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What we do
We are reminded on a daily basis that the natural environment in which we live is vitally important for our well-being, whether it is in the form of climate change, global warming, declining fertility or dwindling natural resources.
Sustainable forest management plays a central role in our future, which in turn requires the training and development of forestry professionals. That's where the CFA comes in. We work in all corners of the Commonwealth and beyond to promote the wise management of trees and forests, and we do this in five main ways.
First, we publish world-class science in our peer-reviewed forestry journal, the International Forestry Review, and the latest global forestry news and views in the CFA Newsletter.
Second, we facilitate networking of professional members and organisations and exchange of knowledge via our quarterly newsletter, website, Facebook page and Twitter feed.
Third, we encourage professional excellence and promote career development using a range of awards, such as the Queen’s Award for Forestry, the Young Forester Award and the Young Scientist Research Award.
Fourth, we carry out a range of specific projects in the field that have been identified by our membership.
And fifth, we promote capacity building by helping to organise training courses, workshops, and conferences.
We are also the home to the secretariat for the Standing Committee on Commonwealth Forests, which is comprised of representatives of all of the forest departments from throughout the Commonwealth. The committee provides a unified voice on forestry matters to governments and international meetings and organises the Commonwealth Forestry Conference, an event which takes place every four years.
Members:
Resources
Displaying 6 - 10 of 20Multidimensional Statistical Framework to Explore Seasonal Profile, Severity and Land-Use Preferences of Wildfires in a Mediterranean Country
SUMMARYThis study analyses spatio-temporal patterns of wildfires in Greece using a multidimensional statistical framework based on non-parametric correlations, principal component analysis, clustering and stepwise discriminant analysis. Specifically, we assess the frequency, seasonal profile, severity and land-use type of 135 178 wildfires which occurred between 2000–2012 in Greece, one of the countries most affected by fire in Europe.
Self-Identification of Indigenous People in Post-Independence Indonesia: A Historical Analysis in the Context of REDD+
SUMMARYThe reform era around the turn of the century in Indonesia has been followed by a revitalization of local claims to political authority and natural resources on the basis of adat and indigeneity. In May of 2013, the Constitutional Court acknowledged indigenous ownership of forest territories and declassified them from State-owned forest zones without further conceptualizing the notion of indigeneity and its relation to land tenure and territorial conflicts.
Does Forest Expansion Mitigate the Risk of Desertification? Exploring Soil Degradation and Land-Use Changes in a Mediterranean Country
SUMMARY The present study evaluates the vulnerability to soil degradation of four land-use classes (urban areas, cropland, forests and non-forest natural land) during 1960–2010 using the Environmental Sensitive Area Index (ESAI) to verify if forests mitigate the increase of desertification risk in Italy. Results indicate that forests was the class with the lowest level of vulnerability during the whole investigated period and with the growth rate (1960–2010) in the ESAI always below the one observed on a landscape scale.
Forestry and Forest Products Industries in Zambia and the Role of REDD+ Initiatives
SUMMARYZambia has one of the largest forest resources in southern Africa with almost 66% of its land mass under forest cover. However, indiscriminate harvesting of valuable timber resources for commodity-type products such as sawn-timber, charcoal and fuel-wood are the main drivers of forest depletion. Challenges related to customary-lands, land-tenure, lack of information about forest resources as well as the weak institutions is contributing factors that have accelerated to steady reduction of forest cover in the country.
Do Current Forest Carbon Standards Include Adequate Requirements to Ensure Indigenous Peoples' Rights in REDD Projects?
SUMMARYAlthough REDD projects can generate benefits for forest communities, they can also create negative social impacts, undermining the rights of indigenous peoples (IP). There is a need to analyze whether current forest carbon standards include adequate requirements to ensure IP's rights in REDD projects. This paper summaries the negative social impacts that REDD projects can cause in forest indigenous communities and establishes an evaluation framework of policies and measures needed to avoid or mitigate those impacts.