections
The 2020 Election for NZIF President results were as follows:
- Euan Mason 123
- James Treadwell 129
These results are also available to view in the same voting module in which you voted.
Please welcome the new President of the NZIF: James Treadwell.
From the Registrar
Successful Application For Registered Member
The following Member is now a Registered Member:
- Mitchell Haberkorn of Darwin
Successful 5-Year Registration Review
Continuing Registration:
- Andrew McEwen of Waikanae
- Hamish Levack of Wellington
- Peter Houston of Whangarei
Unsuccessful 5-Year Registration Review
Cessation of Registration:
- Dan Minehan of Invercargill
Registration Review
The following members are due for 5-year review of their status as a Registered Member during 2020:
- Owen Springford
- Nigel Chandler
- Brian Johnson
- Paul Molloy
- Peter Brown
- Peter Clark
- John Hornby
- Allan Laurie
- Hamish Levack
- Andrew McEwen
- Peter Houston
- Craig McMiken
- Reagan Thompson
- Geoff Cameron
- John Ellis
- Brian Rawley
USE OF NZIF WEBSITE FOR APPLICATIONS, ANNUAL DECLARATIONS AND CPD.
As from today all applications for 5-year Reviews and New Applications for Registered Member status should be made using the online facility on the NZIF website. Login and go to the Dashboard and click on Registered Member Application & Review Form. Note that if you do not have time to complete the application in one session there is a “Save” facility that allows you to come back and complete it before submitting.
The annual declaration for Code of Ethics/Professional Indemnity/Real Estate experience can now be entered online. Go to your Profile and click on APC (Annual Practising Certificate) and populate the boxes appropriately – very simple. Those RM’s who have not yet emailed their forms for YE 31 May 2020 should use the online facility. Next year all RM’s will need to use the online entry.
CPD – is still entered online but is Submitted only once each year, as at the end of December. Saving your CPD is not the same as Submitting it. Once it has been Submitted you cannot edit it but if something goes awry please get in touch and we will get the expert (Jay) to assist. The CSV upload facility is available for bulk data and if you require this please get in touch.
Alan Bell, Registrar
NZIF Registration Board
+64 27 444 7779
Nomination of new NZIF Fellows
The deadline for nominating NZIF Fellows this year is May 28th 2020. Fellows are members who have achieved eminence in the profession.
Rules for the election of Fellows are:
- A Fellow of the Institute shall be a Member who has achieved eminence in the profession.
A member should be considered eminent if they have made a substantial contribution to forestry, resulting in large benefits to a region, the nation or the world through forestry. Generally Fellows will be widely known in the sector for their contributions, but in rare cases their contributions, while important, may not be widely known prior to their nomination. These contributions may include such things as exemplary leadership, extensive work in voluntary organisations that benefit people, research resulting in important new knowledge, or major contributions to forest policy and legislation.
- For recognition as a Fellow:
121.1. The Member must have been nominated by two Members who shall be Full Voting Members;
121.2. The Member must be a Full Voting Member other than an Honorary Member at the time of nomination and must have been such a member for at least five years immediately prior to the nomination;
121.3. The Member, at the time of nomination, must have had at least 15 years’ experience in the practice, administration or teaching of, or research in, some branch of forestry, of which at least five years must have been in New Zealand;
121.4. The nomination must have been considered by Council and, if in the opinion of Council, the nominated member fulfils the requirements for a Fellow set out in section 121.3, included in an annual ballot in which all Full Voting Members who are financial when the ballot is held may participate. Any nominated Member who receives a minimum of 100 votes of which a minimum of 80% are in favour of the election of the member as a Fellow will be elected as a Fellow. The ballot must be held prior to the Annual General Meeting of the Institute with the elected Fellows announced at that meeting.
Nomination forms can be found on the NZIF website (members only/nominations), or go direct to the Fellows nomination form.
Applications Open For NZIF Foundation 2020 Awards & Scholarships
Applications are invited for the awards and scholarships offered by the NZIF Foundation for 2020. The total value of awards offered is $29,500.
