Research Institutes and Information Resources
The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) is an international research center initiated by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). CIFOR is committed to enhancing the benefits of forests for people in the tropics by improving research activities on sustainable forest and forestland management and supporting their implementation. This website offers a vast variety of general and specific information on tools, links, publications and more.
The Electronic Development and Environment Information System (ELDIS) is a gateway to information sources on development and environment. ELDIS is one of four information services provided by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), an independent British center for research and teaching on development issues. The website currently provides descriptions and links to various information sources including online documents, related environmental organizations, databases, library catalogues, bibliographies, email discussion lists, research project information, map and newspaper collections.
The Earth Negotiations Bulletin is a reporting service of the International Institute on Sustainable Development (IISD) that tracks environmental negotiations at the United Nations and parallel processes. The Earth Negotiations Bulletin provides coverage of several forest-related processes, including the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), the climate change negotiations, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Convention to Combat Desertification. The website offers realtime multimedia coverage of these negotiations, including photos and realaudio recordings, as well as extensive archived information on negotiation processes dating back to the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.
The World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) is a non-profit research body supported by CGIAR. ICRAF conducts strategic and applied research in partnership with national agricultural research systems for more sustainable and productive land use. ICRAF offers online access to its library and documentation.
The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) is a non-profit, non-governmental international network of forest scientists. Its objectives are to promote international cooperation in forestry and forest products research. IUFRO's activities are organized primarily through its 277 specialized Units in 8 technical Divisions. The Website offers access to information about the different divisions and regional networks, the IUFRO newsletters, an extensive list of publications and a reference library.
Livelihoods Connect is DFID's (the British Government's Department for International Development) learning platform for creating sustainable livelihoods (SL) to eliminate poverty. It provides a suite of information sharing, learning and management tools for: all DFID advisers and programme officers; NGOs and consultants working with DFID; and international organizations. It offers access to a wide range of materials concerning Sustainable Livelihoods, such as: case studies and project summaries, key documents, leaning and training materials, a SL toolbox, organization links and events and a post-it board.
The Metla virtual library of forest related sources (METINFO) provides up-to-date information and expert services related to all aspects of forests and forestry. Information services are based on the results of research carried out by the Finnish Forest Research Institute METLA. The actual data offered online is mainly in Finnish, however, English data is available for timber production estimates and METLA System and phenological observations in the forests.
Tree Cabweb is an Internet resource for forest and wood science research information provided by CABI Publishing. Online access to CABI's 'Abstract Journals' regarding forestry, science and wood science and technology is available for registered users.
The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center is the world biodiversity information and assessment center of the United Nations Environment Programme. The Center was founded by IUCN, WWF and UNEP to provide independent, non-profit information services on conservation and sustainable use of the world's living resources. The Center runs a forests and dryland programme, offering information at national levels to improve the sustainable management of forests worldwide. The website allows online access to data sets and maps, analyses and syntheses of forest data, regional data, information management support, collaboration and networking and a wide range of forest web links.
The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a center for research that aims at providing expert level objective information and practical proposals to foster environmentally sound and sustainable development. The website on Forest and Forest Resources offers a vast amount of information on forest-related issues including news, facts & figures, latest research activities, publications and more.
