The Panel:
requested that FAO continue to provide a focal point at global level for the harmonization of international programmes and projects and for the dissemination of information and knowhow in forest genetic resources;
requested that, in allocating resources within the Organization and within the Forestry Department, due recognition be given to the increasing responsibilities in the forest genetic resources field;
recommended that efforts be made to bolster the actual impact of FAO's forest genetic resources activities through continued and strengthened collaboration with other international and bilateral organizations, and between FAO's field and regular programmes;
requested FAO to strike an equal balance in attention and support to forest genetic resources activities in arid and humid zones on the one hand; and conservation and other genetic resources activities on the other;
recommended that multipurpose species of importance to local communities continue to play a predominant role in FAO's forest genetic resources activities without, however, neglecting wood producing species of importance to local economies;
recommended that reference be made, in regard to target species, to the priority lists elaborated by the Panel;
recommended that FAO Forestry Paper No107 on principles and concepts of in situ conservation of forest genetic resources in sustainable forest management, be complemented by a guide or guides on methodologies and practices;
recommended that documentation on in situ conservation be complemented by pilot studies carried out in collaboration with national institutes in both the humid and the dry tropics;
requested FAO to pay due attention to scientific issues related to in situ conservation, such as effects of deforestation and forest degradation, effects of landscape fragmentation, the management of vegetation mosaics, and genetic effects of ecosystem-based conservation activities;
requested FAO, in collaboration with IBPGR, to closely monitor, document and disseminate information on experiences from the European species-specific, regional forest genetic resources networks, established in follow-up to the First Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (Strasbourg 1990);
recommended that FAO and the DANIDA Forest Seed Centre, in close collaboration with countries concerned, join forces to review and document experiences from existing ex situ conservation stands;
recommended that FAO continue to collaborate with relevant institutes in the exploration, collection and exchange of forest reproductive materials, and that action in this regard be focussed on the priority species identified by the Panel;
recommended that FAO continue to disseminate information on documentation and certification of forest tree seed and to assist developing countries in the elaboration and application of appropriate seed certification schemes;
recommended that efforts be made to facilitate continued exchange of research seedlots of forest tree species and provenances among countries, and that the FAO International Code of Conduct for Plant Germplasm Collecting and Transfer be used to guide agreements between countries in this regard, in the spirit of the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources and the Convention on Biological Diversity;
recommended that FAO continue to monitor and disseminate information on proven conventional and new technologies and their potential;
requested FAO to help strengthen inter-institutional collaboration in research in forest genetic resources and related disciplines;
recommended that FAO, in addition to continuing the production of well-focussed technical level documents, prepare “popular versions” of these documents and/or promote the use of technical FAO documents as the basis for locally adapted texts;
recommended that publication of the annual newsletter, “Forest Genetic Resources Information” be continued;
recommended that FAO continue to support and to inform potential users of international, bilateral and national training activities related to various aspects of the conservation and use of forest genetic resources;
recommended that collaboration between professional groups covering aspects of production, protection, conservation and ethics be promoted in order to help establish adequate philosophical foundations for the development of balanced conservation policies.
requested the Secretariat to review possibilities for linking the forthcoming, Ninth Session of the Panel with other, scheduled international meetings.
