The Growing Confidence in Forestry’s Future Research (GCFF) programme has been running for two and a half years. At the outset, it set ambitious targets around raising the productivity of future forests and maximising the benefits from existing forests that will provide the wood sold into the domestic and international markets for the next 20 years at least. This conference will provide updates on key projects that are being undertaken within the overall GCFF programme and the implications for forest managers.

While the main focus of the GCFF programme is on increasing the economic, environmental and social benefits provided by forests, doing so is not without risk. It is timely to remind ourselves of some of the risks involved in forestry and how these might impact on future decision making. Therefore, a focus for the conference is on this theme of risk management in forestry. A line-up of international and local speakers will give perspectives on risk management in light of some of the results that are coming out of the GCFF programme.

The 2-day conference is aimed at forest managers, researchers and government and council representatives alike. In order to make travel arrangements easier, we will hold the field trip on the first day (Thursday May 12th) followed by the presentation session on the second day (Friday May 13th). In addition, there is also the opportunity to join a GCFF workshop on forest genetics/phenotyping and a LiDAR cluster meeting on Wednesday 11th May. We look forward to welcoming you to Auckland.

Peter Clinton, John Moore and Annette Brockerhoff