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- ItemDevelopments in precision forestry since 2006 : proceedings of the International Precision Forestry Symposium, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, 1-3 March 2010(Department of Forest and Wood Science, 2010) Ackerman, P. A.; Ham, H.; Lu, C.; International Precision Forestry Symposium (2010 : Stellenbosch, South Africa)These proceedings represent scientific contributions to this Precision Forestry Symposium titled “Developments in Precision Forestry since 2006” held in Stellenbosch, South Africa, from 1 to 3 March 2010. The symposium was jointly organized by the Department of Forest and Wood Science, Stellenbosch University (the host) and the Chair for Forest Work Science and Applied Informatics, Technische Universität München (TUM). The objective of this symposium is to provide details of research results and promote communication and information sharing on precision applications in forest operations. This symposium is the culmination of a number of events and initiatives, not only in South Africa, but also in Europe and North America. The initial idea of presenting the First South African Precision Forest Symposium in 2003 and the formation of the Precision Land-use and Management working group were initiated by events at Washington State’s Precision Forestry Cooperative’s initiative and their presentation of the First international Precision Forestry Cooperative Symposium in 2001. In addition, precision developments in Africa made researchers at Stellenbosch take note of the enormous potential which precision based forest operations offer the forest industry. These events and initiatives led to a close relationship between Stellenbosch University and TUM in the presentation of both symposia and extensive collaborative research activities. Without this partnership much of what has happened over the past few years would not have been possible. I would like to thank all those who were involved in the organization of this symposium for their significant contributions to the success of this event. We are also indebted to the authors of the extended abstracts included in this volume as well as attending delegates. I would also like to thank our sponsors; Southern Mapping Company, Stihl, Husqvarna, FAO, MTO and Optron Geometrics for their generous financial contributions to this event. Lastly my appreciation to the members of the Department of Forest and Wood Science – Hannel Ham, Poppie Gordon, Cynthia Lu, Anton Kunneke, and Martin Ziesak for their organizational work in the background. These proceedings are reproductions of extended abstracts submitted to the symposium with editing to achieve consistent format. No attempt was made to review or verify results, although the abstracts were reviewed for suitability by members of the symposium scientific review committee as set below.
- ItemIncreasing the rural livelihood benefits from natural plant froduct ventures in Southern Africa : case studies and business models(CPWild, 2010-10) Ham, Cori; Diederichs, Nicci; Jacobson, Michael; Falcao, Mario; Howard, Mike; Mander, Myles; Manjoro, Alfandika; Dube, TeddyNatural plant processing enterprises provide an opportunity for rural development in southern Africa. Rural people can assist such enterprises in raw material procurement, processing activities and also as business partners. These enterprises serve as a link between the rural poor and affluent consumers looking for new and exciting natural products. Natural product enterprises function in a complex business environment and often fail due to various reasons such as poor management and marketing. This project investigated seven natural product enterprises as case studies between 2007 and 2008. The information gathered during the study was used to understand the complexities of the natural product business environment better. From the study it was possible to develop a southern African natural products enterprise model, as well as advise on the management of such enterprises. Some of the aspects highlighted in this study are: The very important role of a strong entrepreneur in making business work; the importance of flexible supply and demand relationships between natural product enterprises and communities; the role of product certification in accessing niche product markets and the need for training related to management and marketing of such enterprises.
- ItemInnovation in Forest Engineering : Adapting to Structural Change : official proceedings (Extended Abstracts) of the 4th Forest Engineering Conference held at White River, South Africa April 5-7, 2011(Department of Forest and Wood Science, 2011) Ackerman, Pierre; Ham, Hannel; Gleasure, Elizabeth; Forest Engineering Conference (4th : 2011 : White River, South Africa)This proceeding represent scientific contributions to the Fourth Forest Engineering Conference, titled “Innovation in Forest Engineering – Adapting to Structural Change” presented in White River, South Africa, from the 5th to the 7th of April 2011. The Conference was jointly hosted by the Stellenbosch University’s Department of Forest and Wood Science and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO). The Forest Engineering Conference (FEC), an international event held every four years, is a forum for forest engineers from around the world to share their research, knowledge, experience, and emerging ideas with the forestry community. The stewardship of the FEC lies with the international forest engineering community as a whole, and this conference is the culmination of a number of events with South Africa being fourth country to host the FEC. This meeting follows previous successful FEC conferences held in Mont-Tremblant, Canada (2007); Växjö, Sweden (2003); and the inaugural event in Edinburgh, Scotland (1999). The high quality of material presented by the presenters and the large number of delegates attending FEC 2011, attest to current and continued interest in promoting the all-important facet of Forest Engineering in the international forest industry. FEC 2011 is indebted to the authors of the extended abstracts included in this volume as well as attending delegates who have travelled from far and wide to share this event with us. I would also like to thank our sponsors; Southern Mapping, Tigercat, Bell, John Deere, Mondi, Forest Engineering South Africa (FESA), Husqvarna, Komatiland Forests, Merensky, SA Forestry Magazine, Stihl, Wood Southern Africa & Timber Times and York Timbers for their generous financial contributions. These proceedings are reproductions of extended abstracts submitted to the symposium with editing to achieve consistent format. No attempt was made to review or verify results, although the abstracts were reviewed for suitability by members of the symposium scientific review committee as set below. The following experts served as extended abstract reviewers for the Fourth Forest Engineering Conference 2011 in South Africa:
- ItemPrecision forestry in plantations, semi-natural and natural forests : proceedings of the International Precision Forestry Syposium, Stellenbosch, South Africa, March 2006(Stellenbosch University. Department of Forest and Wood Science. Forest Engineering., 2006-03) Precision Forestry Symposium (2006 : Stellenbosch, South Africa); Ackerman, P. A. (Pierre Alexander); Längin, D. W. (Dirk Werner); Antonides, M. C.; Henning, S.; International Union of Forestry Research OrganizationsThe objective of this symposium was to provide details of research results and promote communication and share information on precision applications in forest operations. lt is vitally important to now entrench precision concepts in forest operation from sound research through the value chain. In this way the benefits of this work will be tangibly demonstrated.