The awards open for application are:
- One Future Forest Scholarship for post graduate research of up to $10,000
- The New Zealand Redwood Company Scholarship of $5,000 for an undergraduate scholarship at the University of Canterbury School Forestry
- Chavasse Travel Award of up to $3,500 to assist a mid-career person to travel overseas or to bring an overseas person to NZ
- Jon Dey memorial award of up to $3,500 to assist research projects in the areas of work study or new technology aimed at improving forest engineering and harvest productivity
- Otago Southland Award of up to $3,000 to assist a project of relevance to forestry in the Otago/Southland region
- Mary Sutherland Scholarship of $1,000 for a polytechnic student
- University Undergraduate Scholarship of $1,000
- Frank Hutchinson Postgraduate scholarship of $1,000
- Student poster prizes at NZIF Conference (1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes of $800, $500 and $200)
Applications are now open. Further details on the Foundation web page available through www.nzif.org.nz, (link on lower right hand side of page).
Applications must be received by the Foundation administrator (foundation@nzif.org.nz) no later than 5pm on Monday 18th May 2020.
Enquires to the Foundation chair am.mcewen@xtra.co.nz or phone +64 274 733 262
Please pass on this notice to your networks and to anyone you think may be eligible to apply. Membership of NZIF is not a requirement for application.
About the NZIF Foundation
The NZIF Foundation was established in 2011 by the NZ Institute of Forestry to advance education in relation to forestry. This includes encouraging and supporting forestry related research, education and training through the provision of grants, scholarships and prizes; promoting the acquisition, development and dissemination of forestry related knowledge and information and other activities that do not conflict with the charitable purpose. For the purposes of these awards, forestry is broadly defined to include all those activities involved in the management and use of forests and their products, the objects of which are the production of wood or other forest benefits and the maintenance of the environment in its most beneficial form. All forests in New Zealand, whatever their purpose, are encompassed in the definition.
Andrew McEwen
NZIF Foundation Chair
COVID-19
Details of the upcoming national and international events of interest to members of NZIF have obviously been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and shut down.
In particular, the NZIF Annual Conference 2020 in Masterton has been cancelled and the Conference and Celebration for 50 years Canterbury School of Forestry has been postponed.
Official COVID-19 NZ Govt Info Site
Learn the simple steps you can take to unite against the virus and slow its spread. Find out what help is available, FAQs and get the latest updates.
Official Covid-19 NZ Govt Info: For Businesses, Organisations & Employees
Ministry of Social Development Assistance
MBIE Coronavirus Media release
Business.govt.nz, part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, has sourced information from 15 government departments so businesses can access all they need to know about the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak in one place.
Business.govt.nz Director Matt Kennedy-Good says the outbreak and the global efforts to contain it affect New Zealand businesses in many ways.
“It’s vital that businesses stay up to date, but with so many things to consider and changing regularly, it can be overwhelming, particularly for small businesses.
“We want to make it a little bit easier for them, so they don’t have to blind trawl through numerous websites to find what is relevant to them.
“Whether you’re an employer with concerns about your staff and workplace, an exporter with overseas customers, or you are planning to travel abroad – this page is your single source of truth for government information on what to do and what assistance is available.”
As well as information for employers, exporters and importers, topics such as tax assistance, health and safety are covered, as well as information for landlords, tenants and the education sector.
The content is presented in an easily digestible format with links for more in-depth reading, and is kept up to date as new information becomes available.
The page has already been visited more than 45,000 times since it was published on the Business.govt.nz website earlier this month, with many repeat visitors using it regularly.
Stay informed with issues that matter by joining the 235,000 small businesses that subscribe to the business.govt.nz monthly newsletter.
Media contact: +64 27 442 2141 or email media@mbie.govt.nz
Te Uru Rākau Feedback: A Forest Strategy for Aotearoa New Zealand
Te Uru Rākau is looking at how to harness the collective vision of New Zealanders to cultivate the forests of the future. To do this, they’re developing a Forest Strategy that will guide us over the next 30 years, and beyond.
Te Uru Rākau are asking for shared views on what a forest strategy means to you, why it matters, and what a great forest system would look like.
If you want to get in touch with Te Uru Rākau about the Forest Strategy, or to be added to the mailing list so you can keep in touch with what’s happening, then email foreststrategy@mpi.govt.nz.
Details are in the Forest Strategy page.
Latest NZ Journal of Forestry is On-line
Find latest journal here.
MPI Sustainable Forestry Bulletin
MPI’s Sustainable Forestry Bulletin is available through the subscription link. The bulletin outlines new information, upcoming requirements etc relating to the ETS, etc.
