Joint IUFRO-IFSA Task Force on Forest Education

Coordinators:Deputy Coordinators:
Sandra Rodríguez-Pineros, MexicoPatrick D. Culbert, Canada
Pipiet Larasatie, United States
Rene Zamora-Cristales, United States               
Annie Biju, IndiaCasey Iwamoto, Germany
Helena Nováčková, Czech Republic

Motivation

In recent years, changes in the forest-based sector, combined with evolving demands from society, have led to new trends in forest education globally. Those developments are reflected in the labour market as well as in the expectations of students for a greater diversity of experiences and skills. In addition, institutional environments for research and education have changed.

Programmes educating about forest and wood as a resource are inherently changed towards multidisciplinary programs. Real life solutions for problems like climate change call for holistic and cross-sectoral approaches. Universities curricula need to meet diverse higher demands, and new ways to approach these tasks have to be found.

Forest education has been insufficiently addressed in existing international efforts so far. The collaborative effort between IUFRO and IFSA will provide information in this field of research. This will not only strengthen the education on forests and practices, but also highlights ways to make the sector attractive for young people again.


Targets, Goals and Objectives

  • Promoting and facilitating research and innovation around forest education
  • Fostering international networking on forest education especially using modern online communication and social media applications
  • Providing capacity building opportunities for students and young scientists in both generic and specific skills, in person and online