Appointment made to new Chair of Sustainable Forestry for the Bay of Plenty and South Waikato regions

Joint Media Release: For immediate release

11 August 2017

A new forestry science and education partnership has been created in the central North Island with the establishment of a new Chair of Sustainable Forestry at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology.

Creation of the role is a collaboration between Toi Ohomai and Rotorua-based Crown research institute Scion. The Chair will be based at both the Toi Ohomai and Scion campuses.

Professor Linton Winder, Academy Leader for Primary Industries, Science and the Environment, Toi Ohomai, says a key purpose of the role is leading the development of a Centre of Excellence for Forestry for the region and New Zealand as a whole.

“The opportunity for Toi Ohomai to work with Scion to meet the needs of our region is fantastic. Scion is a global leader in forestry and wood technology, and we look forward to building a stronger relationship with them to meet the needs of our industry”.

For Scion, this partnership between the two institutes will strengthen its linkages with relevant tertiary institutions throughout New Zealand and cement Scion’s position as a key player in the Bay of Connections economic development plan.

The first appointment to the Chair is Scion’s Dr Tim Payn, Principal Scientist and Research Leader Economics, Ecosystems and Climate.

Dr Payn took up his role as Professor of Sustainable Forestry on 1 August 2017 for a term of three years.

In addition to championing a new Centre of Excellence for Forestry, Professor Payn will facilitate collaborative student-based research projects between the two institutes, continue to conduct his internationally recognised research, and contribute to teaching programmes at Toi Ohomai.

Professor Payn says he is very much looking forward to making links between Toi Ohomai’s student programmes and Scion’s scientists and technologists.

“This is an exciting opportunity to get some of the really new advances in forestry in front of the next generation of foresters and help future-proof the sector both regionally and nationally.”

Professor Payn has a background in soil science and has specialised in research on sustainable forest management more recently. He is a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Forestry and is heavily involved in global efforts to support sustainable forest management. He currently chairs the 12 Country Montreal Process Technical Advisory Committee which supports policy aimed at defining and measuring sustainable practice. He is also Vice Chair of the Engagement Committee of Future Earth, a global sustainability initiative.

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