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17 November 2014 the Netherlands
Domestic and regional timber trade in developing countries is important for economic development. It offers a lot of employment and timber for (re)construction purposes. The supply of lumber to the domestic market in developing countries is very often informal because of an inadequate legal framework and unclear tenure arrangements. During a workshop organized by Tropenbos International in cooperation with CIFOR at the Forest Governance Forum in Cameroon (Yaounde, 22-24 October 2014) it was discussed how this trade can be effectively addressed within FLEGT VPAs.
04 November 2014 Suriname
A three-dimensional map of the upper Suriname River has been developed through participatory mapping by local communities of the Saramaccan ethnic group in Suriname. Children, women, men and elders worked together during 10 days to build the map that represents their territory in 34 aspects relevant for their orientation, livelihoods and culture.
29 October 2014 Colombia
From 29-31 October 2014 the National Campesino Cultures Meeting will take place in Curití (Santander). The meeting will provide an opportunity to express and debate the great variety of cultural expressions of farmers (campesinos) in Colombia and for the recognition of the knowledge and practices of rural communities around the country.
20 October 2014 Colombia
In recent years, Daniel Matapí became from a learner, a facilitator and a field guide to a teacher, a leader and a loyal friend. Thanks to his research and his delicate weaving of relationships among indigenous and “white people”, and among different ethnic groups, he will be remembered as an important person in the dialogue of knowledge, necessary for the indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon.
16 October 2014 Ghana
Artisanal milling has been introduced in Ghana as an alternative to illegal chainsaw milling that supplies more than 80% of the domestic timber market demand. Analysis of the economic feasibility of artisanal milling shows that legal timber production for the domestic market in Ghana cannot be profitable given the unfair competition of illegally produced timber.
08 October 2014 the Netherlands
Developments in sectors such as agriculture, mining, wood production, water management and fisheries largely shape the world’s current and future biodiversity, as they exert direct pressures on biodiversity. These sectors depend on biodiversity and ecosystems in various ways to provide food, fibre, wood, bio‐energy, fish and clean water for the world’s growing human population. The wood production sector is dependent on forest ecosystems and their goods and services. On the one hand it can be a major contributor to forest biodiversity loss, on the other it can help maintain high levels of biodiversity through responsible management of forest ecosystems. The demand for wood based products such as timber, wood fuel, pulp and paper will increase in the future. Therefore there is a clear need for options to reduce biodiversity loss while maintaining wood production. These are some of the challenges presented in the report “How Sectors Can Contribute to Sustainable Use and Conservation of Biodiversity” that served as scientific basis to the fourth Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-4) that was presented during the Twelfth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 12) in Pyeongchang, Korea.