US FOREST SERVICE international programs

1. US FOREST SERVICE international programs

3. INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMSMain Staff Units • Technical Cooperation • Policy • Disaster Programs • Outreach and Partnerships • Director’s Office • Operations

4. THE FOREST SERVICE WORKS INTERNATIONALLY TO: • Bring our expertise to bear on natural resource policies, such as climate change, conservation and trade • Bring important research and technology gained overseas back to the US • Assist countries in responding to disasters • Internationalize the US Forest Service • Leverage our investments in workforce diversity awareness—overseas assignments provide agency personnel with cross-cultural experiences

5. CURRENT SUPPORT Legislative authority: International Forestry Cooperation Act of 1990 Appropriations from Department of Interior Funding from US Agency for International Development (USAID) From USAID/Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance From USAID/Washington USAID Missions overseas Funding from Department of State

6. PARTNERSHIPS • The Forest Service—National Forests, Research Stations, State & Private cooperators • OtherUSDA agencies—FAS, APHIS, ARS • Other USG agencies— Department of State, US Agency for International Development (USAID), Bureau or Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), US Trade Representative, US Geological Survey (USGS) • Host-country governments more…

7. PARTNERSHIPS • Private sector—Home Depot, International Paper Inc., Caterpillar • Non-governmental organizations—Wildlife Conservation Society, Wild Salmon Center, Ducks Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Memphis Zoo, in-country NGOs • Universities—Land grant universities, including University of California at Davis, Colorado State U., University of Montana, University of Wisconsin • Multilateral organizations—Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

8. USFS works in over 70 countries to improve natural resource management

9. SUBJECT AREAS THAT RELATE TO GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE • Carbon monitoring and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) • Invasive species • Migratory species • Fire • Improved forestry practices • Protected areas • Ecosystem services • Habitat management • Watershed management • Global natural resource policies and trade • Global disaster support • Forest planning and monitoring • Ecotourism • Conservation education

10. CARBON MONITORING AND REDUCING EMISSIONS FROM DEFORESTATION AND FOREST DEGRADATION (REDD) PROJECTS • Eastern Himalayas Climate Change Project – Share tools and methodologies with Nepal, Bhutan, and the Indian Sikkim and Arunchal Pradesh to estimate and monitor carbon sequestration of forests and promote REDD options. • Mexico Fire, Carbon and Watershed Management Project –Improve wildland fire management in Mexico to reduce the effects of catastrophic fire, to mitigate carbon loss, to increase management in watersheds to maximize water quality and quantity and to sequester carbon. • Ghana Community-based Carbon Project – Work in partnership with the Forest Research Institute of Ghana to develop a method for community-based forest carbon monitoring

11. CARBON MONITORING AND REDUCING EMISSIONS FROM DEFORESTATION AND FOREST DEGRADATION (REDD) PROJECTS • Brazil Water, Carbon and Biodiversity Modeling Project – Work with Brazilian Forest Service to examine trade-offs between water, carbon and biodiversity, allowing land managers to assess how management actions affect ecosystem dynamics and function • Central Africa Landscape Management Project–Second largest contiguous tropical forest in the world; pooly understood and governed; asses methods for monitoring green house gas emissions and related REDD reporting processes. • Lebanon Fire and Natural Resource Management Project – Most significant forests in the Middle East; Assess carbon budget dynamics.

12. INVASIVE SPECIES PROJECTS • Collaborative research fruitful—similar ecosystems and forest pests • Emerald Ash Borer • Mountain Pine Beetle • Sudden Oak Death • Asian long-horned beetle • Hemlock Woolly Adelgid • Collaboration with other USDA agencies (APHIS, ARS, etc.) and Chinese counterparts • Benefits to the US include: • Improved control of existing pests • Prevention of potential infestations

13. US MIGRATORY SPECIES PROJECTS • Restore habitat for: • Bicknell’s thrush in the Dominican Republic • Kirtland’s warbler in the Bahamas • Cerulean warbler in Ecuador/Venezuela • Promote conservation of bats • Migratory bats • Bats worldwide • Promote conservation of Monarch butterflies across Mexico, US and Canada • Wings Across the Americas – an integrated program to conserve birds, bats and butterflies

