04-06/2014 - The Economist's 2nd World Forests Summit took place in Stockholm, Sweden, 20 March 2014.

Recognizing the substantial role that forests play in global and national economies, it aimed to discuss the major themes impacting the world's forests and brought together key stakeholders from national, international and non-governmental organizations and the economy. IUFRO supported the promotion of this high-level event via its media.

Visit: http://www.economistinsights.com/sustainability-resources/event/world-forests-summit-2014

In a recent blog article, Toby Gardner, Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) since January 2014, reflects on the event and its motto of "Unlocking the true potential of forests" and identifies some major trends in thinking on the future of forests:

In this article, he concludes that "if there is one overarching message, it might be that the greatest opportunities for safeguarding the future of the world´s forests, and the countless benefits they provide for mankind, lie in holistic approaches that combine insights from science, policy, development and investment. Neither forests themselves, nor the legal or financial mechanisms that seek to support them, exist in isolation – whether physical, economic or political." Read the full article at: http://www.sei-international.org/news-and-media/2846

In IUFRO, Toby Gardner was one of the lead authors of the publication on "Understanding Relationships between Biodiversity, Carbon, Forests and People: The Key to Achieving REDD+ Objectives", the third assessment report prepared in the framework of the IUFRO-led Global Forest Expert Panel (GFEP) initiative of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) published in 2012 (http://www.iufro.org/science/gfep/biodiv-forman-redd-panel/report/).