International scientific conference: “African forest-related policies and politics” 24 – 27 September 2018 in Yaoundé, Cameroon Call for Abstracts – Save the Date

The University of Göttingen in Germany and the University of Dschang in Cameroon announce the firstIUFRO (International Union of Forest Research Organisations) social sciences conference on “African forest-related policy and politics”. This international and inter-disciplinary scientific conference aims to advance cutting edge knowledge on the emergence and evolution of African forest-related policy and politics. The conference will take place in Yaoundé, Cameroon from 24 to 27 September 2018, with the support of the Commission of Central African Forests (COMIFAC).

The African forest is paradoxical in relation to the tropical forest regions. When the rate of forest degradation due to wood-fuel demand and slash-and-burn small farming rises, the level of deforestation falls below that of South Asia and Latin America. In other words, the utilisation of African forestland resources occurs faster in regions covered by dry and accessible forests while the majority of the rainforests in the Congo basin remains broadly intact. Up to now, African forests from the North Africa Mediterranean region to the southern, eastern, western and central African regions face growing pressure due to forestland conversion, biodiversity loss, livelihood issues, demographic growth, wildfires, above- and underground resources exploitation.

CBFP News

23-05-2018 05:34

Adaptation Fund at Adaptation Futures 2018

As a partner, the Adaptation Fund will have an active presence at the premier international conference on climate change adaptation at the Adaptation Futures held June 18-21, 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa – the country which is also home to two innovative Adaptation Fund projects.

23-05-2018 05:27

GCF: Adaptation planning vital in helping countries weather change

Songdo, 27 Apr 2018 A guide to NAPs and why GCF is supporting this UN process to spark catalytic climate action

18-05-2018 08:27

ic.fsc: LOCAL MARKETS, GLOBAL SUCCESS, How FSC makes an economic impact across the world

FSC is a global not-for-profit organization that helps take care of the environment and boost the global economy by ensuring responsible management of close to 190 million hectares of the world’s forests.

18-05-2018 08:23

Revaluing Tropical Diversity

Why clear vast swathes of rainforest, with up to 75,000 tree species per kilometre, and replace it with a single species of oil palm? Why are custodians of a vast amount of cultural knowledge forced to live in poverty on the sidelines of society? The short answer is because there is a huge difference between the intrinsic value of the diversity of the tropics and its current economic value. Business destroys diversity when it does not value it. Government alone cannot hold stop the loss – we need to fight fire with fire as it were, and create innovative business models that change the incentives for tropical decision-makers. We need to create incomes from sustaining, and not destroying, tropical diversity.

18-05-2018 08:17

1843magazine: Bend it like bamboo Strong, bendy and abundant, bamboo is springing up in unexpected areas of design, architecture and technology

Ubiquitous in Asia in objects from chopsticks and bowls to scaffolding and screening, bamboo has often been disregarded as a material for large-scale architecture. But Vo Trong Nghia, who grew up in a forest village in northern Vietnam and knew how strong, light and tactile it could be, saw no sense in that. After training as an architect and founding his own firm, he began working with bamboo, figuring out how to bend and form it with heat, then lash lengths of it together into columns and pillars using rattan and bamboo nails. The result has been a series of cathedral-like structures like the Café Indochine (above) in Kontum in central Vietnam, which consists of a flat roof supported by prefabricated fans of dark bamboo whose curves create elegant, arched avenues.

18-05-2018 08:09

Ramsar: The Ramsar Convention enters into force for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

In January, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea deposited its instrument of accession to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, as amended in 1982 and 1987, with the Office of International Standards and Legal Affairs of UNESCO, the Depositary of the Convention. Effective 16 May 2018, the Convention enters into force for Ramsar’s 170th Contracting Party.

14-05-2018 11:27

GEF: Nations rally to protect global environment

April 25, 2018 Countries pledge US$4.1 billion to the Global Environment Facility. Close to 30 countries have jointly pledged US$4.1 billion to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to better protect the future of the planet and human well-being. With the health of the global environment worsening, the GEF has received strong support for its new four-year investment cycle, (known as GEF-7), to help safeguard the world’s forests, land, water, climate, and oceans, build green cities, protect threatened wildlife, and tackle new environmental threats like marine plastic pollution.

14-05-2018 11:23

GEF: In Rwanda, a sweet alternative to deforestation

The son of a beekeeper, Emmanuel Kajugujugu grew up learning how to harvest honey in the village of Rega, nestled in the hillside around the Gishwati forest in Rwanda’s northwest.