Feedback on 42nd International Forestry Students’ Symposium … · 2017-06-20 · 1 Feedback on...
Transcript of Feedback on 42nd International Forestry Students’ Symposium … · 2017-06-20 · 1 Feedback on...
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Feedback on 42nd International Forestry
Students’ Symposium that was held in
Canada, in August 2014
by
Busisiwe Singama
2nd year National Diploma Forestry student
Prepared for:
Fort Cox College of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Forestry
King Williams’ Town 5600, Eastern Cape, South Africa
E-mail: [email protected] September, 2014
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Executive summary
Feedback on 42nd International Forestry Students’ Symposium that was
held in Canada, in August 2014
Busisiwe Singama
2nd year National Diploma Forestry student
Fort Cox College of Agriculture and Forestry, P.O. Box 1287, King William’s Town 5600,
Eastern Cape, South Africa
Telephone: +27(0)406538033; E-mail: [email protected]
Participation by a 2nd year National Diploma in Forestry student of Fort Cox College of
Agriculture and Forestry at the 42nd International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA)
Symposium 2014 that was held in Canada, in the province of British Colombia, is reported.
Some 105 forestry students from a total of 32 countries of Africa, Asia, Europe and the
Americas, attended the Symposium.
Excellent exposure in a variety of technical forestry (research, silviculture, forest health,
conservation, recreation, and management), environmental (biodiversity, river system
management) and social issues was experientially learnt.
The writer (Busisiwe Singama) and Athini Mthi, a Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
forestry student were elected IFSA commissioners in the Forest Research and Education
Commission for the year 2015. As a foreseen fact, it is advised that the burden of making
Southern Africa proud on IFSA’s research agenda by the students will need institutional
support.
Keywords: International Forestry Students’ Symposium, British Colombia, Southern Africa
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Contents
page
Executive summary .................................................................................................................................. i
Contents .............................................................................................................................................. ii
List of plates ....................................................................................................................................... iii
Acronyms ........................................................................................................................................... iv
1.0 Background on the International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA) ........................................ 1
2.0 Activities undertaken at the symposium in Canada .......................................................................... 1
2.1 General assembly meeting ............................................................................................................ 1
2.2 The 42nd General Assembly meeting ............................................................................................ 1
3.0 Field tours ......................................................................................................................................... 2
3.1 Stanley Park field tour .................................................................................................................. 2
3.2 Tour of Gavin Lake Forest ............................................................................................................ 4
3.3 Mountain pitch hike ...................................................................................................................... 5
3.4 Ancient forest trail ........................................................................................................................ 5
3.5 View of the Terry Fox Mountain .................................................................................................. 5
4.0 Take home ......................................................................................................................................... 6
5.0 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 6
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 7
APPENDIX: Distribution of representation of countries at the 42nd IFSA Symposium in Canada in
July 2014 by continental region .............................................................................................................. 8
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List of plates
page
Plate 1. Some IFSS-2014 delegates during their participation in a tree identification tour in British
Colombia, Canada ................................................................................................................................... 3
Plate 2. Old growth and natural regeneration of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) at Lake Forest,
British Colombia, Canada ....................................................................................................................... 4
Plate 3. Some breath-taking view of the landscape at Terry Fox Mountain, British Colombia ............. 5
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Acronyms
FCFSA: Fort Cox Forestry Students’ Association
GA: General Assembly of IFSA
IFSA: International Forestry Students’ Association
IFSS: International Forestry Students’ Symposium of IFSA
LC: Local Committee of IFSA
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1.0 Background on the International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA) What is IFSA?
IFSA is a non-political global network of students studying forestry. The organisation has
about 73 association members, frequently referred to as local committees (LCs) in about 54
countries. Its history dates back to 1973 in Great Britain where annual meetings of forestry
students started, the aim being to build a platform for forestry students to interact
internationally and share the ideas about forestry.
IFSA meetings are held on an annual basis, the biggest being the international forestry
students’ symposium which spans for about two weeks. Membership details and scheduled
activities can be viewed on the website: http://www.ifsa.net/discoverifsa.php
The 42nd International Forestry Students’ Symposium (IFSS) 2014 was attended by 105
forestry students; a total of 32 countries were represented. The distribution of representation
of countries and continental regions by participants is shown in the Appendix.
2.0 Activities undertaken at the symposium in Canada
2.1 General assembly meeting
The meeting of the General Assembly (GA) is of the highest perched for the decision-making
body for the IFSA. All members of the associations took part in the general assembly
meeting. In order for each Local Committee (LC) to take part in the meeting of the General
Assembly, they are each required to have paid their current year affiliation fees, signed the
membership form and submitted this to designated IFSA officials, so that the LC can be
given a voting card.
2.2 The 42nd General Assembly meeting
The agenda for the meeting of this GA had been issued in advance. The purpose of the
General Assembly was to:
i. Receive and approve the annual report on IFSA work that was done in the current
year and to plan for IFSA activities for the year 2015;
ii. Receive and approve the financial report for current year and the budget for 2015;
iii. Elect the IFSA board, Liaison Officers as well as Regional Representatives and
Heads of Commissions for the year 2015;
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iv. Fix the membership fees for all the Associations, and;
v. Decide on a venue for the next IFSS.
The General Assembly congregation performed its tasks through five (5) working groups i.e.
