How innovation is driving change in forestry

21 March 2024. How innovation is driving change in forestry  by FAO

Full details available here: Programme | Webcast

Innovation and technology are revolutionizing the way we protect and use forests as the world faces unprecedented challenges threatening human well-being and nature. New solutions are transforming forestry, allowing more accurate mapping and monitoring, empowering Indigenous Peoples to be the guardians of forests, promoting ecosystem restoration and driving the development of more sustainable wood and forest products.

Innovation and technology have transformed countries’ ability to monitor and report on their forests 

Keynote speaker: Marieke Sandker, FAO Forestry Officer
Moderator: Till Neeff, FAO Forestry Officer 

Panelists

• Marieke Sandker, FAO Forestry Officer
• Roselyn Adjei, Forestry Commission of Ghana
• Fiona Stringer, International Forests Unit, United Kingdom
• Daniel Irwin, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-SERVIR
• Ellen Bruzelius Backer, Norway International Climate and Forest Initiative
• Luisa Teixeira, Planet 

Innovation is advancing ecosystem restoration as a powerful nature-based solution to multiple global challenges

Keynote speaker: Tom Crowther, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)
Moderator: Khalil Walji, The Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF)

Panelists

• Tom Crowther, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)
• Yelena Finegold, FAO Forestry Officer       
• Chetan Kumar, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)       
• Adrien Leitoro, Nature and People as One       
• Fabiola Zerbini, Brazilian National Secretariat for Biodiversity, Forests and Animal Rights

Technological innovations can empower Indigenous Peoples through mapping and securing customary land 

Keynote speaker: Ramesh Sharma, Ekta Parishad
Moderator: Eva Hershaw, International Land Coalition (ILC/IFAD)

Panelists

• Ramesh Sharma, Ekta Parishad
• Tania Eulalia Martinez Cruz, Land is Life
• Jessica Webb, World Resources Institute
• Maria Paula Rizzo, FAO Land Tenure and Indigenous Peoples Specialist

New technological innovations are needed to halt deforestation and forest degradation

Keynote speaker: René Colditz, Joint Research Centre, European Commission – EU Observatory on Deforestation and Forest Degradation
Moderator: Laura Vary, World Resources Institute

Panelists

• Elke Sümnick-Matthaei, SAFE
• Roselyn Adjei, Forestry Commission of Ghana
• Nicholas Clinton, Google
• Michaela Foster, European Forest Institute
• Mikaela Weisse, World Resources Institute
• Rémi d’Annunzio, FAO Forestry Officer