Issue 4 2015

Forest Information Billboard

Issue 4, December 2015

Forest Reporting

NEW DATES! 38th Session Joint ECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Statistics, Economics and Management

The thirty-eighth Session of the Joint ECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Statistics, Economics and Management will be held on 23 - 24 March 2016 in the Palais des Nations (Room VIII), Geneva, Switzerland.

The thirty-eighth session of the Joint ECE/FAO Working Party on Forest Statistics, Economics and Management is part of a series of meeting to take place in Geneva covering forest statistics and economics. The Working Party, in addition to reviewing and guiding the activities in data collection and analysis, policy, communication and capacity building, will go over:

Results of the pilot project on the System for the Evaluation of the Management of Forests (SEMAFOR);

Joint Wood Energy Enquiry (JWEE2013) results, revision and related capacity building;

2022 Revision of the Harmonized Description and Coding System;

Capacity building and projects under the United Nations Development Account (UNDA);

Roundtable discussion on potential implications of UNFCCC COP21 to forests and the forest sector;

Preparation for the strategic review of the Integrated Programme of Work.

The International Day of Forests, to be held in Geneva, 21 March 2016, is on the theme Forests and Water. The Team of Specialists on Forest Products Statistics will meet on Tuesday, 22 March 2016. While the events on 21 and 22 March are not officially part of the meeting, delegates to the Joint FAO/ECE Working Party on Forest Statistics, Economics and Management are invited to attend these. The secretariat has published the annotated provisional agenda for the thirty-eighth session on the meeting website. The registration for the Working Party is already open and can be found here.

For more information contact Florian Steierer ([email protected]).

Conduct the questionnaire on “Forests and Water: Valuation and Payments for Forest Ecosystem Services (FES)”
The Joint UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section is planning to conduct a study on “Forests and Water: Valuation and Payments for Forest Ecosystem Services (FES)” in the region covering 56 countries in North America and the pan-European region. A concept note for the study is posted on our website.

This questionnaire is addressed to everyone interested in the area of valuation and payments for water-related forest ecosystem services. It is created to receive feedback on the relevance of the study as well as possible recommendations regarding the content and suggested research areas.

Thank you for taking 10 minutes of your time to share your expertise and answer 8 questions in the survey.

Evaluation of the UNECE/FAO UNDA project on Sustainable Forest Management for Greener Economies in the Caucasus and Central Asia

Did you participate in some of the UNECE/FAO capacity building project workshops in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan or Uzbekistan?

Help to improve the capacity building work by sharing your experience and filling in the evaluation questionnaire, available in English and in Russian. Send your questionnaire to Konstantine Peradze ([email protected]), the evaluation consultant, by 11 January 2016.

Maps on the reported national forest statistics 1950-2010 now available

In a shared collaboration Alterra and EFI produced a set of maps down scaling the reported national forest statistics from the period 1950-2010. This data set provides global forest area, forest growing stock, and forest biomass data at 1-degree resolution for the period 1950-2010. The data set is based on a compilation of forest area and growing stock data reported in international assessments performed by FAO, MCPFE (now Forest Europe), and UNECE. Data of different assessments are to the extent possible harmonized to reflect both forest area and other wooded land, to be comparable between countries and assessments.

This dataset is now freely available through the ORNL datacentre and can be used as a reference dataset for global forest development modelling.

Hengeveld, G.M., K. Gunia, M. Didion, S. Zudin, A.P.P.M. Clerkx, and M.J. Schelhaas. 2015. Global 1-degree Maps of Forest Area, Carbon Stocks, and Biomass, 1950-2010. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA.

Swiss NFI Cockpit - Forest Indicator Trends

The National Forest Inventory NFI is the most important source of data on the state and change of the Swiss forest. The NFI’s indicator set currently consists of 64 international and national indicators for sustainable forest management. This large number of indicators makes an overall interpretation difficult. Therefore, the mathematical-graphical instrument Swiss NFI Cockpit is developed to show the general trends in space and time.

The NFI indicators are grouped according to the 6 European criteria for sustainable forest management. If a positive or negative change in value of an indicator between two inventories is statistically significant, a numerical value of +1 or -1 is given. If the change was not significant a zero is given. If data is missing (in either or both of the inventories compared), the indicator is not considered (no value available). For each criterion the mean of all indicators is calculated. The general trend is calculated as the mean of these criteria trends.

Since the first NFI of 1983/85 and during the three following Inventories, the Swiss forest has, from a general point of view, continued to develop positively over the past 30 years.

