ThinkForest webinar: Sustainable Finance, Forests & Biodiversity

You are warmly welcome to our next ThinkForest webinar, which explores the issue of sustainable finance, forests and biodiversity.

Biodiversity is heavily threatened both in Europe and globally. Immediate action to stop further loss and to maintain and enhance biodiversity, especially in forests is needed. Public finance plays an important role, but privately financed activities are becoming more and more important.

The European Union addresses the challenges above in its Green Deal which aims to reverse biodiversity loss coupled with bioeconomy development, and by having economic growth decoupled from resource use. Accordingly, sustainable finance should aim to channel more investments towards this transition. The EU Taxonomy aims to create a common way to classify sustainable economic activities for investors. To be considered environmentally sustainable, economic activities and investments must meet certain minimum requirements and adhere to screening criteria that are defined by delegated acts from the European Commission. However, biodiversity-related criteria/indicators for forests are not defined yet.

Our ThinkForest event asks:

  • How can we define criteria and indicators for biodiversity maintenance as well as improvement for forest ecosystems?
  • How can we make sure and monitor that these biodiversity-related criteria and indicators are met (e.g. in forest restoration)?
  • How can private finance support biodiversity protection and enhancement and make it their business case?

Speakers include Professor Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Wageningen University and Research

Full programme and speakers:

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Bonn Climate Change Conference SB60

The dates for the 60th sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies in 2024 are 3-13 June 2024. The conference will take place at the World Conference Center Bonn. More information will be available soon.

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Mangrove Photography Awards 2023

About the Awards

The Mangrove Photography Awards celebrates the beauty, diversity and fragility of our mangrove forests around the world.

We invite photographers of all levels and disciplines to submit their best mangrove images to be judged by a panel of internationally acclaimed photographers. Now in its ninth year, Mangrove Photography Awards offers everyone the opportunity to raise their voices for the protection of one of our most critical and undervalued ecosystems. Your photos can illustrate the importance and diversity of life in our coastal forests and help inspire action to protect and conserve our mangrove ecosystems.

More Information

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EFI Young Leadership Programme – Mediterranean 2023

The European Forest Institute’s Young Leadership Programme, Mediterranean 2023 (YLPMED 2023), organised in partnership with the Union for the Mediterranean, will provide an in-depth understanding of the complex interplay between land abandonment, Mediterranean forests, and cultural landscapes.

The programme will offer an overview of the key drivers and impacts of land abandonment on Mediterranean forest and cultural landscapes and explore the potential opportunities for sustainable entrepreneurship and biodiversity conservation. Participants will learn about the role of traditional ecological knowledge and the potential for innovation and entrepreneurship in promoting sustainable land use practices. The programme will also examine the relationship between fire risk in the Mediterranean region and discuss the role of forest management practices in mitigating the risk of wildfires.

EFI’s Young Leadership Programme was established in 2014 and the first Mediterranean edition took place in 2018. Watch this video to discover why participants were eager to join the 2020 edition!

More information

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What Does A Global Goal on Adaptation Mean For Africa?

Registration: For English register here. For French register here.

This webinar aims to enhance knowledge and understanding of the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), offering participants the opportunity to gain insights into the Glasgow-Sharm el-Sheikh Work Programme on the GGA, discuss regional priorities for adaptation, and explore the opportunities presented by the GGA. Additionally, you will have the chance to hear perspectives from civil society, youth groups, governments, development banks, and the private sector on local, national, and regional resources, frameworks, and indicators, which will help better incorporate African perspectives into the development of a global adaptation framework.

There will be a limited number of participants, so make sure to book your place in advance!

For more information, contact Oscar.Ivanova@un.org

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Hybrid event: Bringing Sustainability to the campus, global perspectives

As part of the second Symposium on Teaching & Curriculum Development in Sustainability Entrepreneurship, UNEP is hosting an online event to hear from global academic practitioners on how to integrate sustainability into programme designs and inspire eco-entrepreneurs and new business model innovators of tomorrow. Speakers will address their experience and strategy for integrating sustainability; what has been effective and where challenges remain.

