Friday, October 15, 2010
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
UCLA Faculty Center
Westwood, CA 90095

You are invited to participate in a one-day forum on Climate Change and Urban Forests in Los Angeles, to be held on October 15, 2010 at the UCLA Faculty Center in Westwood, Los
Angeles. This forum will bring together scientists, community organizations, urban forestry practitioners, and policy makers for an informed discussion of climate change mitigation and associated socio-economic issues from an urban perspective. Our primary focus will be the Million Trees Los Angeles (MTLA) initiative (http://www.milliontreesla.org/), and how coordinated efforts in scientific research, public education, and urban planning can lead to successful implementation of a largescale urban tree planting program.

This forum will be open to faculty and students from UCLA and UC Irvine, researchers at the USDA Forest Service, local environmental and community organizations, and major partners contributing to the MTLA initiative. Our provisional agenda includes:

1. Overview of the current understanding of climate change threats and predictions in the
greater Los Angeles area.
2. Review of research exploring the role of trees in Los Angeles urban environments, including urban forest transpiration and water use, and the effects of a large-scale tree planting program on local greenhouse gas emissions and climate patterns.
3. Overview of key political and institutional factors in implementing large urban infrastructure programs, and the economic, societal, and policy implications of the MTLA initiative.
4. Panel discussions on (1) coordinating expert knowledge, civic organizations, and decision makers to develop and implement effective urban climate change programs, and (2) critical issues for programs managing human-ecological interactions, including process-based factors, social aspects, and practitioner challenges.

We plan to address various components of our goals and objectives with presentations and panel discussions. To encourage further interaction and engagement, several participating organizations will display posters and print material summarizing their relevant research and projects. We expect this forum to be the first in a series of events designed to advance synergism between science and policy, support a multifaceted approach to future environmental challenges in the Los Angeles region, and improve our ability to educate the next generation of environmentalists.

There is no fee for attending this forum, and a limited number of subsidized parking spaces are available. Please RSVP by email no later than October 8, 2010 to reserve your space.

Please see the attached agenda for additional details.

Dr. Sassan Saatchi: Sassan.S.Saatchi@jpl.nasa.gov
Senior Researcher, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, UCLA Institute of the Environment

Sponsored by the UCLA Institute of the Environment,  Million Trees LA, Forest Service U.S. Department of Agriculture, Climate Change Resource Center and the University of California, Irvine.
 

Download File: Agenda.pdf

Published: Wednesday, September 29, 2010

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