Become a member
Membership of IUFRO is open to any institution concerned with the promotion, support or conduct of research related to forests, trees and forest products.
The History of IUFRO-SPDC
IUFRO-SPDC was established by IUFRO in 1983 at the request of the international donor community to increase support for the development of forestry research in less developed countries as the Special Programme for Developing Countries. Over time the term "developing countries" ceased to sufficiently describe IUFRO-SPDC's target audience, thus the name of IUFRO-SPDC was in 2013 changed to its current name "Special Programme for Development of Capacities".
Past Projects
Forest Landscape Restoration Implementation: Progress on the Ground
This project aims at an independent scientific exploration of efforts contributing to forest landscape restoration (FLR) in selected landscapes in nine Bonn Challenge countries, three each in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Within those landscapes, a series of questions was addressed, thus providing a snapshot on the current state: who
IUFRO-EFI Young Scientists Initiative
The IUFRO-EFI Young Scientists Initiative (YSI) was a collaboration between IUFRO and the European Forest Institute (EFI) and offered a limited number of grants of up to EUR 5 000 annually for Short Scientific Visits specifically for Early Career Scientists. These Visits provided a unique opportunity for young scientists from Africa, Asia
Strengthening the Capacity of ITTO Producer Countries in Africa in Generating and Disseminating Scientific Information on Reducing Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Enhancing Environmental Services from Forests
2-Year Cooperation between ITTO and IUFROThis project was about supporting ITTO producer countries in Africa to dealing with the challenges of reducing deforestation and enhancing the rehabilitation of degraded tropical forests given that in many African countries there is a strong connection between forest degradation and the inability by decision-makers
EcoAdapt: “Ecosystem-based strategies and innovations in governance networks for adaptation to climate change in Latin American Landscapes”
The project was initiated in January 2012 and financed by the European Union for a period of four years. The project’s overall objective was to develop ecosystem-based strategies of adaption to climate change in three model forests in Latin America: Chiquitano in Bolivia, Jujuy in Argentina, and Araucarias de Alto
Regional Policy Brief "Making African Forests Fit for Climate Change"
The IUFRO Special Programme for Development of Capacities (IUFRO-SPDC) and GFEP initiated in autumn 2009 the preparation of a regional policy brief "Making African Forests Fit for Climate Change" in collaboration with the thematic group "Forest and climate change” of the Forestry Research Network for Sub-Saharan Africa (FORNESSA). The policyPast Workshops and Events
Pre-Congress Workshop Systematic Evidence Evaluation in Forest Science
Lead Facilitator:Gillian Petrokofsky, Oxford Systematic Reviews, UK; SPDC has a long history of organising Training Workshops on pertinent subjects relevant to forest scientists in conjunction with
Pre-Congress Workshop Research Methods in Forest Science
Lead Facilitator:John Kershaw, University of New Brunswick, Canada;SPDC has a long history of organising Training Workshops on pertinent subjects relevant to forest scientists in conjunction
Pre-Congress Workshop Science-Society Interactions: Making Science Work for Policy and Practice
Lead Facilitator:Steve Makungwa, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Malawi;SPDC has a long history of organising Training Workshops on pertinent subjects relevant to forest
Mainstreaming Landscape Thinking in Natural Resources Management Education for Restoration Impact in the BIMSTEC region: The Way Forward
After the three-day virtual workshop on 17-19 October 2023, this onsite meeting continued the discussion with educators from Bay of Bengal region (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,
Knowledge Sharing Workshop on Forest Landscape Restoration in Ethiopia
The Ethiopian Forestry Development (EFD) and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) led a forest landscape restoration (FLR) workshop on 28-30 November 2022,
Mainstreaming Landscape Thinking for Restoration Impact in Natural Resources Management Education in the South Asia Region
The workshop was intended to bring together educators from the South Asia region (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand) to discuss current
ICFRE-IUFRO Workshop on Forest Landscape Restoration
There is an urgent need to address land degradation and the climate crisis. This online workshop aimed at exchanging a wide range of experiences with
Pacific Islands Forest Restoration Training
The training workshop was organized as an on-line event, conducted using ZOOM. It was comprised of six two-hour sessions, one-day-a-week for six weeks. The workshop
Latin America FLR Training Workshop: “Creando capacidades en restauración del paisaje forestal en América Latina”
This online workshop in Spanish on FLR implementation in Latin America took place from 31 May to 25 June 2021 with participation by 30 early
Systematic Evidence Evaluation 2021
The IUFRO Special Programme for Development of Capacities (IUFRO-SPDC) in collaboration with the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, held a one-week online training workshop -
Discussion Forum on "Don't ignore drylands: Restoring the forests of Continental Asia"
Recently, countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia made a commitment to bring 2.5 million ha into restoration under the Bonn challenge by 2030. The
A Contritubion to the Implementation of the Bonn Challenge "Best Practices for Implementing Forest Landscape Restoration in South Asia"
An International Knowledge Sharing WorkshopWith an estimated 25% of the global land surface in one way or another being degraded, and about 15 % considered