CSFEP Newsletter, June 2024

In this issue, we cover:

• A short film about CSFEP’s work to bring science to practitioners
• An upcoming virtual discussion about sustainable timber use in East Africa
• A soon-to-be-released film about women working to decarbonize the built environment

Translating Science into Action: A new short film discusses how CSFEP helps local actors utilize science

In partnership with WebsEdge and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), CSFEP is excited to release a short film discussing its work to help local value chain actors utilize the best available science to build climate smart forest economies.

Enormous thanks goes to BuildX Studio, which invited CSFEP to film at its new project, The Rewildings, in Tigoni, Kenya. Here, land that was once heavily damaged by tea plantations is now being given a new life. Using a climate smart forest economy, BuildX Studio is building low-carbon residential homes while restoring the natural landscape and providing a habitat to local wildlife.

The film will be shown at IUFRO’s upcoming World Congress, where CSFEP will be in attendance from June 23-26th. If you’ll be there and would like to meet up, please contact our Program Director, Robyn van den Heuvel, at [email protected].

View the film here.

CSFEP and our Partners on the Ground: Gatsby Africa, Arup East Africa, and CSFEP host webinar on sustainable timber adoption in East Africa

When sustainable timber is used, instead of concrete and steel, to build housing in East Africa, what are the effects on cost and carbon? In a recent study, Gatsby Africa and Arup East Africa sought to answer this question.

Join them and CSFEP on July 1st, 2024, from 1400-1600 EAT for an interactive webinar sharing these recent research results and featuring a discussion about opportunities and barriers to using sustainable timber in East Africa, as well as the role of public and private partners in this transition.

?Register and learn more about the webinar here.

In the News: New documentary showcases women working to decarbonize the built environment

“We both need buildings to house, educate, and work, but in the act of making them and operating them we’re causing significant harm to the climate.” So begins a trailer from upcoming documentary Women of Carbon, which explores the unique role of women in transforming the built environment industry. ?

The documentary showcases female professionals’ use of renewable energy, technology, and circular economy practices to decrease the built environment’s carbon footprint—while giving us a look behind the scenes at the challenges and realities of working in an industry typically dominated by men.?

Watch the trailer here and learn more about the soon-to-be-released documentary here.

To stay up to date on upcoming premiere dates and locations, follow Women of Carbon documentary on LinkedIn.

About CSFEP

The Climate Smart Forest Economy Program partners with communities to transform extractive forest economies into regenerative systems that balance the needs of ecosystems and people. It envisions a different future for forest economies: one that restores, not depletes, natural resources; reduces, not increases, emissions from value chains; and safeguards, not exploits, interests of smallholder and forest-dwelling communities.[1]?

We are always open to new partnerships – please contact us to discuss further.

[1] Clay K, Cooper L.?Safeguarding against Harm in a Climate-Smart Forest Economy: Definitions, Challenges, and Solutions.?Sustainability. 2022.