More information is available here.

Contact: Urs-Beat Brändli, Scientific Service Swiss NFI, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, CH-8904 Birmensdorf, [email protected]

Integrating biodiversity into forest management – applying virtual tools for calibrating silvicultural decision making

Forest policies are manifold and originate from various sectors. They are informed by both research and practice and take into consideration the perspectives of stakeholders and interest groups. Forest management must put policy targets into practice by deciding where, when and what kind of interventions are applied for each forest stand. The Integrate+ project is establishing a European network of demonstration sites for the integration of biodiversity conservation into forest management. It aims to provide tools to help visualize consequences of different silvicultural approaches, including their effect on biodiversity.

A wide range of theoretical strategies and concepts exist in forestry, which can result in differences when implementing certain silvicultural practices. A good understanding of key factors influencing practitioners’ decisions is needed when applying silvicultural tools, including their levels of experience and knowledge on forest dynamics. Experimental silviculture (‘trial and error’) will not provide answers. Simulating interventions applied by practitioners within the same stand can provide better insight. This is what so called ‘Marteloscopes’ do. The term is derived from French and describes a more detailed examination of tree selection and their consequences on the stand and its future development towards a set management goal.

Marteloscopes are the centerpiece of the Integrate+ demonstration site network that is currently being established throughout Europe. They are used for virtual tree selection exercises and field visits. Main goal is to train and eventually improve decision making capacities. On one-hectare, rectangular plots each tree is assessed for its location, height, diameter, economic value (stem quality, local timber price) and ecological parameters (microhabitats). Based on this dataset, tree selection exercises are performed and displayed directly using a tablet software developed by the project. It allows immediate feedback on economic and ecological implications of the virtual selection. Different management strategies and their consequences can then be objectively discussed by the participants directly on site.

For more information visit the website or download the publication.

Market statement and forecasts prepared for Silva 2015

At the Joint Session in Engelberg of the UNECE Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry (COFFI) and the FAO European Forestry Commission (EFC), shortly Silva 2015, a market statement and forecasts for the countries in the region were prepared. The market statement summarizes the principal activities in the forest and forest industries sector in 2014 and forecasts for 2015 and 2016. The forecast tables cover production and trade for over 30 products (including, for the first time ever, wood pellets), showing information for each country that provided data. The forecasts and market statement can be found here. The national market statements from 21 countries can be found here.

Towards a global benchmark for the forest products value chain

The CEOs of WBCSD’s Forest Solutions Group (FSG) have adopted a revised set of membership principles and responsibilities to affirm the group’s long-standing commitment to sustainable forest management and to producing and sourcing forest products that do not contribute to deforestation.

The membership principles embody six core commitments across global sustainability priority areas: forest management and fiber sourcing, resource efficiency and innovation, energy and climate, water stewardship, health and safety, and social impact. Each priority is mapped against a key performance indicator which is used to assess and report results annually.

The FSG aims to uphold its shared commitment to sustainable development, continue demonstrating joint progress and inspire others to join in. Every single principle and performance indicator underpin the FSG’s goals to bring more of the world’s forests under sustainable management and expand markets for responsible forest products. The FSG is the global platform helping the forest products value chain to generate the scale needed to address challenges such as climate change. The membership principles and associated key performance indicators provide a shared framework to prioritize, take impactful action and work towards setting a new benchmark for the forest products sector.

The results of the next performance review will be available in 2016. In addition, FSG members will continue identifying additional metrics on joint priorities, engaging with stakeholders to share learnings and develop solutions for concerted action. This year’s performance overview can be accessed here.

Publications

Report on Sustainable Forest Management Criteria and Indicators – Working Group under the Standing Forestry Committee

The EU Forest Strategy states that the European Commission, in close cooperation with Member States and stakeholders, should identify "objective, ambitious and demonstrable sustainable forest management (SFM) criteria that can be applied in different policy contexts such as climate change, bioenergy or bioeconomy, regardless of the end use of biomass". The work was prompted by current EU initiatives considering biomass sustainability standards/criteria in the fields of renewable energy, bioeconomy, climate change and further initiatives which are anticipated, notably the implementation of the EU Climate and Energy framework for 2030. The Working Group has aimed at providing the policy responses to the concerns expressed particularly on imports of biomass, and increasing demand from some sectors (i.e. bioenergy) for evidence that the forests are being managed sustainably, as well as also from some users of forest-based products, who want to be able to demonstrate that the raw material they are using comes from sustainably managed sources.

The report is available here.

