4.05.05 - Social innovation and entrepreneurship
Call for Manuscripts: Innovation, Transition and Reconstruction of Forestry Oriented by Policies
Deadline for manuscript submissions extended to 11 October - see LinkedIn post!
Submissions are invited for a Special Issue in the journal Forests.
Forestry worldwide is at a crossroads due to the rapidly changing climate; energy, biodiversity, financial and food security crises; and socioeconomic and political uncertainties that deepen deforestation and forest degradation. Innovation, transition and reconstruction of forestry, oriented by policies at the local level and across scales, are necessary to respond to challenges and build green, healthy, prosperous and resilient futures. Global and national policies and actions to be taken are equally important, as they trigger sustainable governance, management and the use of forests by transforming economic, political and social/cultural relationships across places, countries, regions and continents. In the light of recent policy documents, this Special Issue is planned to address the following questions of high importance:
- How could forest policies foster sustainable governance of forests and what are the roles of diverse stakeholders (e.g., businesses, NGOs, local communities, and international organisations) in putting multifunctional forestry (in different spatial and temporary settings/contexts) on sustainable paths?
- How could bottom-up and top-down approaches in forestry (and their combinations) change “the rules and play of the game” (and promote a sustainable forest bioeconomy, the involvement of businesses in the financing of forest restoration/afforestation projects, the creation of green jobs and improving the well-being of forest-dependent communities and a wider society, etc.)?
- How can the valuation of forest natural assets and ecosystem services help finance nature-based solutions, help resolve conflicts, and prevent and alleviate forest losses that inflict costs on society?
Guest editors: Prof. Dr. Maria Nijnik, Dr. Mariana Melnykovych
Details: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/forests/special_issues/CF003M0137
Book of Extended Abstracts published
Managerial forest economics and accounting as a base for decision making in a changing world
Hamburg, Germany, 5-7 September 2022
In order to face the challenges of a changing world, forest owners, scientists, administrational staff and politicians on all levels must make informed choices on future forest management activities. Managerial economics and accounting are important analytical instruments for identifying and evaluating forest management action alternatives and to support knowledge-building and decision-making. Indeed, the interest for the evaluation of forest management options and forest functions strongly increased in the past decades. Against this background, the organizers of this Symposium aim to foster the scientific exchange on recent developments, research and best practices from managerial economics and accounting on regional, national and international level as a base for decision making in a changing world.
Book of Abstracts: https://www.iufro.org/fileadmin/material/publications/proceedings-archive/40500-and-working-parties-hamburg22-abstracts.pdf
Managerial, Social and Environmental Aspects of the Forest-based Sector for Sustainable Development: 40th Anniversary Conference for 4.05.00
Virtual conference hosted from Brno, Czech Republic; 4-6 October 2021
Newly published: Book of Abstracts - Welcome message by IUFRO President Dr. John Parrotta
IUFRO Units involved: 4.05.00, 4.05.01, 4.05.02, 4.05.03, 4.05.04, 4.05.05.
The forestry sector is significantly affected by environmental change and other recent challenges. A continuous string of natural disasters increase pressure on forest management scenarios, timber and non-wood forest products trading and pricing, sale policies, labour productivity, and demand and supply responses. These challenges considerably influence the whole value chain. Forest management, timber and non-timber production, and wood markets are confronted with increasing pressure for enhanced managerial skills, planning, logistics, communication, marketing and analysis. The overproduction and related overall deficient demand for wood products also influence the forest-based sector. A shortage of skilled labour to manage the calamitous situation efficiently is significantly affecting the forest-based sector. In some parts of the world, the challenges and need for transformation in the forestry become even more deeply rooted due to current pandemic, which also notably decreases public interest in forest-related issues. It is the duty of the forestry professional and scientific community at the national, European, and global levels to analyse the situation and address forestry challenges and to propose steps to stabilise the forest-based and wood sectors.
Details at: https://iufro2021.ldf.mendelu.cz/
The Social and Ecological Value Added of Small-Scale Forestry to the Bio-Economy
Bolzano, Italy / virtual; 6-9 October 2020.
Newly published: Report - Pictures - Book of Abstracts
IUFRO Units involved: 4.05.00, 4.05.01, 4.05.02, 4.05.03, 4.05.04, 4.05.05, Task Force on Unlocking the Bioeconomy and Non-Timber Forest Products.
The bioeconomy "encompasses the production of renewable biological resources and their conversion into food, feed, bio-based products and bioenergy" (EC, 2012). It includes forestry and wood production, with the related biotechnological, chemical and energy industries, but also the provision of other ecosystem services that can support sustainable economic growth. During the IUFRO Conference, we thus want to put our focus on interpreting and promoting the impact of forest bio-economy on the development of quality product markets and nature-based services and the concepts behind them: social innovation, product diversification, multifunctionality and the value added network of vertically and horizontally integrated economic stakeholders.
Details at: https://www.iufro2020.eurac.edu/
Hot off the press: Social innovation to increase the well-being of forest-dependent communities and promote sustainability in remote rural areas
Social innovation to increase the well-being of forest-dependent communities and promote sustainability in remote rural areas. Special Issue of Forest Policy and Economics. May 2019. Maria Nijnik, Laura Secco, David Miller, Mariana Melnykovych (eds.)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/forest-policy-and-economics/special-issue/10H9J184QXV
The research papers of the Issue on ResearchGate - https://www.researchgate.net/project/Special-Issue-of-Forest-Policy-and-Economics-on-Social-Innovation-in-forest-dependent-communities