1. Biofuel  ...... USA

2. Use of social media in forestry ..... USA

3. Wetlands ..... global

4. Biodiversity conservation and Payment for Ecosystem Services ..... global

5. Carbon sequestration ...... global

6. Ecosystem services ....... global

Dear Robert Istvan, although my English has not yet been perfected, I can point out to you some of the trend that has been happening with Brazilian forestry and which may be an example for other developing countries. The way to accurately identify these trends, the referral and equalization of possible difficulties is another issue. The following suggestions are, without prioritization, presented for reflection:

1- Changes of managers - there will be big negotiations of forest assets, passing the management of the forests of production of the current consumers to groups of national or international investors;

2- New technologies - new wave in forest technology to increase production and reduce costs in forest formation;

3 - Increase in the level of mechanization - adaptations of the operational procedures to increase the level of mechanization and to rely less and less on labor, increasingly scarce in the various forest poles;

4- Institutional values without the weight of large companies - progressive decrease of the direct participation of the large wood consuming companies in the institutional direction of the productive sector;

5 - Technological exclusivity - investments in scientific research and exclusivity of the generated knowledge;

6- Valorization of the social and environmental - greater appreciation of social and environmental aspects to respond to the pressures of the end of the production chain (paper, steel, furniture, etc);

7- Multiple use forests - management of forests for multiple use of wood in order to add greater value to forest assets;

8- Changes in the provision of services - specialization and professionalization of outsourcing;

9- New players in forestry development - forestry development and partnerships through forest producers and managers, allowing current consumers the simplistic position of buyers of wood;

10-Increasing appreciation of forests and timber - new uses and increasing appreciation of planted forest products.

See link: http://www.painelflorestal.com.br/arquivo/a-silvicultura-brasileira-nos-proximos-anos-4010d3c825c0671b0a7f9375b7a73f95

Maybe you can get some ideas from these papers by Errol Meidinger

• Law Making by Global Civil Society: the Forest Certification Prototype∗
• Multi-Interest Self-Governance through Global Product Certification Programs 

The third file attached is called "Bottom-Up Lawmaking: The Private Origins of Transnational Law" by Janet Koven Levit 

Robert -

some current research we are supporting is focused on helping us understand the real impacts hydrological manipulations across the landscape have had and are having on residual forest resources that are fragmented within an agricultural landscape and/or serving as filters for urban landscapes.  Species changes and adaptations to these manipulations affect wildlife species associated and/or dependent upon these forest resources.

Changes in timber product markets impact rotation lengths in primary timber species, but can be beneficial to maintaining manageability of many mixed and hardwood forest resources by opening markets for use of less desirable timber species.  Valuation of forest resources is a primary factor in maintaining forest structure across the landscape, as when there is value to the landowner, then the forest is relevant and worth managing.  This is beginning to come into play as values are derived from ecosystem services provided through appropriate forest management.  Carbon sequestration has been the lead payer in this role, but one must realize the benefits to erosion and watershed protection efforts undertaken by forest landowners to fully realize other services that are truly worthy of compensation.  Additional benefits of habitat provisions for wildlife species are measurable when endangered or threatened species are involved, but many other wildlife benefits are derived from sound forest management, yet thus far are intangible to society as a whole.

1. Biofuel  ...... USA

2. Use of social media in forestry ..... USA

3. Wetlands ..... global

4. Biodiversity conservation and Payment for Ecosystem Services ..... global

5. Carbon sequestration ...... global

6. Ecosystem services ....... global

Forest products exports such as for bioenergy (pellets, etc.), building educational and training capacity to raise awareness and develop strategies that address climate change, and import substitution - these would be three that I feel need addressing.

Robert - please see top 20 questions on forestry and landscapes below...

https://www.cifor.org/corporate-news/results-top-20-questions-forestry-landscapes/

The top twenty questions

Here is the list of twenty priority questions derived from the process (where 1 is highest ranked):

How can degraded ecosystems be restored to meet the objectives of biodiversity conservation, ecosystem function, ecosystem resilience, and sustainability of rural livelihoods?

In the context of high human density and scarcity of farming land, how can we address the question of sustainable management of tropical forests? [Dans un contexte de forte densité humaine et de rareté des terres arables, comment peut-on aborder la question de gestion durable des forêts tropicales?]

How can we integrate sustainability into trade regulation and law?

How can we develop models of forest restoration that are economically feasible?

Can we develop practical tools that allow land-planning and forest management to be better tailored to the needs, culture and perceptions of different communities and locations?

What are the implications for biodiversity and the environment of using afforestation as a mean of carbon mitigation?