A new role for forests and the forest sector in the EU post-2020 climate targets

European forests and the forest-based sector are already contributing significantly to climate change mitigation and substitution, amounting to some 13% of EU emissions.

The EU has already decided that emissions and removals from Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) will be included in its 2030 climate policy framework, with a decision on exactly how to do so expected in 2016. The new European Forest Institute (EFI) From Science to Policy study “A new role for forests and the forest sector in the EU post-2020 climate targets” aims to support EU policy makers in answering this complex question.

The study concludes that with the right incentives and investments, forests and the forestry sector have the potential to contribute more – even up to an additional 9% – through Climate Smart Forestry. This is an approach which mainstreams climate mitigation by using forests and the forest sector, and related policies and measures in a way which makes use of the different regional characteristics and circumstances of the EU Member States.

The study’s main outcomes were discussed at the ThinkForest side-event ‘Climate policy targets: how can forests contribute?’ at the COP21 climate negotiations in Paris on 1 December 2015.

Further information:

Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Philippe Delacote, David Ellison, Marc Hanewinkel, Marcus Lindner, Martin Nesbit, Markku Ollikainen and Annalisa Savaresi. 2015. A new role for forests and the forest sector in the EU post-2020 climate targets. From Science to Policy 2. European Forest Institute

Download the study here.

Download the ThinkForest brief for policymakers here.

Sustainable Forest Management in Austria – Austrian Forest Report 2015: Forests are extremely important

IN AUSTRIA: They provide the valuable raw material of wood and protect humans and infrastructures against natural hazards. They provide for clean air and clean water while at the same time capturing carbon and thus a major portion of our CO2 emissions.

Moreover, forests are among the most important areas of recreation for the whole population. Together with the downstream sectors, Austria‘ forests offer secure jobs to over 300,000 persons and, according to most recent figures, generate a trade surplus of 3.41 billion euros. Almost 50 percent of our national territory is covered by forests. They are managed by about 145,000 forest owners whose overall concept — sustainable forest management — is exemplary and extraordinarily successful. The value of forests is continuously rising, both in quantitative and in qualitative terms.

The Austrian Forest Report 2015, too, demonstrates this impressively. Since 2001 its structure pursues the approach of the Pan-European Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management, which is of great relevance also in international reporting. In 2005 our country incorporated these parameters also in the national forest programme and added Austria-specific values. The next major step is the preparation of an Austrian “Forest Strategy 2020”: Sustainable forest management for a liveable Austria!

The Forest Strategy 2020 is intended as an instrument which is to help meet present and future challenges in the best possible way and to ensure the multi-functional services provided by forests for future generations. 2015 is an important year for the forest - the United Nations declared it the International Year of Soils. As regards Austria‘s forests, we can say: They are firmly anchored both in soils and in the heads of Austrians.

Read more here .

Publication on integrative forest management approaches

The Integrate+ project is a follow-up project of ‘Integrate’. ‘Integrate’ produced a publication on integrative approaches as an opportunity for the conservation of forest biodiversity. The book was published end of 2013 containing a compilation of international scientific expertise on the complex relationships, trade-offs, and emerging challenges regarding the integration of forest biodiversity conservation into forest management. Due to high interest the book has been translated to French and German (available online early 2016).

For more information click here.

Research on carbon economy of different forest stands in Kahramanmaras regional directorate of forestry, Turkey

From the point of Forest carbon storage function view, the forestry is becoming an important issue in recent years and is getting more important. Forest ecosystems are the most important carbon sinks in terms of sequestering 76-78% of organic carbon in terrestrial ecosystems. However, in our country, carbon’s price and also the monetary value of forest carbon storage by trees are unknown. Although forest carbon storage function is known commonly, but also there are presently challenges, lacks and shortcomings about the calculation process of forest carbon storage value and reflecting this value to the national income account in Turkey.

In this study, forest carbon storage values were calculated for the five different and main tree species such as Oak, Black Pine, Red Pine, Cedar and Beech. The calculation processes were carried out according to factors of various site indexes (good and bad) and different ages of these five tree species in various Forest Enterprises of Kahramanmaras Regional Directorate of Forestry in Turkey. In order to calculate carbon value for each tree species; the factors such as dry matter weight, interest rate and rotation age were included in the calculation processes, and then net present values were applied finally. By this way, the carbon storage values of the forest stands were calculated according to tree species, ages and site indexes. In conclusion, this post-graduate thesis puts forward the economic values of the carbon storage function of the forests which cover vast areas as a carbon sinks and also have the crucial roles to decrease the global climate change effect in the planet.