Forestry Career Portal
For career options, jobs are available advertised on this site
https://www.forestrycareers.nz/
Institute of Chartered Foresters (UK)
The ICF provides a newsletter with news and blogs as well as relevant information for members through this link.
Royal Society New Zealand
The NZ Institute of Forestry is affiliated with the Royal Society, with many co-memberships. For those interested in finding out what is happening, receiving newsletters and other alerts, please follow the link here.
RSNZ Rutherford Medal now to include Humanities.
Tane’s Trees Trust
New Bulletins available here.
Changed Address?
It is important NZIF has up-to-date contact details for members so we can stay in touch and keep you informed of news, events and our journal. If you have changed your residential and/or postal address, or any other contact details, please let the office know. You can email us at admin@nzif.org.nz.
In the News
World: Icelandic Forest Service Recommends Hugging Trees while you can’t Hug Others
The Icelandic Forestry Service is encouraging people to hug trees while social distancing measures prevent them from hugging other people, RÚV reports. Forest rangers in the Hallormsstaður National Forest in East Iceland have been diligently clearing snow-covered paths to ensure that locals can enjoy the great outdoors without coming in too close a contact with other guests, but can also get up close and personal with their forest friends.
“When you hug [a tree], you feel it first in your toes and then up your legs and into your chest and then up into your head,” enthuses forest ranger Þór Þorfinnsson. “It’s such a wonderful feeling of relaxation and then you’re ready for a new day and new challenges.”
NZ: Jones, Time to end short term forest focus
Forestry Minister Shane Jones says forest owners need to reassess their business in light of the COVID-19 crisis.
Log shipments to China, which accounts for the bulk of the current harvest, ground to a halt at the start of the year, but are set to resume once the lockdown is over.
Mr Jones says when looking at which parts of the economy are likely to restart once the lockdown finishes, forest owners will be regarded as only one part of the forest industry rather than the most dominant voice.
With the prospect of the number of unemployed rising to more than 200,000, it’s important to identify ways jobs can be created processing and adding value to local raw materials.
"I had lots of lobbying over the past week to completely change the structure of the forest industry to ensure the forest owners service the needs first of New Zealand investors, New Zealand processors and New Zealand employees," he says.
Minister Jones says more than 75 per cent of New Zealand’s forests are owned by international investors, who are likely to be looking for quick cash once trade resumes.
Response: An Open Letter to Shane Jones, Minister of Forestry
East Coast forestry gets ready to redeploy hundreds of out-of-work contractors
Forestry contractor Les White will be out of a job from next week as harvesting work slows to a stop.
“Biggest thing for me is I hope to keep things going really, to pay the mortgage and provide for my family.”
Business Lumberjack Logging is having to let go of its logging crews as demand dries up amid the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“We can’t do anything about it. We are just looking for a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel but we are no different to six other haulers in the region in the last month.” Dan Herries told 1 NEWS.
Around 300 East Coast forestry workers are now set for re-deployment.
The Government is committing $27 million to revitalise the region, fast-tracking conservation and roading work, as well as tree planting projects.
“Instead of sitting at home on the couch, forestry workers are going to be doing real jobs and getting paid real money. We brought forward a range of projects so their skills will be used,” Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford announced in Gisborne today.
A new $13 million wood processing plant will be built too, through a loan from the Provincial Growth Fund.
Forestry Minister Shane Jones says the industry needs to diversify away from being reliant on Chinese log exports, which grounded to a halt as China was shut down by Covid-19.
“We're going to have to change the way we live and we are going to have to tolerate a lot of handicaps to our way of life and that's hard for us as Māori - it's a big call-out to all the Tairawhiti leadership - the old game is over.”
NZ: Union tells Shane Jones to restrict wood exports overseas or 'voters will cut him down'
Forestry Minister Shane Jones has instructed officials to explore law changes that would ensure wood product is prioritised for New Zealand-based projects after the COVID-19 lockdown, instead of it being shipped overseas.
It comes as the union representing construction and infrastructure workers, AWUNZ, called for help from Jones to introduce forestry quotas and regulation to prevent "foreign-driven forest obliteration" after the lockdown.