14. IMPROVING FORESTRY PRACTICES IN THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON • Conventional logging practices highly destructive • Logging  degradation  fire  deforestation • Reduced-impact logging conserves forest benefits • Benefits to the US include: • Conservation of world biodiversity • A sustainable source of tropical timber needed by US manufacturers

15. ASSESSING THE CAUSES & IMPACTS OF FIRE IN INDONESIA • 23.7 million acres burned in Indonesia in 1997 & 1998 in comparison to 15.5 million acres burned in US in 2000 & 2002 • The work in Indonesia focused on underlying causes needed to guide changes in policies and practices • Benefits to US include giving the US Forest Service a large-scale laboratory to assess fire behavior under different conditions and scales.

16. ECOSYSTEM SERVICES • Global Forestry Forum – Oaxaca, Mexico • Linking international models and efforts on the payment of ecosystem services to the United States

17. HABITAT MANAGEMENT IN RUSSIA • Managing the Siberian Tiger’s habitat—threatened by illegal logging and catastrophic fires • Managing forests for biodiversity while meeting the needs of users • Tahoe-Baikal partnership addressing habitat management and eco-tourism

18. ARID WATERSHED MANAGEMENT IN WEST ASIA AND NORTH AFRICA • Collaborative research among Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Turkey and the US • Work with Jewish National Fund • US Forest Service organized a Sustainable Land and Water Management in the Middle East Conference (October 2005): • Participants from Cyprus, Palestinian Authority, Turkey, Jordan, Israel, European Community and the US

19. GLOBAL NATURAL RESOURCE POLICIES AND TRADE • Lead technical agency on international forestry issues. • US Forest Service participates in international policy fora on: Climate change, third-party certification, criteria and indicators, illegal and destructive logging, improved data and monitoring, trade and environmental reviews, etc. • Benefits to the US include: • Improved forest management at home (Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators) • Reduced illegal and environmentally subsidized timber flowing to the international market—levels the playing field for US industry

20. International Dialogue on Climate Change • Work with State Dept. and other USG agencies to develop positions and policy options regarding climate change • Bring USFS technical expertise to international meetings and negotiations related to climate change mitigation and adaptation • Incorporate “on the ground” experience into policy dialogue • Bring overseas experience and ideas on land-use and climate change back to the US

21. GLOBAL DISASTER SUPPORT and PREVENTION TO MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE • US Forest Service applies incident command system to disasters around the world. • US Forest Service has responded to both natural and human-caused disasters. • Recent responses: • Haiti Earthquake Effort, Tsunami Response, Hurricane Katrina Effort, Darfur Humanitarian Response, India Earthquake, Post 9-11 New York City Training, Columbia Shuttle Recovery • Mitigation and Preparedness:India Incident Command Training, ASEAN-US Cooperation on Disaster Management, Building Capacity for Disaster Management in Ethiopia

22. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL SEMINARS • International Seminar on Natural Resources and Climate Change—coordinated by International Programs and University of California at Davis • International Seminar on Watershed Management—coordinated by International Programs • International Seminar on Protected Area Management—coordinated by International Programs, University of Montana, Colorado State U., and University of Idaho • Spanish Language Field Course in Wildlands & Protected Area Management—coordinated by International Programs, University of Montana, Colorado State U., and University of Idaho

23. GETTING THE WORD OUT ABOUT INTERNATIONAL WORK OF THE FOREST SERVICE • Website—an award-winning site with in-depth information on ongoing Forest Service activities worldwide and on our global activities on climate change • Electronic Contacts list— over 12,000 names and growing to promote Forest Service work around the globe • Newsletter—highlights the range of forestry and natural resource management topics

24. USFS—INFORMATION RESOURCE ON FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE US Forest Service International Programs on Climate Changehttp://www.fs.fed.us/global/topic/climate_change/welcome.htm Climate Change Resource Center http://www.fs.fed.us/ccrc Carbon Inventory Resources http://nrs.fs.fed.us/carbon/tools

25. For more information on International Programs, Visit our website: www.fs.fed.us/global