- ItemSustainable forest management in Africa : some solutions to natural forest management problems in Africa(Stellenbosch University, 2008-11) Geldenhuys, C. J.; Ham, C.; Ham, H.The bulk of African forests occur in the countries of Central Africa (37%) and Southern Africa (28%). The forests vary from tropical rainforests to warm-temperate forests (at higher altitudes and latitudes) to tropical-subtropical deciduous woodlands and wooded savannas. The forests constitute an immense value but are under severe pressure for harvesting of diverse timber and non-timber forest products for sustainable livelihoods and for clearing for agricultural production and infrastructure. Much information deal with the negative aspects of forest cover loss through degradation and deforestation but more information surfaces on other aspects of forest cover changes, including forest gains, and positive issues of forest management. Relatively little information is available on the assessment of forest productivity and stand dynamics (recruitment, growth and mortality). This knowledge gap is compounded by the practicing of little to no sustainable forest management, and little to no integration between management for forestry, agriculture and nature conservation, for timber and non-timber products, or for industry and rural livelihood needs. The growing population and recent upturn of many African economies provide rapidly growing domestic markets for forest products and services, but there is no assessment of the capacity of the African forests to produce them. Climate change scenarios for Africa and its forest ecosystems add new challenges with great implications for the forests, household livelihoods, and national and economic development; these need to be incorporated into planning climate change response strategies, nationally and internationally. Perspectives on the role of forests in development have evolved significantly since the Rio Summit in 1992. In many African countries, there is a growing recognition of the need to address the issues of poverty in national development programs, such as Poverty Reduction Strategies to meet the Millennium Development Goals and objectives of the New Economic Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Some global initiatives include Tropical Forest Action Plans (TFAPs), National Forestry Programmes (NFPs), the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF), Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF), and the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF). However these initiatives have had little impact on reversing the declining capacity to manage African forests. In part, this has been ascribed to the low participation of Africa in international dialogues on relevant forestry issues and the lack of a forum on the African continent that could facilitate African stakeholders to dialogue on these and other issues. Technical and scientific exchanges in Africa on both the implications and applications of sustainable forest management for adaptation to climate change without compromising forest ecosystem resilience, and their critical mitigation activities, are therefore important. An Africa-wide dialogue on issues of sustainable forest management needs to be pursued to find African solutions to African problems in the context of sustainable management of the African natural forest ecosystems. What is the true state of African forests and their management? Do the African forest ecosystems have unique features that need to be incorporated into sustainable forest management strategies? Are there scientific and traditional knowledge systems of the African forest ecosystems to guide the world on sound multiple-use, multi-disciplinary and integrated forestry-agriculture-conservation strategies and actions? The International Symposium on Sustainable Forest Management in Africa was hosted in Stellenbosch, South Africa, from 3 to 7 November 2008, to facilitate a discussion of these issues. It was organized by the Department of Forest and Wood Science, Stellenbosch University, and the Commercial Products from the Wild Group, in collaboration with the Copperbelt University (Zambia), Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique), the Research Institute in Tropical Ecology of the National Centre for Scientific and Technological Research (Gabon), the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO), and the Food and Agricultural Organization of United Nations (FAO). The objectives for the symposium was to • bring together national, regional and international policy- and decision-makers, forest scientists, forest ecologists, planners and resource managers (public and private sectors), rural communities, farmers and individuals, the education community, consumers of forest/tree-derived products, NGOs with forest, environment, social and other foci of work, and others; • share information, concepts and ideas on a broad range of topics (papers and posters); • facilitate networking among diverse stakeholders in forestry in Africa; • facilitate development of specific programs, projects and activities that address priority issues, and facilitate coordination, collaboration, dialogue and funding; • facilitate advocacy activities with the potential to raise the profile of forestry, to highlight threats to forest resources and the environment, and to champion better management of African forests. The symposium was attended by 102 participants from 23 countries representing 41 institutions. A total of 53 oral papers were presented. This collection of symposium papers includes the four keynote presentations, and 38 papers presented in seven themes. The mid-symposium excursion took participants to the Newlands urban forest within the Table Mountain National Park on the Cape Peninsula, managed by the South African National Parks. Today 3.4 million people live in and around Cape Town, with associated pressures on the natural areas with their very small patches of natural forest. The forests are affected (positively and negatively) by commercial timber plantations, controlled and uncontrolled fires, outdoor recreation, and illegal plant and bark collection mainly for traditional medicine. The visit focused on options to use the stands of plantation and invader plant species to rehabilitate natural forest, and thereby recover the regeneration and population status of the tree species negatively impacted by bark harvesting. The post-symposium tour visited the Southern Cape Afrotemperate Forests, the largest natural forest area in South Africa, in collaboration with South African National Parks, who manages most of those forests. The visit focused on forest ecological research and the sustainable multiple-use forest management in which ecosystem conservation (species and processes) remains the overriding management objective. Secondary objectives included the utilization of timber, ferns and medicinal plants, outdoor recreation, research and community development through participatory forest management (PFM). Management of these areas received international recognition through FSC certification in December 2002. We hope that the enthusiasm with which participants took part in the deliberations and discussions will continue to stimulate research and sustainable forest management in Africa, with more regular dialogue within Africa to find African solutions for African problems in sustainable management of the African forests for the benefit of African Society.