Farm Forestry New ZealandJanuary, 2011
International Year of Forests
Advent of 2011 sees the International Year of Biodiversity succeeded by the International Year of Forests. The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 as the Year of Forests to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests. Background information on the website www.un.org/en/events/iyof2011 includes:
- forests cover 31% of total land area;
- the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people depend on forests;
- 300 million people live in forests;
- forests are home to 80% of terrestrial biodiversity.
Internationally the year will formally be launched at the Ninth Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests in New York, 24 January to 4 February, but in fact related events have been in progress since October 2010. In New Zealand, a calendar of events is being coordinated by a IYF Coordinating Committee consisting of:
- Daniel Miles, Wood Processors' Association of NZ, Ph: 04 473 9220, e-mail daniel@wpa.org.nz;
- Glen Mackie, Senior Policy Analyst, NZ Forest Owners Association, Mobile 0274 450116, e-mail glen.mackie@nzfoa.org.nz;
- Andrew McEwen, President, NZ Institute of Forestry, Ph 04 476 6163, e-mail: president@nzif.org.nz;
- Avinash Shrivastava, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ph 04 894 0709, e-mail avinash.shrivastava@maf.govt.nz.
Other organisations are welcome to contribute their events - contact one of the committee.
Events confirmed include the combined New Zealand and Australian Institutes of Forestry conference at Sky City in Auckland, 2-5 May (see www.anzifconference.co.nz), and a major "Winning With Wood" forestry expo in Rotorua, 5-7 September (see www.FI2011.co.nz).
In April an innovative energy efficient house will be displayed on the Wellington waterfront before disassembly and shipment to compete in the "Solar Decathlon" in Washington DC in USA.
The NZ Farm Forestry Association (NZFFA) will hold its annual conference in Masterton, 10-14 April.
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