How do we make sure that the needs of indigenous people who rely on intact forest systems are being met while also providing wood products for economic growth?

How is it possible to develop a sustainable mechanism for payments for ecosystem services?

What are the institutional arrangements that might enable smallholders within a landscape to jointly market the ecosystems services provided by reforestation of some of their land?

How can we improve agriculture to reduce the pressure in forested areas?

How can we best select species that simultaneously provide ecological and economic benefits?

What are the best means to ensure that forest/landscape restoration projects add value to the landscape in terms of connectivity between populations and habitats, facilitating gene flow, species migration, as well as complementarity of land-uses and livelihoods of local people?

How can local knowledge, wisdom and experiences (e.g. on tree species, NTFPs [non-timber forest products]) be effectively combined with national and subnational forest assessment, monitoring and management efforts?

How can we guarantee effective protection and conservation of environmental services in a world increasingly in need of raw materials at low cost? [¿De que manera puede garantizarse la protección y conservación efectiva de los servicios ambientales en un mundo cada vez más tensionado por la necesidad de materias primas a bajo coste?]

Adaptation to climate change means answering to trends in future climate and also to increasing risks. These two aspects are often studied separately when they should be combined. How to combine them?

Can we really use ecosystem service values as a method to value a whole landscape?

How can inclusive forest and landscape management be enhanced for the resource-poor?

How can farmers get money from biodiversity conservation?

How can we maintain, restore and shape water-friendly landscapes, including forests and trees, while addressing partly-conflicting land use and water needs of all stakeholders of a landscape?

How can we ensure that forests are for the benefit of local economies and forests are not grabbed for the benefit of some foreign company?

Hi,

A lot of interest lately, on this topic and a lot of exhaustive answers

(a somehow related question at: https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_are_new_areas_of_research_in_field_of_Silviculture:

I guess there are some new trends, and not applicable only to Romania:

Adding alternative value to forests - focusing on NTFPs and especially on ecosystem services

The ecological perspective - carbon sequestration forestry, ecosystem conservation, climate change projections, models and scenarios (always trendy)

Responsible management  and (Re-) Integrating forest in our modern social framework - new social-economic paradigm on forest management, city/urban forests, agroforestry, managing mixt landscapes

And saving the best for last:

Smart Forestry - integrating new technologies in forest management (e.g. GIS, LIDAR, RFID, assessing forest resources by new technologies, wood control by GPS and smart techs, forensic timber identification etc)

The new mega trend in northern Europe incl. Sweden: Continuous-cover forestry.

The new mega trend in Sweden: taking into consideration social values during forest planning (aka "adding a third value beyond the two normal ones, Economic and Environmental).

The dominating focus during Forest Operations (aka Forest Technology) in FennoScandia: Leave No Trace (= reducing ground damages due to shorter and shorter winters).

Other Forest Operations topics in FennoScandia: Steep slope harvesting in Norway; Using harvester & remote sensing data throughout the wood supply/silviculture chain (Finland/Sweden); mechanizing silvicultural ops (in Finland).

In south east Asia we focus on peatland especially fire.

We have several discussion in Singapore how to achieve sustainable agriculture in peatland base on landscape approach.

Here our article and discussion

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12256/epdf

http://www.siiaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/SWR-2017-Highlights.pdf

global-roadmap.org/infra-ap-2017

Ecosystem services.

I would also like to add some more:

- Forested landscape, interaction of stakeholders in the landscape

- PES, and market based oriented in PES in developing countries

- REDD+ and politic will in developing countries

AS lready mention a long list but to add few with context to developing countries like India.

1.Participatory forestry for forest conservation and utilisation, livelihods;

2. PPP mode in forest mangemnt and Utilisation in unclassed forests or village forests

3. Industrial agroforestry

4. Balancing act of forests resources for human and wildlife

1. Effect of climate change on forest biodiversity including micro-habitats. 2. Ecological interactions within the forest cover with a view of niche determination.

3. Human impact on forest resources and conservation

forest governance and climate change

Forest Adaptation to Climate Change

Precision silviculture , ecological thinning, Carbon sequestration

and Role of forests or trees in climate change mitigation and adaptation

Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES)

very interesting topics. thanks

Ecosystem services, carbon credit, climate, forest and livelihood, forest certification, quality seed

Remote sensing and GIS, biodiversity study, Forest certification, productivity, tree crop interactions study in case of Agroforestry etc.

dendroclimatological studies, Forest valuation, Forest ecosystem management, Forestry extension and ecotourism

Forests Hydrology, Forests role in hydrological cycle

Forest adaptation to climate change