UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO FORESTRY DEAN TO CHAIR BIODIVERSITY SCIENCE FORUM

For Immediate Release
January 31, 2007

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO FORESTRY DEAN TO CHAIR BIODIVERSITY SCIENCE FORUM
Forum Will Help Set Priorities And Foster Biodiversity Science Partnerships

TORONTO — Dr. Tattersall Smith, Dean of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Forestry, has agreed to serve as the first chair of the Ontario Biodiversity Science Forum, Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay announced today.

“Dr. Smith’s extensive experience leading research on sustainable forest management and ecology makes him highly qualified to help focus and advance the biodiversity science agenda and foster science partnerships in Ontario,” said Ramsay. “I know he will make an important contribution to this province’s efforts to conserve and restore biodiversity for the benefit of future generations.”

As the chair of the Biodiversity Science Forum, Dr. Smith will recruit additional members of the forum and ensure it provides effective support to the Ontario Biodiversity Council.

“I’m delighted Dr. Smith has agreed to take on this vital role,” said Jon K. Grant, chair of the Ontario Biodiversity Council. “I look forward to the support and scientific advice he and the future members of the Biodiversity Science Forum will provide to the council as it implements Ontario’s Biodiversity Strategy.”

Dr. Smith was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Toronto in July 2005. He was previously Professor and Head of the Department of Forest Science at Texas A&M University; Project Leader for Sustainability and Environmental Research and Manager of New Zealand’s Forest Research Institute South Island Operations; and a member of the Forestry Faculty at the University of New Hampshire. Dr. Smith has a Ph.D. in Forest Resources from the University of Maine.

Dr. Smith’s major research interests are in the areas of forest ecology and soils. He is currently President-elect of the Association of University Forestry Schools of Canada, and the Associate Task Leader for the International Energy Agency’s Bioenergy Task 31 – Biomass Production for Energy from Sustainable Forestry.

Ontario’s Biodiversity Strategy, launched in 2005, recommends the creation of an Ontario Biodiversity Science Forum, including representatives of academia, museums, government, Aboriginal peoples, industry and non-government organizations. The forum is intended to identify knowledge gaps and recommend science priorities in areas such as improving the understanding of ecosystem functions and relationships and the understanding of the economic and non-economic valuing of biodiversity.

Protecting What Sustains Us: Ontario’s Biodiversity Strategy is available at http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Biodiversity/.

For More Information

Anne-Marie Flanagan
Minister’s Office
416-327-0654

Jolanta Kowalski
Communications Services Branch
416-314-2106

General Enquiries

Natural Resources Information Centre
1-800-667-1940
TTY 1-866-686-6072 (Hearing Impaired)