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.
Global assessments of key issues of high global concern are the main line of action of the Global Forest Expert Panels (GFEP) initiative. GFEP was launched in April 2007 as a joint initiative of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF). Since then, the initiative is led and coordinated by IUFRO. It builds on the political recognition provided by the United Nations Forum on Forests in the ECOSOC Resolution 2006/49. GFEP started as "Joint CPF initiative on Forest Science and Technology" and was later renamed.
The core activity of the GFEP initiative are global reports and accompanying policy briefs on key issues that reflect state-of-the-art understanding of the subject matter. They are written in a comprehensible way for policy makers, the scientific community, stakeholders and the interested broader public. The publications are prepared by thematic Expert Panels consisting of internationally recognized scientific experts in their fields. All global studies undergo rigorous peer review. The authors and reviewers of the studies are selected by the IUFRO coordination team. Topics are chosen based on the information needs of intergovernmental processes and institutions.
The number and frequency these assessments are determined by the information needs and requests coming from intergovernmental processes. The global assessments receive considerable international media attention and have significant impacts on international policies. The outcomes of GFEP assessments serve, among other purposes, as background information for discussions, briefing documents for negotiators as well as guidance for strategic policy development. GFEP reports are a comprehensive, interdisciplinary and scientifically sound information source for scientists and communicators, and can be used as teaching materials for universities.
Watch the video below to find out more about: Why is science related to forests and trees so important for policy making? What is the GFEP initiative and how does it work? Why are GFEP and its reports important for decision makers?
