A workshop on “Enhancing Forest Resilience to Invasive Species and Climate Change Impacts – Tools for Early Warning” was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 7-9 November. The workshop was organized by the Forest Invasive Species Network for Africa (FISNA), one of the regional networks of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). FABI’s Prof. Brett Hurley, who is the current coordinator of FISNA, and Dr Mesfin Gossa, were co-organizers of the workshop, together with FAO’s Dr Shiroma Sathyapala and Natalia Cano.

Participants of the workshop, who represented 12 different countries in sub-Saharan Africa, engaged in various presentations and discussions, including national and regional pest surveillance systems, climate change, emerging pests, phytosanitary regulations, and surveillance in native forests, urban forests and agroforestry. The workshop was a great success in sharing information and moving towards more effective awareness, monitoring and management of forest pests in the region.

Prof. Hurley also presented at the 5^th International Congress on Planted Forests, which was held in Nairobi in the same week, with his presentation titled ‘Successes, challenges and future prospects for forest pest surveillance and management to protect Africa’s forest resources’.