USA
JOHN Deere recently completed
the construction of a 7,500 sq.
ft facility in Coal Valley, Illinois
to better meet internal training
demands, along with supporting customer
visits and events. The building is part of the
Construction and Forestry (C&F) Training
Campus and includes three classrooms that
can be used separately for training purposes
or combined to hold over 250 people for larger
events. In addition, there is nearly 4,000 sq. ft
of covered canopy space for outdoor training
and equipment walkarounds. The facility will
also include a John Deere simulator.
David Reilly, manager, worldwide training,
John Deere Construction and Forestry, said:
“The primary function of this new facility is to
provide much-needed additional classroom
space for dealer sales staff and technician
training. Training is a core part of our
programme, but beyond that, the C&F Coal
Valley Training Campus also hosts other
important events throughout the year.”AZERBAIJAN
AZERBAIJAN is strengthening its forest sector with a
new 10-year national forestry programme. Developed
with UNECE support, the programme has put a strong
emphasis on increasing forest cover while conserving
and improving the country’s forest resources.
Earlier this year, Azerbaijan joined the international Bonn
Challenge on forest landscape restoration and committed to
restore 170,000 ha of forests by 2030 and an additional 100,000
ha if further funding can be mobilised. This commitment seeks
to increase visibility for the country’s efforts to improve and
sustainably manage its forests, which is also a main target in the
country’s new forestry programme.CHINA
CHINA has seen its forest increase by 502 million mu
(approximately 33.5 million ha) since launching a project
to return farmland to forest and grassland was launched
two decades ago, a forestry official has said.
The increased area accounted for 42.5% of the country’s artificial
forests, Zhou Hongsheng, an official with the National Forestry and
Grassland Administration, recently told a press conference.
About 5.03 million mu of farmland has been returned to
grassland, accounting for 2.2% of the total artificial grassland area,
Zhou said.
China has had two rounds of returning farmland to forest and
grassland, with the total investment exceeding 500 billion yuan
(approximately $72.63 billion).
“The project has accelerated the process of national afforestation,
and the forest coverage rates in the project areas have increased by
an average of more than four percentage points,” Zhou said, adding
that 32 million farming households were able to benefit directly from
policy subsidies of more than 9,800 yuan per household.NEW ZEALAND
THE New Zealand
government is supporting
a primarily female
training programme in
the Northland region, which aims to
help address labour shortages in the
male-dominated forestry industry.
The Provincial Growth Fund
(PGF), through the He Poutama
Rangatahi (HPR) programme, will
invest $421,050 in Wahine Toa, a
five-month intensive pilot initiative
to prepare mostly young women
for training and employment in the
forestry sector. The programme will
be predominantly women but has a
small cohort of men who will be in a
separate crew.
Regional economic development
minister Shane Jones said: “As
forestry minister, I know labour
shortages are a significant concern
for the sector so initiatives like
Wahine Toa are a great investment.
The industry is also trying to
encourage more women into forestry
so this programme ticks both boxes.”CAMBODIA
THE Cambodian government has created a new national
committee to tackle forest land-clearing and -grabbing.
A directive signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen said the
new committee consisted of 13 members from relevant
ministries, with the minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries
taking the helm.
It said the new committee is responsible for publicising forestry
law and implementing and enforcing the government’s action
plans to eliminate and prevent grabbing of state forest land for
private ownership. The committee is also obliged to collaborate
with international NGOs and donor communities in implementing
its tasks, compiling reports along with recommendations for the
government, and creating an effective mechanism for its provincial
sub-committees to address illegal forest clearing in each province.
FORESTRYJOURNAL.CO.UK AUGUST 2019 33