Preparing for the 21st century career:

Transcription

1 Preparing for the 21st century career: What does it mean for the Forestry and Environmental Science majors? Presented by: Abu M. Nurullah, Ph.D. Olympia, Washington, USA

2 Presentation Outlines Brief history of Forestry and Environmental Science (ES) Motivation to study these subjects Competencies expected. Existing and potential areas of application Prospects in Bangladesh and Beyond Questions and Answers

3 Forestry in perspective? Forestry may be defined as the science and art of efficiently managing forest resources for the benefits of the society. Forestry started in Germany by Heinrich Cotta ( ) 1844) as a private school in 1811 in the Forestry Town of Tharandt near Dresden. It later became the Royal Saxon Forestry Academy. Cotta studied forestry all his life and had a profound influence on the profession of forestry and foresters in Europe.

4 Cotta's Preface Anweisung zum Waldbau : On the need for Foresters: There would be no physicians if there were no diseases, and no forestry science without deficiency in wood supplies. On why Forestry is backward: The forester who practices much writes but little, and he who writes much practices but little. On the Good Forester : The good forester takes the highest yield from the forest without deteriorating the soil, the poor one neither obtains this yield nor preserves the fertility of the soil.

5 Continued.. German foresters pioneered the science of forest measurements, known as forest mensuration. Developed a number of mathematical formulae to predict tree growth and yield Developed the sustained yield principle Knowledge of German & Austrian Foresters are embodied in Classical Forestry

6 Environmental Science (ES)? ES is relatively a new endeavor The after-effect effect of industrial revolution over two and a half centuries has had a significant impact physical and biological environment pollution, loss of habitat, rapid change in climate and impact on food safety & security Quality of environment (QE) and Sustainable development are vital component to international trade agreements; Quality of Environment means Quality of Life

7 Environmental Science (contd.) Thus, ES may be defined as..the study of human effects on physical and biological environment..to understand the processes that affect both human and his surroundings..in an effort to discover strategies && strike a balance between human activities and his environment such that integrity of both human enterprises as well as his surroundings are maintained

8 Motivation to Forestry & ES? Forests provides a number of tangible and intangible benefits such as timber, fuel wood, bamboo, cane, wax, honey, agar, clean air and water Our physical environment- air, soil, water, plants & animals binds and sustains human as well as our biological world in an intricate relationship. Forestry ES

9 Expectations from a forestry major? Familiarity of the forest he/she will be working on Basic forest biology, inventory & sampling knowledge Ability to develop reasonably accurate estimate of the timber and non-timber resources of his/her jurisdiction Ability to prepare forest management plans pursuant to local legal and environmental regulations Ability to represent the agency in the court of law in case of litigation from the public. Traditional

10 Expectations from a forestry major? Ability to effectively use modern measurement technologies such as GPS, GIS, Laser Range-finder & Hypsometer, Automatic data-logger, Aerial Photo and Hyper-spectral Imagery interpretation for making timely resource management decisions Current Ability to design and implement innovative non-standard silviculture to achieve biodiversity and other non-traditional forest values such as game-bird habitat.

11 Expectations from a forestry major? Ability to quantify forest carbon sequestration, pollution absorption, water quality, impact of forestry practices on fish and other wildlife habitats. Ability to make financial justification for any management intervention or policy instrument Ability to negotiate in different forums with various stakeholders Professional integrity and an attitude to serve the interest of the agency he/she will be working for. Current

12 Expectations from an ES major? competent in chemical analysis of materials, specially toxins in the natural systems and help identify effective mitigation strategies; able to identify policies to help improve environmental benefits; able to make environmental impact assessment (EIS); have a multi-disciplinary knowledge about living and non-living systems and able to extrapolate as needed; able to provide leadership in negotiations, and conflict resolution; Write cogent report and face public forums

13 Prospects in Bangladesh & Beyond Forest Department, DOE, Banks, NGOs Consulting-forestry, environment Teaching at University/College (?) Professional Foresters, Forest Scientists, Environmental Planner, Forest Management Planner, Forest Ecologists, Forest Biologists, Hydrologists, Conservation Planner, Analyst in Forest Investment Companies, State and Federal Agencies..

14 Questions Anything & everything except immigration