ForestTECH – What is it?
ForestTECH is Australasia’s premier annual forest technology event. It’s being run now for 14 years, principally in New Zealand and Australia. It’s aimed at resource managers, remote sensing, GIS and mapping specialists, inventory foresters and more recently, tree crop supervisors and forest establishment and silvicultural managers.
ForestTECH 2021 is running in Rotorua, New Zealand, on 23-24 November 2021. We will also be streaming the event live to our Australian and international communities.
What happened last year?
Last year ForestTECH 2020, against all odds, ran in Rotorua, New Zealand. In the lead up to the annual technology event, most within the industry would have thought that it would have been a very hard (in fact, nigh near impossible) task to get forestry resource and tree crop managers together from across Australasia at any physical event.
Despite COVID-19, country border restrictions, tight health and safety requirements for running physical events and a minor scare in Auckland the week before the event, ForestTECH 2020 ran in Rotorua, New Zealand in November 2020.
Record attendances:
Well over 300 attended ForestTECH 2020. Workshops, meetings, field demonstrations and a two-day technology conference and trade exhibitions all ran for the wider industry over the week. The live and virtual hybrid format for ForestTECH 2020 also enabled a much wider cross-section of international presenters and delegates to be involved.
Delegates from 20 different countries for the first time were involved as part of the online streaming of the event out of Rotorua, New Zealand. Companies located in; New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, Brazil, USA, Canada, Columbia, Chile, Ireland, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, China, South Africa, Latvia, Singapore and the United Kingdom were involved in ForestTECH 2020.
What’s planned for ForestTECH 2021?
Content: For the first time, last year, ForestTECH 2020 was split into two main technology streams; 1. Remote sensing, data capture and inventory management, and 2. Forest establishment, mechanised planting and silviculture.
Format and location: The 2021 event will again be run in Rotorua, New Zealand. Uncertainties around country borders being open, international travel and a reluctance still by many individuals and companies to travel outside New Zealand means that the format used in 2020 (physical delegates in New Zealand with the full event being streamed to Australian and other international delegates) will be used for ForestTECH 2021.
ForestTECH 2021 will cover;
• Remote sensing/ satellite imagery technologies
• Mechanised & automated planting systems
• Advances in silvicultural treatments
• Data capture technologies and operational use
• Inventory management
• Big data management IT solutions
• Drone based imaging and data capture
• Options for AI and deep learning
Interested in presenting?
If interested in presenting at the ForestTECH 2021 this year (either in person in New Zealand or remotely), please register your early interest by emailing brent.apthorp@fiea.org.nz by Friday 21 May 2021
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