An international conference entitled "Research priorities in tropical silviculture: towards new paradigms " is to be held in Montpellier from 15 to 18 November 2011. It is being organized by CIRAD (French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development), CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research), the public interest group (GIP) ECOFOR (forest ecosystems) and IUFRO (International Union of Forest Research Organizations).

More than 100 researchers or managers involved in tropical forestry, from 30 countries, are due to meet at Agropolis International and CIRAD, as part of the International Year of Forests, for the IUFRO Division 1 (silviculture) conference.

The conference is intended to take stock of more than 100 years of tropical silviculture, with a view to defining research priorities for the coming decades, taking account of the new issues that have arisen this century. Modern foresters can no longer be satisfied with merely managing the resources of timber and other products generated by forests, there is also a need to preserve the environmental services they render on every level. Silviculture, the science of forest cultivation, now has to take account of all the ecological, social and economic aspects of forest management.

Protecting the forest while making use of it

Tropical rainforests are the world's richest terrestrial ecosystems in terms of the number of species: there may be up to 300 tree species in a single hectare. Alongside this plant diversity, there is also human diversity: forestry firms, traditional communities and farmers, all of whom have different interests and perceptions of forests.

It is estimated that a billion people worldwide depend in one way or another on forests, either for their survival or for subsistence. Tropical silviculture, which used to be geared towards managing timber supplies within concessions managed by large firms, now needs to take account of these new players, who all claim a right to use forests while also preserving them. "Silviculture has to change if it is to guarantee the sustainability of a whole range of products and services, to benefit both these different players and the international community ", say scientists.

The new issues and research priorities will be spelled out and debated during the conference, against a backdrop of global warming and carbon markets, taking account of REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) and PES (Payment for Ecosystem Services).

Category: Coming up