Panelists will include:

  • Dr. Diana Trujillo, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia
  • Majid Mirza, University of Waterloo, Canada
  • Dr. Booyuel Kim, Seoul National University, Korea
  • Dr. Dan LeClair, Global Business School Network, USA

The online event explores:

  • How do we introduce sustainability into entrepreneurship?
  • What are the key challenges faced? What is working?
  • How can we amplify effective integration of sustainability in (the private sector and) business schools?
  • What tools do students need? Are they available and/or do they need to be developed?

 

Register here

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TRED conference 2023: Co-creating space for collaborative research and learning to inspire, interact and integrate

We are happy to announce this first TRED conference that will take place on June 12-14th, 2023 in Wageningen (the 12th is online).

In this interactive conference, we will not just discuss inter- and transdisciplinarity, we will also dig deeper into the fundamentals of inter- and transdisciplinary science, create a safe space for dialogue, make time for hands-on explorations of different approaches, and experiment with transdisciplinary processes through mini-hackathons.

Background

Climate change, the transition to a circular economy, and issues concerning human health, are examples of challenges we need to address in our society these days. These issues are both urgent and complex and require the integration of different (scientific) knowledge. However, for many challenges, scientific perspectives alone are not enough. Societal knowledge is needed to understand and define problems, identify alternatives, evaluate strategies, and design and implement processes.

But when, how, with whom, and even why we should integrate knowledge are not always clear. Moreover, although transdisciplinarity requires (new forms of) collaboration, many researchers and societal members feel alone in their endeavours.

The Transdisciplinary Research, Education and Dialogue initiative (TRED) seeks to further transdisciplinary science through creating a safe space for dialogue, unpacking theories, practices and essentials of knowledge integrations.

We look forward to co-creating space for collaborative research and learning with you.

Venue and travel information

The Dialogue Centre of Wageningen University & Research, Omnia, is the perfect venue for scientists, students, society and partners to meet. Here, there is room for a good conversation and the sharing of ideas in a relaxed atmosphere.

Registration

You can register for the conference here.
The registration deadline is 2 June 2023.

Learn more

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Integrated Land Use Systems (ILUS) Course

The Chair for Silviculture accepts applications from external participants for its integrated land use course.

Integrated Land Use Systems (Summer School, 26 June -14 July 2023, hybrid course):

The rapidly growing world population and changing consumption patterns are placing increasing pressure on agricultural and forestry production systems. However, the classic intensification approach to increase yield of food and biomass by genetic standardization, mechanization and application of pesticides and fertilizer, has led to ambivalent results. In many places, negative environmental and social consequences have been observed such as soil degradation, eutrophication, decline in fresh water resources, loss of biodiversity, as well as land-use conflicts, loss of employment, and rural-urban migration.

Integrated Land Use Systems (ILUS), which combine different types of land uses and integrate several management goals, are gaining attention. It is assumed that ILUS compared to classic production systems provide a higher level of ecosystem goods and services, are less vulnerable to the risks of global change and market volatilities, and are better suited to the livelihood strategies of rural populations. However, despite these promises, in practice, ILUS still play an only minor role in most agricultural landscapes. Against this backdrop, this module intends to carefully reflect about the economic, social and environmental features of important ILUS and possibilities for broader diffusion.

Course aim:

One goal is to familiarize participants with important ILUS (e.g., agroforestry systems) by gaining up to date expert knowledge. The second major goal is to train competencies in the analysis of ecological, social and economic foundations and effects of ILUS. The participants will be organized into small working groups to conduct in-depth analyses on selected ILUS issues, taking into account different geographical regions, socioeconomic settings and production objectives.

