Adequacy of Spatial Databases for Conducting Risk Assessments of Sustainable Wood Sourcing Practices of the US Industrial Wood Pellet Industry Supplying European Energy Demand
It is highly likely that wood pellets imported from the southeast United States will comprise the largest source of this biomass, in addition to those generated within the European Union. A variety of certification systems have been developed which provide third-party verification of European Union member states’ policy requirements that imported wood pellets are sourced from sustainably managed forests. In order to offer verification that does not require forest certification, risk-based approaches to verification have been developed, with certification at the pellet mill level, rather than forest management unit level. In order to ease the work with risk assessments further, regional risk assessment procedures have been developed for wood chip and pellet supply chains. As opposed to the usual company level approaches, the regional approaches are implemented to provide a geographically wider measure of assurance. In this regard, this international workshop aims to identify ways for improving the use of existing spatial data sources for documenting sustainable forest management in wood pellet supply chains for accomplishing supply area, regional, and national level risk assessments. Issues at the interface of social, environmental, economic, and policy aspects of wood pellet supply chains will be discussed as well. A tentative agenda for the workshop can be downloaded from Dwivedi Forest Sustainability Lab at the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.
Event Date:
Wednesday, May 1, 2019 - Friday, May 3, 2019Location:
UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel1197 South Lumpkin Street, Athens, GA 30602
Cost:
During the early bird registration period (Jan 28 – April 05), the registration price for attending the first two days of the workshop is $250/person. Registering for the third day of the workshop will entail add-on registration price of $70/person. During the late registration period (April 06 – April 23), the registration price for attending the first two days of the workshop is $300/person whereas last day add-on registration price is $100/person.
Event Cancellation Policies:
A cancellation received by 5:00 PM ET 5 business days prior to the event will be refunded, minus a $35 processing fee. No refunds will be issued thereafter; substitutions will be allowed. To change or cancel your registration, call (706) 542-7493, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM ET. If an event is canceled for any reason, The Georgia Center will not be responsible for any charges related to travel.
Hotel Cost:
You will be given the opportunity to make a hotel reservation as you proceed through the online registration process.
To change or cancel your hotel reservation, call (800) 884-1381 or (706) 542-2134.
Program Contact Information:
Puneet Dwivedi, Ph.D.
Associate Professor (Sustainability Sciences)
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia
180 E Green St, Athens GA 30602
(706) 542-2406
puneetd@uga.edu
Registration Contact:
The Georgia Center
(706) 542-7493
registration@georgiacenter.uga.edu
Special Needs:
If you require special services, email Nette Penn by April 24, 2019.
Dietary restrictions should be indicated on the registration form or during the registration process.
Register Online