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International Forest Research
ACIAR facilitates a range of bilateral and multilateral forest research activities.
ACIAR works primarily in the Asia-Pacific region through collaborative research projects involving Australian and developing country research institutions. Projects are selected on the basis of their contribution to reduction in rural poverty and the benefits they can deliver to both countries.
The ACIAR forestry program supports research to improve tree-growing practices and the use of wood and non-wood products for the benefit of farmers and local communities. Past research has resulted in a rapid increase in the area of eucalypts and acacias grown on farms in China and South East Asia, helping to build strong rural industries.
ACIAR also supports research by international agricultural research centres dealing with forestry issues, such as the World Agroforestry Centre (also known as the ICRAF) in Kenya and the CIFOR in Indonesia. ICRAF conducts strategic and applied agroforestry research to develop a range of sustainable and productive land-use options for farmers in the tropics. CIFOR contributes to the understanding of sustainable tropical forest management and its relationship to the people who depend on these forests. Both centres aim to find ways to balance global environmental objectives with economic development and poverty reduction. In this regard, ICRAF and CIFOR are also closely involved in the work of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development on forests. CIFOR is a key participant in the UN Forum on Forests dialogue concerned with global forestry research and management issues.
Similarly, the CSIRO is involved in collaborative research in a number of countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and Vietnam.
CSIRO also leads a research consortium managing AusAID's South Pacific Regional Initiative on Forest Genetic Resources project and has a specific research agreement with the Chinese Academy of Forestry.
The International Union for Forest Research Organizations enables the world's leading forest scientists to meet, share information and present their solutions to a range of shared challenges. On 8-13 August 2005 the XXII IUFRO World Congress was held in Brisbane, Australia. More information is available on the iufro2005 website.
Australia's contribution to international forestry also lies in our ongoing willingness to share our unique and valuable genetic resources. Eucalypts, acacias, casuarinas, grevilleas and melaleucas are a common part of the landscape in many countries. They help to meet basic needs of fuel, poles, sawn timber, site amelioration and protection, and industry needs for paper and paper products.