Forest Biotechnology and Its Responsible Use PDF Download

Author: Adam Costanza
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781456563127
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 30

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Book Description
This primer discusses the basic concepts of forest biotechnology, how biotech trees are managed, and why the Institute of Forest Biotechnology (IFB) created a set of stewardship principles for the responsible use of these trees. The Institute of Forest Biotechnology is the only organization to address the sustainability of forest biotechnology on a global scale. With the help of our Partners and Sponsors, we bring diverse stakeholders together to address societal, environmental, and economic aspects of forest biotechnology. More information about the IFB is available at www.forestbiotech.org Our forests are under pressure from global trade, population growth, invasive threats, and increased demand on natural resources. The IFB supports responsible uses of forest biotechnology that benefit society and the environment through science, dialogue, and stewardship. Together, with the Forest Biotechnology Partnership, the IFB is the most comprehensive information source on forest biotechnology - anywhere. We would like to thank the Responsible Use Initiative's Implementation Committee, the U.S. Forest Service, and our Initiative Sponsors for providing the technical and financial resources to make this work possible. For additional information on the Responsible Use: Biotech Tree Principles, please visit www.responsibleuse.org. This website has the latest version of the Principles, and useful information about biotech tree stewardship. You can also find a copy of the Principles at Amazon.com. Thank you for your interest in protecting the future of forests.

Author: Adam Costanza
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781456563318
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description
People have always had, and will continue to have, an interdependence with forests. Given the reality of a growing world population, more productive, healthy, and sustainably managed forests are needed. We rely on the services forests provide, like cleaning water and slowing climate change by absorbing atmospheric carbon. We need sustainably managed trees to produce paper, packaging, homes, food, and renewable energy. We need to keep our forests healthy and productive to fulfill all these needs and to protect forested areas from decline. These Principles are crucial because biotechnology is increasingly being used on trees and in forests. These Principles were developed in recognition that responsibly used forest biotechnology has the potential to benefit society, economies, and the environment. Today there are invasive threats damaging our forests. We face a changing climate, deforestation, and illegal logging. Forest biotechnology can be a powerful tool against many of these threats. Scientists have already designed biotech trees that are resistant to disease and changing climates, growth rates that produce more wood fiber with fewer inputs on less land than conventional trees, and biometric tools to police illegally traded timber. Today there are over one million biotech poplar trees with the Bt gene that were established on commercial plantations in China in 2003. Genetic work on cacao trees is being explored to help the species that is susceptible to viruses in much of the world. Similarly, biotech papaya trees saved that industry in Hawaii from being destroyed by the Ring Spot virus. Hundreds of researchers and organizations around the world have helped to pioneer these technologies in a responsible manner. Forest biotechnology is also being practiced in new ways, in new places, and by new researchers. But not every nation has a robust regulatory system or opportunities for interested public stakeholders to engage in issues important to them. We need the Responsible Use: Biotech Tree Principles to help guide long-term stewardship of biotech trees regardless of where they are developed or used. We need these Principles to foster a higher standard in biotech tree management, biotech forest stewardship, and ethical behavior. Through an open dialogue that continues today, a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including university researchers, conservation and environmental groups, and industry leaders, created the Responsible Use: Biotech Tree Principles that are guided by these core beliefs: * Biotech trees should benefit people, the environment, or both * Risks and benefits of biotech trees must be assessed * Transparency is vital and stakeholders must be engaged * Social equity and indigenous rights are important and must be respected * Biotech tree use must follow regulations in the country of their application These Principles are unique because they are the first, and only, guidelines that include the entire biotech tree lifecycle from conception to final product. The Institute of Forest Biotechnology will continue to manage this initiative in a transparent way. Please visit the website dedicated to strengthening these principles at www.responsibleuse.org.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forestry biotechnology
Languages : en
Pages :

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Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309482887
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
The American chestnut, whitebark pine, and several species of ash in the eastern United States are just a few of the North American tree species that have been functionally lost or are in jeopardy of being lost due to outbreaks of pathogens and insect pests. New pressures in this century are putting even more trees at risk. Expanded human mobility and global trade are providing pathways for the introduction of nonnative pests for which native tree species may lack resistance. At the same time, climate change is extending the geographic range of both native and nonnative pest species. Biotechnology has the potential to help mitigate threats to North American forests from insects and pathogens through the introduction of pest-resistant traits to forest trees. However, challenges remain: the genetic mechanisms that underlie trees' resistance to pests are poorly understood; the complexity of tree genomes makes incorporating genetic changes a slow and difficult task; and there is a lack of information on the effects of releasing new genotypes into the environment. Forest Health and Biotechnology examines the potential use of biotechnology for mitigating threats to forest tree health and identifies the ecological, economic, and social implications of deploying biotechnology in forests. This report also develops a research agenda to address knowledge gaps about the application of the technology.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forest regeneration
Languages : en
Pages : 2

