Anthropologist Purabi Bose, who spoke on the third day of the 25th World Congress of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), urged participants to step out of their comfort zones in order to communicate their research results and work together with traditional communities. "The people of the forest are not without voices, they need a space to communicate their wisdom. Each side needs the other: traditional wisdom is science," she said.

According to Bose, forest dwellers see differently from scholars, and scientists have much to contribute if they ally themselves with traditional communities.
"If forest peoples are not involved before research begins, we cannot expect the results to be useful," she said.

Bose is the author of Landscaping Actually, as well as an anthropologist, environmental scientist, ethnographer, and video maker working with traditional communities. Recently, Bose has produced documentaries with indigenous people who speak in their own languages without translation about climate change and other issues.

Public policies
According to Bose’s research, current leaders do not read scientific articles. "90% of respondents believe what they read on Twitter, and none of them consult academic papers. I think that we have to take a step back and rethink the way we communicate. Our leaders say they don’t understand scientific jargon, and this is a big challenge," she added.

Alongside Dr. Bose, Wednesday's plenary session entitled "Forests for People" also included architect and urbanist Maria Chiara Pastore, who spoke on the relationship between forests and cities. IUFRO vice-president Björn Hannel moderated the session.
The 25th World Congress of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) is being held in Curitiba, Brazil, and organized by Embrapa, the Brazilian Forest Service, and IUFRO.