"Shane Jones says he is the regional saviour," Maurice Davis, AWUNZ national secretary, said on Friday. "I fear an avalanche of logs for short-term profit will disappear overseas to the detriment of Kiwi manufacturing and construction jobs."
NZ: Foresters Says Shane Jones’ Call to Preference Domestic Timber Supplies can’t Work
Foresters are saying that log supply to domestic and export markets is inextricably linked and can’t be separated, as Forests Minister Shane Jones now seems to be advocating.
Forest Owners’ Association President Phil Taylor says a harvest of just about any forest will produce higher grade logs for domestic construction, some logs for export and some lower value wood which is only suitable for domestic chipping.
“We just can’t go in and cut down some parts of a tree to cater to one market without harvesting the whole tree for other markets too. That was clearly shown up when forest companies were unable to export earlier in the year and how difficult it physically was to keep our local mills supplied,” Phil Taylor says.
“It’s not true either that we send all our logs overseas. In most years, the majority of the export value of our forest products comes from added value categories, such as sawn timber and pulp and paper.”
NZ: Covid 19 coronavirus: Forester urges focus on restart, jobs
Forestry stands to be a major export earner in coming months and the country needs to focus on maximizing those gains as the lockdown is lifted and harvesting resumes, IFSGrowth chief executive James Treadwell said.
Harvesting could have continued safely during the past two weeks and he said there is no reason for it not to resume on a regional basis where infection rates are low, suggesting the East Coast, Far North and central North Island as possible early contenders.
NZ: Forest Industry Preparing for Back to Work
Forest industry organisations are planning how to get back to work when restrictions on non-essential work are lifted for the industry.
Organisations, representing forest growers, transport, processing and contractors have set up a working group to develop risk assessment protocols in readiness for start-up of the industry sector.
The National Safety Director of the Forest Industry Safety Council, Fiona Ewing says the aim is to assure government that the sector will be able to comply with the epidemic management conditions of COVID-19.
“The priority and starting point is health and wellbeing.
“There is the complex technical side of start-ups that will be a ‘whole of industry’ scan of the value chain. That starts in the forest and moves through transport, processing and export through to the work at the ports. The group will be working with our stakeholders to get the start-up protocol proposal right.”
Oregon forests remain open for logging and timber sales during coronavirus pandemic
The Bureau of Land Management sold over 49 million board feet of timber last week alone, while the U.S. Forest Service reiterated its commitment to logging.
Oregon's forests remain open for logging and timber sales during the novel coronavirus pandemic because forest products have been deemed part of "critical infrastructure," according to state and federal officials.
While forests have strictly limited outdoor recreation to prevent spread of the virus, and halted activities such as prescribed burning, forest officials said they'll continue to support timber activity on public lands.
The Bureau of Land Management sold over 49 million board feet of timber last week alone, while the U.S. Forest Service reiterated its commitment to logging.
"National Forests in Oregon and Washington are open to support local and rural economies," said Dan Shively, Director of Natural Resources for the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region. "If forest leadership and business operators are able to mitigate risks while supporting 'stay at home' orders, we will support timber, forest products, grazing, and other sustainment and economic uses of our forestlands."
However, Oregon senators and environmental groups have objected to approving new timber sales amid a "stay at home" order that makes it difficult, or impossible, to have public meetings or hearings or view proposed sales in person.
Record visitation for public lands during pandemic: what’s closed right now
National and state forests have experienced a surge in visitation during coronavirus pandemic — two and three times greater than what is typical for this time of year — which is stretching the resources of the sites and making it harder for people to practice proper social distancing.
How forest loss leads to spread of disease
Viruses that jump from animals to people, like the one responsible for COVID-19, will likely become more common as people continue to transform natural habitats into agricultural land, according to a new Stanford study.
The analysis, published in Landscape Ecology, reveals how the loss of tropical forests in Uganda puts people at greater risk of physical interactions with wild primates and the viruses they carry. The findings have implications for the emergence and spread of infectious animal-to-human diseases in other parts of the world, and suggest potential solutions for curbing the trend.
"At a time when COVID-19 is causing an unprecedented level of economic, social and health devastation, it is essential that we think critically about how human behaviors increase our interactions with disease-infected animals," said study lead author Laura Bloomfield, an MD student in the School of Medicine and a PhD candidate in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources within Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences. "The combination of major environmental change, like deforestation, and poverty can spark the fire of a global pandemic."