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Author: V. Dhawan
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 146841321X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 373

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Book Description
Major and exciting changes have taken place recently in various aspects of bio technology and its applications to forestry. Even more exciting is the prospect of major innovations that the entire field of biotechnology holds for plant growth in general. The importance of these developments for the forestry sector is considerable, particu larly since forestry science has not received the kinds of technical and R&D inputs that, say, agriculture has received in the past few decades. Y ct the problems of defor estation as well as stagnation in yields and productivity of existing forests throughout the world are becoming increasingly apparent, with consequences and ecological ef fects that cause growing worldwide concern. Policies for application of existing knowl edge in biotechnology to the field of forestry and priorities for future research and development are, therefore, of considerable value, because it is only through the adop tion of the right priorities and enlightened policies that scientific developments will move along the right direction, leading to improvements in forestry practices through out the world. It was against this backdrop that the Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) or ganised a major international workshop on the "Applications of Biotechnology in For estry and Horticulture" at New Delhi in January 1988. The present volume covers the proceedings of this international workshop.

Author: Mark Anthony Benvenuto
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3111330826
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
The book provides an excellent introduction to industrial biotechnology, addressing the applications of biomolecules and living systems in industrial manufacturing of various products. Each part of the book is devoted to a certain biotech sector, such as biofuels, food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and materials. The book also covers the environmental aspects of industrial biotechnology and the principles of bio-based economy.

Author: Steven H. Strauss
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136525718
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Bioengineering offers many opportunities for forestry. Bioengineered trees can produce more valuable wood, help reclaim contaminated land, improve the health of urban trees, and facilitate pest management. But the ecological risks are complex, and public views about the ethical acceptability of genetic engineering vary widely. Unique in its breadth and diversity, The Bioengineered Forest begins with a survey of the range of forestry practices for which the use of biotechnologies might be appropriate. Scholars representing diverse academic perspectives and viewpoints examine in depth the economic and environmental rationale for forest biotechnologies and the current state of technology with respect to gene performance and safety. They consider the contemporary political and economic environment in which bioengineering is being introduced and where the 'genomic revolution' might take forestry and genetic engineering in the future. The Bioengineered Forest presents compelling arguments in favor of genetic engineering. Just as powerfully, it examines the significant technical and legal hurdles involved in genetic engineering, the undesirable environmental and social consequences that might result from its misapplication, and the risks for businesses that are looking too exclusively for near-term benefits.

Author: William Nikolakis
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317660730
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
The overarching contribution of this book is a review and assessment of the current and future impacts of globalization on the world’s forests. The work has been developed by the "Resources for the Future" Task Force for the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO). Four key themes are addressed: the effect of globalization on forests (including future trade flows); plantations as the primary source of forest products and its consequences, including plant breeding and forest health; the effect of new products such as bio-products and markets on forests; and the emergence of forest ecosystem services and their impact on the landscape and human communities. These four themes are examined in detail to map out the impacts of these trends for forests throughout the world and at multiple scales, and how forest research needs to be adapted to address these trends. Overall, the volume provides a major synthesis of current thinking and knowledge on the topic for advanced students, as well as policy-makers and professionals in the forest sector.

Author: Isabel Allona
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2889631788
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 185

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Book Description
This Research Topic addresses research in genomics and biotechnology to improve the growth and quality of forest trees for wood, pulp, biorefineries and carbon capture. Forests are the world’s greatest repository of terrestrial biomass and biodiversity. Forests serve critical ecological services, supporting the preservation of fauna and flora, and water resources. Planted forests also offer a renewable source of timber, for pulp and paper production, and the biorefinery. Despite their fundamental role for society, thousands of hectares of forests are lost annually due to deforestation, pests, pathogens and urban development. As a consequence, there is an increasing need to develop trees that are more productive under lower inputs, while understanding how they adapt to the environment and respond to biotic and abiotic stress. Forest genomics and biotechnology, disciplines that study the genetic composition of trees and the methods required to modify them, began over a quarter of a century ago with the development of the first genetic maps and establishment of early methods of genetic transformation. Since then, genomics and biotechnology have impacted all research areas of forestry. Genome analyses of tree populations have uncovered genes involved in adaptation and response to biotic and abiotic stress. Genes that regulate growth and development have been identified, and in many cases their mechanisms of action have been described. Genetic transformation is now widely used to understand the roles of genes and to develop germplasm that is more suitable for commercial tree plantations. However, in contrast to many annual crops that have benefited from centuries of domestication and extensive genomic and biotechnology research, in forestry the field is still in its infancy. Thus, tremendous opportunities remain unexplored. This Research Topic aims to briefly summarize recent findings, to discuss long-term goals and to think ahead about future developments and how this can be applied to improve growth and quality of forest trees.