Countdown to Focus on Forestry

The countdown has begun to Focus on Forestry, South Africa’s premier forestry conference and expo, taking place in Karkloof, KZN midlands on 7-9 November 2023. The theme of the conference is ‘The Value of Forestry in a Greening Economy’.

Focus, presented by CMO, Nelson Mandela University and Forestry South Africa, targets a broad range of stakeholders including forest landowners and growers, managers and contractors, while also offering valuable insights to academics, researchers, consultants, training providers, governmental organisations and equipment suppliers in the forestry industry.

The conference covers the entire forestry value chain (including nurseries, fire management, silviculture, forest engineering, wood biomass, carbon, and other areas relevant to the theme). The conference covers from small growers through to large-scale industrial plantations, as well as sustainably managed natural forests and related ecosystems.

Day 1 (7 Nov): focuses on general forest management, nurseries, silviculture, fire and other risk management and certification.

Day 2 (8 Nov): focuses on forest engineering, carbon and biomass harvesting.

Day 3 (9 Nov): field day and live demo’s.

For more info, email: focus@cmogroup.io

Expoforest 2023
The fifth edition of Expoforest, Latin America’s leading forest fair, will take place on 9-11 August 2023 in a eucalyptus plantation near Guatapará, about 40 kilometers from Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo state, Brazil.

Expoforest will showcase the most modern solutions for planting, handling, harvesting and transporting wood. Expoforest is one of the world’s leading fairs for launching technologies aimed at wood production from planted forests.

The total area of the fair is over 200 hectares. The fair will be divided into two parts: the static exhibits will cover 7.5 hectares; the dynamic exhibits cover 150 ha with 3.7 kilometers of trails.

Expoforest organisers expect around 30,000 people to visit the fair in 2023.

In addition to the fair, the Brazilian Forestry Week program will be held from 7-11 August and includes two technical events that will take place in Ribeirão Preto: XIX Update Seminar on Wood Harvesting Systems and Forestry Transport; and 5th Brazilian Forestry Meeting, co-organized by Embrapa Florestas. An interesting theme to be explored during the week’s programme is crop-livestock-forest integration.

Brazil has almost 10 million hectares of forests planted for commercial purposes. The vast majority is formed by two main species, eucalyptus, and pine. The planted forests in the country are the most productive in the world and supply pulp and paper industries, reconstituted panels, steel, mechanically processed wood products and many others. In the last few years, this entire industry has attracted significant international investment to the sector. Forestry-based companies that already operate in Brazil have also announced expansions of their industries and forests. New possibilities for the use of wood derivatives give rise, every day, to bioproducts originating from cultivated forests.

“At each edition the fair evolves, bringing different interactions with the public and exhibitors. We have noticed that big brands take advantage of Expoforest to launch new solutions for the forest sector worldwide. The fair is really a showcase for the market. Professionals from all over the world come to Brazil to participate in the experience that is Expoforest. They look for novelties that make the sector more productive and sustainable at the same time,” explains Ricardo Malinovski, director of Expoforest.

For more info visit: www.expoforest.com.br

UPCOMING EVENTS

Expoforest
9-11 August 2023
Sao Paulo State, Brazil
Latin America’s leading forestry expo.
Tickets: www.expoforest.com.br

Focus on Forestry Conference & Expo
7-9 November 2023
Karkloof Country Club, KZN midlands
SA’s premier forestry conference and expo
Info: andrew@cmogroup.co.za

Fire Management Symposium – Working on Fire
8-10 November 2023
Skukuza Conference Centre, Kruger National Park
Co-ordinating efforts for effective wildland fire management
Part of 20 Year Anniversary Celebration of the WoF programme.
Info: linton.rensburg@wofire.co.za
www.workingonfire.com

Forestry events back in the real world

South Africans Gary Olsen of Tigercat (right) and Dirk Laengin of Mondi (left) at Elmia with the SP crew, back in the day!

Popular forestry and wood processing events are slowly coming back out of the woodwork into the real world after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Close to home, our own Forestry South Africa, which represents the interests of the vast majority of timber growers in South Africa, has scheduled their Annual General Meeting for May 5, at the Fern Hill Convention Centre at Tweedie in the KZN Midlands. This popular event is always well attended, but this year the numbers are going to have to be restricted somewhat to accommodate COVID-19 protocols which are still in place.

The FSA office has promised more info on the arrangements around this upcoming event closer to the time.

An expo that focuses more on the processing side of the industry, WoodEX for Africa, will hold their popular expo at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg from 7-9 June 2022. This expo features a broad range of exhibitors from forestry through sawmilling to secondary processing and woodworking, and will be held alongside the Deck and Flooring Expo.

Further afield, the world's leading forestry fair, Elmia Wood, is also back. It will be held once again in the forests south of Jönköping, Sweden from 2nd to 4th June 2022. This year’s event will focus on innovative and sustainable forestry methods for the future, and is expected to attract forestry stakeholders and visitors from around the world.

Accumulation and handling of forest slash/biomass for energy was all the rage at the 2009 Elmia Wood forestry fair.

The fair will take place in the fantastic and versatile forest at Bratteborg, south of Jönköping, Sweden. Elmia Wood is an extensive fair and meeting place for forest owners, contractors, administrators and everyone interested in the forest. Visitors can learn about the latest products, discover innovations and gain new knowledge, and create opportunities for new business deals.

"We are facing complex challenges involving forest damage and bark beetles plus an increased need for felling, while at the same time many people are promoting standing timber as a carbon sink. As a result, many forest owners today are left wondering how they should manage their forests in the future," says Anders Roman of Elmia.

"Recently there has been a strong debate on the value of the forest and how it should be managed and cared for, and we can clearly see that all the various forest stakeholders are in need of a meeting place. That's why we're also hosting on-stage discussions and panel debates."

The topics will include the EU's taxonomy, the climate, biodiversity and fossil-free forest management. A moderator and various guests will hold on-stage debates that visitors can take part in.

"We're working intensively with the fair right now and are really looking forward to hosting Elmia Wood 2022, which will bring the products and know-how together in one place," said Anders.

SA Forestry Editor Chris Chapman visited Elmia Wood back in 2009 and saw some old school forestry technology alongside the latest cutting edge innovations, many of which are now commonplace in forestry operations around the world. Here are some photos from that 2009 visit …

Horse power is still used in European forests, helping to keep harvesting impacts to a minimum.

Old school wood processing system on show.

For more info, visit the following websites:-
www.forestrysouthafrica.co.za
www.woodexforafrica.com
www.elmia.se/wood/