For more information contact:

Prof. Özden GÖRÜCÜ

Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, Faculty of Forestry, Department of Forest Engineering, Kahramanmaraş, TURKEY, [email protected]

New International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) publications available:

Food vs forests in sub-Saharan Africa: a challenge for the SDGs

Domestic food supply in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will need to triple in the next 35 years. But SSA countries have also committed to reducing or halting deforestation this briefing explores the potential trade-offs. The tripling of food supply cannot be achieved solely through imports, waste reduction and yield increases. Agriculture will therefore continue to expand in SSA, at the likely expense of forests, and trade-offs between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of ending hunger and conserving forests need to be recognised.

Download here.

REDD+ and the private sector: tapping into domestic markets

UN’s REDD+ framework must engage with a wide spectrum including micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as these usually dominate in forest- and agriculture-based economies. This briefing presents experience from Tanzania and Mozambique which shows existing policies and laws can support national REDD+ efforts to engage the private sector at scale. But strengthening policy and providing more targeted support would accelerate economic and environmental gains.

Download here.

Testing REDD+ in the Beira Corridor: Who drives land use and land-use change, and why?

This document discusses how smallholder activities are driving deforestation in the Beira Corridor and proposes solutions. It provides a socioeconomic baseline against which to measure progress. However, although the discussion here is on smallholders, and our work confirms their significant cumulative contribution to deforestation and forest degradation, it is important to remember that investments in large scale land use changes, in this landscape and elsewhere, are also very important causes of deforestation.

Download here.

Applying three dimensions of equity to REDD+

Achieving greater equity in REDD+ needs attention to three dimensions: recognition (of rights, knowledge and institutions), procedure (inclusive decision-making) and distribution (of benefits and costs). The right choices will be context specific and the process of making these choices should engage key stakeholders, including indigenous peoples, local communities, women, elders and youth.

Download here.

Aplicando las tres dimensiones de equidad a REDD+ (Spanish version)

Download here.

Events

The XII International Junior Forest Contest

The XII International Junior Forest Contest was held in the town of Suzdal, the Russian Federation, on September 27 – October 3, 2015.

Organised by Federal Forestry Agency, the Contest is aimed to encourage international youth cooperation and raise environmental awareness; disseminate knowledge on current trends and problems of global forestry.

In 2015, 46 contestants aged 14 to 22 from 26 countries of the world presented their own research works. The research themes varied from silviculture and SFM to forest flora and fauna, alternative use of wood and forest law. The works showed great awareness and interest of youth in the vital issues of global forestry.

The International Jury was unanimous in giving the first prize to the work by an 11-year school student from Russia. His research on silvicultural and phytocenotic features of the Vyazovsky peatland was ranked best among 35 works.

The 2nd place was shared by a high school student from Republic of Korea for the project on glucose effects on plant growth, and by a representative of Brazil, for studying the runoff at Pararangaba river basin.

The 3rd place was taken by a student from South Africa for the research on phytoremediation and an 11-form school student from Russia for the project on Pulsatilla Multifada in Yakutia.

All the contestants represent young forestry science of their countries. There were memorabilia and diplomas for everybody.

Aside from Contest, students and guests participated in excursions. Challenging work and rich entertainment programme helped young people to become good friends.

Organisers thank all participants of XII Contest and wish to welcome young international forestry experts in Russia at next Contest, in autumn 2016!

For more details, contact the Organising Committee at [email protected].

Conference WOOD-SCIENCE-ECONOMY 2015

On the 5th and the 6th October 2015 the Wood Technology Institute in cooperation with the State Forests National Forest Holding organised the 1st international Scientific Conference entitled “Wood – Science – Economy” in the Conference Centre of the Science Centre in Poznan.

The conference’s goal was to exchange knowledge at international scale, taking into account the latest scientific achievements, as well as to identify the most promising research lines and the possibilities of practically using this knowledge in the forestry-wood sector.

The conference was attended by scientific authorities from Europe and also from eminent scientific centres in the USA. The guest of honour at the conference was prof. Jim L. Bowyer, professor of the University of Minnesota for many years, former president of the Forest Products Society and the Society of Wood Science and Technology.

During the two days of the conference almost 100 participants listened to 36 presentations and acquainted themselves with 21 posters.