World: Long-living tropical trees play outsized role in carbon storage
A group of trees that grow fast, live long lives and reproduce slowly account for the bulk of the biomass -- and carbon storage -- in some tropical rainforests, a team of scientists says in a paper published this week in the journal Science. The finding that these trees, called long-lived pioneers, play a much larger role in carbon storage than previously thought may have implications in efforts to preserve forests as a strategy to fight climate change.
"People have been arguing about whether these long-lived pioneers contribute much to carbon storage over the long term," said Caroline Farrior, an assistant professor of integrative biology at The University of Texas at Austin and a primary investigator on the study. "We were surprised to find that they do."
It is unclear the extent to which tropical rainforests can help soak up excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere produced by burning fossil fuels. Nonetheless, the new study provides insights about the role of different species of trees in carbon storage.
World: Model: What increased woody biomass use looks like for the global forest ecosystem
Incentivizing both sequestration and avoidance of emissions— using a carbon rental or carbon tax and subsidy approach—versus only a carbon tax encourages protection of natural forests by valuing the standing stock, according to a new study led by Georgia Institute of Technology.
In their study, the research team—Alice Favero, associate director of Graduate Studies at Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Public Policy; Adam Daigneault, University of Maine E.L. Giddings Assistant Professor of Forest, Conservation and Recreation Policy; and Brent Sohngen, professor of environmental economics at Ohio State University—addressed the impacts of woody biomass demand on forest harvests, prices and related timber management issues. Their findings on the consequences of bioenergy policies on forests and carbon emissions are published in the journal Science Advances.
World: Don't look to mature forests to soak up carbon dioxide emissions
Research published today in Nature suggests mature forests are limited in their ability to absorb "extra" carbon as atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations increase. These findings may have implications for New York state's carbon neutrality goals.
Dr. John Drake, assistant professor in ESF's Department of Sustainable Resources Management, is a co-author of the paper in collaboration with researchers at Western Sydney University.
The experiment, conducted at Western Sydney University's EucFACE (Eucalyptus Free Air CO2 Enrichment) found new evidence of limitations in the capacity of mature forests to translate rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations into additional plant growth and carbon storage.
As Canada's forests become carbon bombs, Ottawa pushes the crisis off the books
Canada's managed forests, and the wood taken out of them each year, have become one of our country's largest – and yet most confusing – sources of climate pollution. This forest carbon explainer tells the story of:
- The climate crisis unfolding in Canada's managed forest lands, as they flip from much-needed carbon absorbers into super-emitters
- How unnatural surges in insect outbreaks and wildfires are fueling the crisis
- The troubling data showing that logging is now extracting more carbon than grows back, pushing our forests over the edge
- And finally, the government's scramble to push the crisis, and any responsibility for it, off the books
Estonia rejects ‘climate centered’ forestry
The Estonian ministry of the environment has rejected an impact assessment by the Stockholm Environment Institute Tallinn on the grounds that it used concerns about climate and biodiversity as its framework.
An open letter by the Global Forest Coalition and other groups states that Estonia is already one of the EU’s most intensive forest economies and opposition to over-logging is widespread, long-standing and well-grounded in facts. The letter calls on the Estonian ministry to reverse its decision.
World: How forests are changing in response to global warming
As the climate is changing, so too are the world's forests. From the misty redwoods in the west to the Blue Ridge forest of Appalachia, many sylvan ecosystems are adapting to drier conditions.
Using the U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis database, researchers at UC Santa Barbara, the University of Utah and the U.S. Forest Service have studied how the traits of tree communities are shifting across the contiguous United States. The results, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, indicate that communities, particularly in more arid regions, are becoming more drought tolerant, primarily through the death of less hardy trees.
To understand what might be driving changes in the ability of forests to cope with climate change, the scientists considered two main physiological traits: a species' average tolerance to water stress and how close this was to its maximum tolerance (essentially how much wiggle room it had when dealing with water stress).
What climate change means for Northwestern US wildfires
Recent years have brought unusually large and damaging wildfires to the Pacific Northwest -- from the Carlton Complex Fire in 2014 that was the largest in Washington's history, to the 2017 fire season in Oregon, to the 2018 Maple Fire, when normally sodden rainforests on the Olympic Peninsula were ablaze. Many people have wondered what this means for the region's future.
