Dear Colleagues,
Today I am pleased to announce that our website has been completely re-designed and includes a Chinese and English language version! I work as a researcher at the University of Florida and have been visiting forests in Asia for the last five years. Many of the problems I see in forests could have been prevented. This is true for every country in the world. It is my hope that we can start to work more closely to solve these global problems. A part of my research is to explore how different cultures can communicate effectively with each other and I am exploring new ways to share information. I grew up in the United Kingdom and worked as a forester for ten years before I became an academic. The problems that I saw in my home country I have witnessed in all the other countries I have visited. Pests and diseases don’t respect national boundaries, insects fly, fungus is transported by humans, and wood is exported around the world. But we are fortunate that we have a world full of talented individuals who care about forests and seek to preserve and enhance them.
I would like to say a big “Thank You!” for being a part of our network. Our aims are to connect professional foresters and researchers from across the region. This connection helps to share the latest news and events about forestry pests and diseases. As we all know, it is much easier to stop a problem from arriving than trying to eradicate it once it has established. By sharing this information we can all learn from one another about the state of our forests health so we can focus our effort on current problems and those that are likely to arrive.
In the future we hope to start new initiatives within this group. We have members from across the world connected by different social media platforms. Please invite your colleagues. Ask students to become involved. Mention the group at your place of work. Contact me if you are looking for collaborators on scientific projects. This community will continue to expand and I am extremely grateful for your participation. Together we can make a difference.
Simon Ernstsons – Asian Forest Health News
asianforesthealth.org