Recapitulating the conference, director of the Wood Technology Institute – assoc. prof. Wladyslaw Strykowski, PhD, emphasised the growing importance of forestry and the wood industry in the European and global economy. He thanked all the speakers, authors of posters and participants for presenting the latest research lines and innovations in the forestry-wood sector and for lively and constructive scientific discussion, and thus a fruitful exchange of opinions. Closing the conference, assoc. prof. Strykowski, PhD, invited all participants to take part in the second edition of the conference in two years’ time in Poznan.

For more information click here.

Values of Forests at the Heart of Silva2015

Thirty-nine countries from Europe, the Russian Federation, Central Asia, the Caucasus and North America agreed to continue their efforts to build climate change into national forest programmes, strategies and plans, and encouraged each other to play an active part in the work of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF). They also asked UNECE and FAO to work on developing global forest-related indicators related to Sustainable Development Goals, building on existing indicators. Countries were strongly interested in developing markets and investments for forest ecosystem services, and appraised the Market Discussions as a unique platform for information and experience exchange on forest products markets at regional level.

These were the main outcomes of Silva 2015, the joint session of the UNECE Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry (COFFI) and the FAO European Forestry Commission (EFC), which took place from 2 - 6 November 2015 in Engelberg, Switzerland, during the 3rd European Forest Week.

Presentations, official documents and report of the meeting are available here.

Photos from the meeting are available at the UNECE-FAO Forests Flickr account.

Read the press release here and IISD news release here.

People and forests play a significant role to fight against climate change

PEFC Spain organized the international event “People, Forests and Climate Change” in early December, to share experience between countries and learn from Spain’s vast experience in delivering group certification for smallholders.

The event supports COP21 due to the forests conservation and their multiple functions are a priority in the fight against climate change, sustainable development and rural areas improvement.

Spain is one of the world leaders in enabling small forest owners to gain certification through the group certification model, with group and regional certification accounting for 84% of forest certification in the country.

Over the two-day event, an international group of forest experts gathered together in Madrid and delegates from Cameroon, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and Viet Nam received first-hand knowledge from PEFC Spain (the Spanish national forest certification system), Regional governments, forest owners, companies and service providers.

“Sustainable forest management and forest certification are vital for the development of rural communities living in or dependent on forests, as they generate employment and wealth,” said Ana Belen Noriega, National Secretary of PEFC Spain. “This is why we need to ensure that these forest owners are able to achieve certification.”

“With forests playing such a crucial role in our society and delivering so many ecosystem services and products, we can’t afford not to support forest certification. Sustainable forest management is in the public interest,” said Fermin Olabe, Forest Service Director, Navarra Government.

The technical exchange on group certification offered profound insight on the practical ways forest owners in Spain are supported in pursuing certification, accessing forest management plans and delivering sustainable forest management for all the benefits it provides.

“What is particularly exciting about the Spanish context is the level of government involvement in enabling regional certification of the country’s forests,” highlighted Sarah Price, Head of Projects and Development at PEFC International. “With the world’s governments currently pledging their support to reduce the impacts of climate change in Paris at COP21, here in Spain we can actually see this being put into practice.”

The outcomes from the expert meeting were used to input into the special "Making Group Certification Work for Everyone" session, which opened the 2015 PEFC Forest Certification Week on Monday 7 December in Montreux, Switzerland. The PEFC Week culminates 10 December with the 20th PEFC General Assembly.

More information: PEFC Spain News

Western Balkan countries call for action to defeat illegal logging

Montenegro, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Croatia and Serbia plead for strengthening the regional cooperation between neighboring countries on roundwood trade. Knowledge and experience exchange together with realistic figures of roundwood removals are crucial to address the problem of illegal logging at all levels. P. Ivanović, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, opened a UNECE/FAO workshop in Podgorica, Montenegro on 8 December 2015, to address these issues. The recent reforms in the Macedonian forest sector reported during the workshop reinforced the neighboring countries’ interest to strengthen the exchange of knowledge and experiences.

Major challenges for the Western Balkan´s forest sector include unregistered use of firewood (estimate up to 40%), illegal trading activities, low technological level of the wood industry due to outdated machinery, low transformation of wood into value-added forest products (wood is mostly exported as roundwood), lack of political support to complete necessary reforms, and low attractiveness of forestry as a profession. Low salaries drive forest workers to reach out for better working conditions in Italy, Austria and Germany, where they can earn in three months the equivalent of an annual salary in their home country.

The forest sector has the potential to play a substantial role in the economies of the four countries if a regional forest strategy is implemented. Actions are needed to attract investments, to develop brands and market placement, and to increase the proportion of finalized high quality products.