A University of Washington study, published this winter in Fire Ecology, takes a big-picture look at what climate change could mean for wildfires in the Northwest, considering Washington, Oregon, Idaho and western Montana.
"We can't predict the exact location of wildfires, because we don't know where ignitions will occur. But based on historical and contemporary fire records, we know some forests are much more likely to burn frequently, and models can help us determine where climate change will likely increase the frequency of fire," said lead author Jessica Halofsky, a research scientist at the UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences and with the U.S. Forest Service.
The review was done in response to a survey of stakeholder needs by the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, a UW-hosted federal-university partnership. State, federal and tribal resource managers wanted more information on the available science about fire and climate change.
"We're on the cusp of some big changes. We expect that droughts will become more common, and the interaction of climate and fire could look very different by the mid-21st century," said David Peterson, professor at the UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences. "Starting the process of adapting to those changes now will give us a better chance of protecting forest resources in the future."
The greatest increased risk was found for low-elevation ponderosa pine forests, of the type found at lower elevations on the east side of the Cascade Range in Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho. This ecosystem has the highest fire risk today and also has the highest increase in risk due to climate change. The authors predict with high confidence that wildfires in this region will become larger and more frequent.
Ontario’s Own Donald Trump
There are few political leaders who compare to Donald Trump’s catastrophic record on the environment. But, just a few hundred miles north of where Trump inked the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and announced plans to hobble bedrock environmental legislation, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has carved his own ignominious legacy of environmental devastation. There, since first assuming office in 2018, Doug Ford is opening the floodgates for the logging industry’s assault on one of the world’s most critical forests for the climate and putting a black mark on forest products sourced from the province.
Ontario stewards some of the most carbon-dense forest regions on the planet, which are also home to threatened populations of species like boreal caribou and Indigenous communities who have relied on the land for millennia. Each year, the logging industry in Ontario clearcuts over 315,000 acres of boreal forest, releasing vast stores of carbon into the atmosphere and leaving many populations of boreal caribou with too little habitat to survive.
World: Resilience in Forestry Science
As the Resilience Programme of the European Forest Institute, we are looking for evidence-based ways to improve resilience in the European forests. However, a brief discussion in the office revealed that even among our staff there are almost as many interpretations of resilience as there are staff-members. We needed to have a clearer understanding on what resilience means in the context of forestry.
As part of Laura Nikinmaa's PhD, she embarked on a mission to find out what exactly does resilience mean. Therefore, she performed a systematic analysis in which she scanned through more than 2,600 abstracts of studies, ultimately ending with 255 articles for her review. Her findings were published recently in the journal Current Forestry Reports. Here we summarize the results of the research.
Europe: New European Forest Institute (UFI) Bioregions Facility: towards a sustainable bioeconomy for Europe
Pioneering regions in Spain, Finland and Germany have taken the lead on promoting sustainable development and decarbonisation of our economy with the launch of a new European Bioregions Facility.
Bioregions connects forward-thinking regions across Europe to work together to unlock regional potential through international exchange on the forest circular bioeconomy. In this initiative, coordinated by the European Forest Institute (EFI), the three pioneer regions are Basque Country (Spain), North Karelia (Finland), and North Rhine-Westphalia, (Germany).
The event is the starting point to launch practical action and cooperation on a transformation towards a forest-based circular bioeconomy. In Europe, the bioeconomy employs more than 18.6 million people and has a turnover of 2.3 trillion euros, representing 9% of the whole European economy. The transition towards this economic model has already become a clear reality in some countries like Finland and Germany, while others, including the Basque Country, must and can move in the same direction. The potential for sharing experience, learning through cooperation and adapting successful action to regional specificities is the cornerstone of the Bioregions Facility, and more regions are expected to join in the near future.
World: Forestry Day and Every Day: Don’t Overlook the ‘Urban Forest’
While it is crucial to maintain sustainability managed forests, sourcing paper fiber from them is not the only option to consider. As we all move toward creating a more circular economy, it’s important to also consider sourcing materials from the “urban forest.”
Over the weekend, we observed the International Day of Forests. In 2012, the United Nations proclaimed March 21 as a day to raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests — which cover one third of the Earth's land mass, performing vital functions around the world — and this year, we celebrate the important link between forests and biodiversity.