IFSA plenary sessions.
3.0 Field tours There were several field tours on this IFSS; the tours were optional. Delegates could choose
one tour from the following:
Stanley Park field tour;
Mountain hiking;
Guided tour of the Museum of Anthropology;
Shelterwood forest tour;
Tour of downtown Vancouver;
Salsa cruise on a ship, and;
Forest research tour at the Gawin Lake forest area.
3.1 Stanley Park field tour
Participating delegates were allocated to teams of four. Each of the four-member team
participated in tree identification exercises as a means of learning and getting to understand
the local flora. Some blind-folded tests were conducted to get feedback from team members
on their ability to identify tree species through the feel of bark and leaf/cone texture. Popular
candidates for identification were the following:
i. Douglas fir: Pseudotsuga menziesii
bigger bark compared to western hemlock
bark is very rough and flaky; the tree is one of the most valuable species in the
Canadian province of British Columbia
ii. Western hemlock: Tsuga heterophylla
thin bark
rough bark
plays a role in important wildlife
iii. Western red cedar: Thuja plicata
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This is the official tree of the province of British Columbia; its growth is phenomenal.
It easily regenerates through layering, thus, enabling cloning of the old trees. It is
shade tolerant and produces a lot of seeds. It can grow in the open as well. It was said
to have the effect of increasing acidity in the sea waters. Some of the notable features
of Thuja plicata include a flared base and an imposing presence due to its giant size in
mature trees.
Plate 1 shows a scene during the tree identification tour in which the writer was a
participant.
Plate 1. Some IFSS-2014 delegates during their participation in a tree identification tour in
British Colombia, Canada
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3.2 Tour of Gavin Lake Forest
Gavin Lake is a research forest that is popular with visitors who are interested in sustainable
forest management studies. Since 1987, some research and teaching services have been
offered at Gavin Lake; some 150 hectares of harvest are allowed in the forest each year in the
more than 10,000 year-old forest. The dominant species in Gavin Lake Forest are spruce,
western red cedar and Douglas fir. Pine species that were there were wiped-out by the
mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) years back.
Some regeneration failure caused by frost in some parts of Gavin Lake was observed; frost is
a major limiting factor, particularly for Douglas fir. The shelterwood silvicultural system was
being used to promote Douglas fir which is a shade tolerant commercial tree species. Plate 2
shows a site at one of the areas that were visited.
Plate 2. Old growth and natural regeneration of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) at Lake
Forest, British Colombia, Canada
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3.3 Mountain pitch hike
This hike took place on south-facing slopes that were dominated by Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga
menziesii) and some species of spruce. Here some good fire resistant characteristics of
Douglas fir were observed.
3.4 Ancient forest trail
One of British Columbia’s rare and hidden treasure trails, approximately 2.3 kilometres, was
explored during a 60-90 minutes’ walk. The trail had some slippery and steep sections but it
was well sign-posted to assist visitors with directions and locations of sites of special interest.
3.5 View of the Terry Fox Mountain
Some wild land that was named in honour of an amputee athlete, Terry Fox, who died of
cancer at an age of 22 years after the “The Marathon of Hope” had been instituted to raise
funds for bone cancer research, was visited. Plate 3 shows one of the breath-taking views of
the landscape at Terry Fox Mountain.
Plate 3. Some breath-taking view of the landscape at Terry Fox Mountain, British Colombia
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4.0 Take home A major contrast between forestry practice in the British Colombia and that in South Africa
was noted. Commercial forests in South Africa are predominantly planted forests managed on
a clear-cutting silvicultural system; in British Colombia, natural forests are the hub of
commercial forestry.
The writer (Busisiwe Singama) and Athini Mthi, a Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
forestry student were elected IFSA commissioners in the Forest Research and Education
Commission for the year 2015. The two commissioners will represent the Southern Africa
region.
5.0 Conclusion The 42nd International Forestry Students’ Symposium was a great experience, providing a lot
of diverse exposure in a variety of technical forestry (research, silviculture, forest health,
conservation, recreation, and management), environmental (biodiversity, river system
management), social and even forest philanthropy! The student networks that were created
will be a lasting resource. However, the immediate task for the South Africans who were
elected to the IFSA Forest Research and Education Commission for Southern Africa is to
swiftly embark of a project that will make the nation proud.
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Acknowledgements The author takes great pleasure in acknowledging the financial support that was received
from Forestry South Africa and Fort Cox College of Agriculture and Forestry. I am indebted
to several staff members of Fort Cox, particularly Mr Phillip Tshidzumba (the Head of
Forestry Department) for painstaking logistics of the trip. Last, but not least, I am grateful to
my colleagues in the Fort Cox Forestry Students’ Association (FCFSA) for nominating me
for the trip to Canada.
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APPENDIX: Distribution of representation of countries at the 42nd IFSA Symposium
in Canada in July 2014 by continental region
Africa continental region Country National flag
South Africa
Nigeria
Europe continental region Country National flag
Austria
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
... Appendix I, continued
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Asia and Middle East
continental region
Country National flag
China
Indonesia
Iraq
Japan
North Korea
Lebanon
Philippines
Malaysia
Taiwan
Syria
Thailand
America continental region Country National flag
Brazil
Mexico
Canada
Peru
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Guyana
New Zealand