To prepare the groups for this task, experts introduce into key aspects of ILUS from technical, environmental and economic perspectives, and present relevant insights from South-America, Africa, Asia and Europe. Furthermore, excursions to the surroundings of Freiburg will provide practical insights about the relevance, potentials and challenges related to the application of ILUS. Based on this input, the participants will gradually develop their group work, which will be presented and discussed at the end of of the module.

After completing the course students are able to

  • describe and classify different types of ILUS,
  • explain the history of ILUS and particularly their recent emergence as possible and more sustainable alternatives to commercial tree and crop monocultures,
  • analyse the performance and potential of ILUS with respect to environmental, economic and sociocultural considerations,
  • relate ILUS to specific issues and processes including contribution to food security, economic growth, watershed protection and biodiversity conservation, and
  • critically reflect about the implications of ILUS in sustainable land use and rural livelihoods.

Target Group:

The module is designed for international graduate students,consultants and land use professionals,  as well as for young scientists working in the field of forest, agricultural, and environmental sciences, geography, rural development, land use planning, landscape ecology and other related fields of natural resource management. The programme is open for applications from all countries.

Further information:

Scientific Coordinators Prof. Dr. Dietrich Schmidt-Vogt, Dr. Sabine Reinecke
Type Continuing Education Course
Organizer Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, Chair of Silviculture in cooperation with external experts
This course will be useful for Graduates of forestry and land use programmes, researchers and PhD students, consultants and land use professionals
Prerequisites for participation University degree related to agriculture or forestry (minimum 30 ECTS in specific modules), a minimum of two years working experience in a related sector, excellent English language skills
Format Three week full time seminar (Monday to Friday 9am-5pm), hybrid (i.e. presence in Freiburg expected from 03-11 July, with excursions)
Dates 26 June – 14 July 2023
Certificate Participants of the course will receive a Qualified Participation Certificate
Credit points 5 CP according to the ECTS (if the voluntary oral exam is passed)
Location Tennenbacher Straße 4

Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

Application Deadline 25 May 2023 (first come first served if eligible)
Course Fee 450 Euro for hybrid option with excursions and lunch (an invoice will be sent after acceptance of the application), excluding costs for accommodation, food and travel
Scholarships There are no scholarships available for the course and no logistical support for travel or accommodation. Interested participants are requested to look for their own sources of funding.

Freiburg:

  • Freiburg, “the green city” is a traditional but at the same time also a very young and dynamic university city. It is located close to the black forest, France and Switzerland and is considered to be one of the most attractive cities in Germany – especially in summer.
  • Many sustainability initiatives originated in Freiburg, and it is one of the European centres of renewable energy development and sustainability research.
  • The Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg was founded in 1457 and is one of the oldest universities in Germany. Students can choose from over 150 programmes at 11 faculties. At present, 25,000 students are enrolled.

More information and application:

Download the application form here.

Download our flyer here.

The class of 2019 has compiled a joint report on the lessons learned in the course on Integrated Land Use Systems that can be downloaded here (PDF).

Contact:

Universität Freiburg

Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources

Chair of Silviculture

Dr. Sabine Reinecke

Tennenbacherstr. 4, 79106 Freiburg

ilus@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de

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4th International Conference on Global Food Security

The 4th International Conference on Global Food Security addresses the topic of food security at all spatial levels from local to global, and from an interdisciplinary and systemic food systems perspective. It aims to better understand environmental, nutritional, agricultural, demographic, socio-economic, political, technological and institutional drivers, costs and outcomes of current and future food security. Interactions with contextual factors including climate change, urbanisation, greening the economy and data-driven technologies will be central.

The conference addresses the triple burden of malnutrition: hunger, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity. It explores the state-of-the-art of interdisciplinary insight, addresses the trade-offs that occur – and synergies that can be sought –in transforming food systems. These are aimed at reconciling the competing environmental, economic or social objectives and outcomes towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals at different levels across spatial and temporal scales.

Learn more

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