Forests are home to about 80 percent of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity, including 60,000 tree species. Unfortunately, forests and their wealth of biodiversity are under threat from deforestation (which is responsible for roughly 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions).
While it is crucial to have sustainability managed forests, sourcing fiber from them is not the only option to consider. As we all move toward creating a more circular economy, it’s important to also consider sourcing from the “urban forest.”
World: Shinrin-Yoku: The Japanese Practice of Forest Bathing
Forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, is the Japanese art of spending time in the forest.
Spending time in forests is not a novel idea. Man has always spent time taking in the glory of trees – their shadows, their majestic silence, their immense presence. Beyond the metaphorical tree bathing, is the emerging practice of forest bathing.
Originated in Japan, forest bathing is the practice of spending time in the forest for health benefits. The Japanese name for forest bathing is shinrin-yoku. Shinrin-yoku research indicates that phytoncides, the chemicals emitted by trees are extremely beneficial to human health when inhaled. While forest bathing may sound like the latest in a long line of “new-age” trends promising improved health, research has proven its effects to be both powerful and long-lasting.
The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries came up with the term shinrin-yoku and began promoting the practice in the 1980s. This effort was a government reaction to the ills of modernity. People were overworked, cities were overcrowded, and Japanese citizens were beginning to have negative physical and mental responses to the new reality of urbanization. Japanese culture is full of practices, such as meditation and zen, that demonstrate a value for mindfulness. The Japanese government fought to maintain its cultural values of appreciating the moment as a new working culture threatened to upset their societal balance.
Covid-19 lockdown puts pause on large-scale predator control efforts
Predator control is yet another activity to be halted by the Covid-19 lockdown and that will increase the risk of native animals being killed.
Large scale work like the Department of Conservation's (DOC) Tiakina Ngā Manu aerial 1080 predator control operations have been put on hold.
Other aerial 1080 operations in places like Fiordland and the West Coast in the coming months have also been postponed.
Meanwhile, trap checks for trapping programmes in conservation areas have also been delayed, DOC information said.
NZ: Totara study proves local demand
JSC Timbers of Riverhead has placed the first commercial order for farm totara timber harvested and milled as part of a two-year study to test the practicality and commercial viability of a new industry based on regenerating farm totara from private land in Northland.
NZ: Local Focus: Wairoa forestry 'scaring the hell out of this community'
It wasn't far from anyone's lips at the recent East Coast Farming Expo - big money being paid for farms, with Wairoa District getting more than its fair share of forestry because its land is suitable and at the right price.
The trend, from pasture to plantation, is accelerating thanks to trees being eligible for carbon credits.
The credits can be sold in advance for good money, offsetting pollution through the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
Wairoa Mayor Craig Little said farming no longer outpaced forestry in Wairoa.
World: Considering context in participatory forest landscape initiatives: In participatory processes, engaging people to engage context is key to success
Why do some participatory processes help level the playing field in conservation and development projects while others reinforce unequal power relationships among participants?
Complex problems, such as those related to land use and climate change, involve many people —government officials, non-profit conservation groups, private enterprises, local communities and funders.
At first glance, bringing those stakeholders together to make decisions may seem like the most democratic and equitable way to reach agreements and work toward common goals.
But it’s not that easy, say two scientists with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).
The key to understanding those processes — and making them work better in the future — lies in lessons from the past, according to a new report.
Their review of articles about sub-national, multi-stakeholder forums established to address challenges related to land-use change found that the success of participatory processes depends on how well they are adapted to local circumstances.
Characterizing and evaluating integrated landscape initiatives: A perceptions-based impact assessment
The pressing environmental and social challenges driven by deforestation, biodiversity loss, climate change, poverty and food insecurity often intersect in tropical landscapes of the Global South.
Addressing these challenges holistically is thought to be an effective strategy for achieving better (i.e. ethical and ecological) outcomes and “integrated landscape approaches” are now widely endorsed across research, policy and practice.
However, for many the term is ambiguous: what exactly is meant by an integrated landscape approach? Is there one such approach, or many distinct approaches subsumed under an umbrella terminology? And is there evidence that shows such an approach works in practice?
These are some questions that inspired our recently published article in One Earth – the new interdisciplinary journal offered by Cell Press.
