Objective 

The mission of the Working Party on Communication and Outreach (WP-COM) is to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and capacities, including on most recent technological advances, about fast-growing trees and their sustainable management to researchers, practitioners, policymakers, landowners and donors. It works with and enables the efforts of all Working Partiesof the IPC . WP-COM also aims at supporting National Commissions of IPC Member Countries and non-Member Countries interested in strengthening national knowledge and capacities on fast-growing trees and their sustainable management. Key products of WP-COM include Highlight Sheets, Infographics, and IPC Newsletter contributions, all accessible through the IPC website.

Action plan 2023-2024 

1. Establish links to all IPC Working Partiesand work with the IPC Secretariat to streamline their contributions to the IPC website;
2. Recruit new WP-COM members from all regions to expand coverage and broaden technical expertise;
3. Develop Highlight Sheets and Infographics on current scientific outcomes;
4. Develop and share current list of international meetings where IPC's participation will be relevant;
5. Expand the IPC Photo Gallery with recent photographs of fast-growing trees from the world.

Key results and publications

Highlight sheets:

• Highlight #1 - IPC Photo Gallery 
• Highlight #2 - Society, Sustainability and Hybrid Poplar Plantations: Bridging the communication gap September 2021
• Highlight #3 - Registration of new cultivars for Fast-Growing Trees
• Highlight #4 - Registration of new cultivars of Salix from 2016–2022
• Highlight #5A - ‘Global applications of fast-growing trees in agroforestry systems’ - Short Rotation Coppice Combined with Poultry Breeding and Homegardening
• Highlight #5B - ‘Global applications of fast-growing trees in agroforestry systems’ - How Poplars and Willows Can Contribute to Improved Water Quality
• Highlight #5C - ‘Global applications of fast-growing trees in agroforestry systems’ - The Benefits of Pollarding Poplars and Willows to Provide Stock Fodder
• Highlight #5D - ‘Global applications of fast-growing trees in agroforestry systems’ - Crop Water Consumption of Whole-Tree Windbreak Systems
• Highlight #5E - ‘Global applications of fast-growing trees in agroforestry systems’ - Ecosystem Services and Profitability of Agroforestry Phyto Buffers with Cover Crops and Endophytes
• Highlight #5F - ‘Global applications of fast-growing trees in agroforestry systems’ - Tree Alley Cropping with Novel Hybrid Poplar Clones on Alluvial Soils of Southern Europe
• Highlight #5G - ‘Global applications of fast-growing trees in agroforestry systems’ - Diversifying Traditional Crop Rotations Through On-Farm Planting of Short-Rotation Trees
• Highlight #5H - ‘Global applications of fast-growing trees in agroforestry systems’ - Integrating Poplar in Rice-Wheat Farms
• Highlight #5I - ‘Global applications of fast-growing trees in agroforestry systems’ - Stabilizing Root Systems of Poplar Trees in Agroforestry Systems

WP-COM Contacts 

• Dr. Barb Thomas, Co-Chairperson, University of Alberta, Canada. Contact: [email protected]. 
• Dr. Judson Isebrands, Co-Chair, Environmental Forestry Consultants, USA. Contact: [email protected]. 
• Dr. Raju Soolanayakanahally, Agriculture and Agrifood, Canada. Contact: [email protected].