4 Forestry education trends in Southeast Asia

The Southeast Asian survey was restricted to only six countries, which allowed for country-level analyses. Furthermore, each country is unique in terms of language of instruction, population and land area, which influences the human resource needs in forestry.

Enrolment and graduation

Technical level

Twenty-one certificate and diploma programmes were surveyed. Technical-level forestry education is organized differently among the countries. Some offer a certificate in forestry, others a diploma. Indonesia and Laos offer both. Thailand does not have a formal forestry programme at technical level (Chart 9). The following trends were captured:

• There is no regional pattern in Southeast Asia. The change takes different routes in different countries.

• In the Philippines, certificate graduation decreased sharply between 1993 and 2002, down from an average of 188 per year during 1993-97 to 113 during 1998-2002.

• Both certificate and diploma graduation in Laos has increased, the latter rather dramatically. The 2002 increase is explained by the output from one single institution, the National University of Laos. This, in turn, is a result of a national policy of increasing the number of students in colleges and universities.

• In Indonesia, certificate graduation remained stable, with an annual average of 77. Diploma graduation fluctuated over the period: a peak in 1994-95, followed by a decline and then again an increase in the last three years.

• Certificate graduation in Malaysia increased with the opening of new forestry programmes.

• Vietnam graduated one single batch of Forestry Diploma in 1999, after which the programme was abandoned.

Enrolment trends

• Enrolment in the Philippines is decreasing sharply.

• Vietnam also reported a decrease.

• There is a significant increased enrolment in Laos for both certificate and diploma.

• In Indonesia, there is a mixed picture, but most institutions reported increased enrolment.

Professional level (BSc)

Twenty-five first-degree forestry programmes were surveyed, 17 of which were in Indonesia and the Philippines. In Thailand and Laos only one university, respectively, offers forestry education. Data for Malaysia are also based on one institution only. The following key trends in first-degree graduation were observed (Chart 10):

• The number of first-degree graduates roughly doubled between 1993 and 2002.

• All countries except the Philippines saw an increased output. Two countries, Indonesia and Vietnam, increased their annual graduation significantly.

• In Laos, the first batch of 31 BSc Forestry students graduated as recently as 2000, increasing to 137 in 2002.

• Philippines had a fairly stable output of graduates over the 10-year period, in average 262 per year.

• In Malaysia, a new programme graduated its first batch in 1997.

Enrolment trends

• First degree enrolment decreased in the Philippines.

• A mixed picture appeared in Indonesia. Some institutions reported decreasing or stagnant enrolment, others an increase.

• Lao PDR, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam all reported increased enrolment.

Postgraduate level (MSc, PhD)

Data on MSc and PhD graduation are influenced by movement of students between countries in the region and many get their postgraduate degree overseas, making it harder to capture national trends. But a few general observations could be of interest. At MSc level the following trends were captured (Chart 11):

• MSc graduation increased by a factor of three from 1993 to 2002. All countries except the Philippines increased their output of MSc graduates

• Kasetsart University, Thailand, accounted for a large proportion of this increased MSc graduation: up from around 20 graduates per year to some 120 per year in 2001 and 2002. That is about 50 per cent of the total output among the 35 sample institutions.

• MSc and PhD in forestry are not offered in Laos

• The first MSc forestry students in Vietnam among the responding institutions graduated in 1995.

Considering the large number of BSc graduates in Indonesia and the Philippines, the number of MSc graduates in those two countries was small. In 2002, for example, Indonesia had 947 BSc and 55 MSc graduates.

Regarding PhD graduation, noteworthy observations (Chart 12) were that:

• Overall, there was an increased PhD graduation although there were big fluctuations from year to year. Only Thailand showed a clear upward trend.

• Among the sample institutions, 145 PhDs graduated from five universities during the 10-year period, 60 per cent of them in the Philippines.

• Only 12 PhD students graduated during the studied period from the Indonesian universities covered in this survey: all from one single institution. Many PhD seem to be trained outside Indonesia, but given Indonesia's very significant forestry sector and serious environmental issues, it is worrisome that few PhD students seem to be trained at the national institutions.

Gender

The male and female ratio of graduates varied little between the levels of education. Regionally the study showed between 21.9 per cent and 28.2 per cent of female graduates at the various levels (Table 3).

Table 3: Graduates by gender

However, the variation between countries was very significant. The Philippines had an almost 50/50 ratio of male and female graduates at certificate and BSc levels. Malaysia also had a fairly equal number of male and female BSc graduates. Laos and Vietnam had a low ratio of female graduates across all programmes. Charts 13 and 14 show the situation for certificate and BSc levels, respectively.

At Master and PhD levels, the differences among countries were smaller, Malaysia being the exception with an all-male MSc graduation during the sample period.

Employment

The public sector is the most important employer of forestry graduates in all countries, especially in Laos and Vietnam. Traditional forestry management positions seem to dominate: ministries of forestry/natural resources; state forest companies; national agriculture and forestry extension, etc. Employment at province/district level either in local government units or in line agencies is common.

A second employment group is forest industries and enterprises, either state-owned (Vietnam) or private (Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos).

Academic institutions - educational institutions and research centres - were mentioned as important employers in Philippines, Laos and Vietnam.

NGOs were ranked as the second most important employer in the Philippines. Also Indonesia and Vietnam reported NGO employment. Employment in national parks and natural conservation zones was reported in Vietnam. Environmental department jobs were listed in Laos and Thailand. Self-employment was only reported in the Philippines.

Although traditional jobs seem to dominate, non-traditional duties are important too: environmental positions, national parks management, community development, agroforestry, etc. In the Philippines, jobs as community organizers were frequently reported.

The education level is important for employability. For example, diploma graduates in Laos have difficulties in accessing jobs because employing agencies prefer graduates with higher education.

This survey did not capture quantitative data on employment. Tracer studies of forestry graduates are needed.

The changing roles of foresters

A shift from ‘traditional forestry’ towards social forestry, community forestry, environmental conservation, etc., was reported in all countries. Globalization, decentralization and devolution and national reform are part of this broader picture.

All countries except Malaysia specifically mentioned the socio-economic roles of foresters, such as understanding social problems and local culture; community/upland development; facilitation, extension and work with rural communities; human dimensions in the management of natural resources and national parks.

The multiple roles of foresters were frequently mentioned: There is a change from foresters to environmentalists, from specialists to generalists. Multidisciplinary approaches are a new trend. Foresters today are expected to be able to deal with forestry, agroforestry and community development, as well as environmental issues using multidisciplinary and participatory approaches.

Other new directions in forestry education include economics and entrepreneurship, wood technology and wood industries, ecotourism, etc. Table 4 summarizes the key changes reported.

Table 4: Changes in the roles of foresters, by country

The national studies reported that these needs have been incorporated in curricula, by offering new programmes and new courses, or by revising existing courses.

Resources, facilities and funding

The availability of resources, facilities and funding varied greatly between countries in Southeast Asia. Institutions in Laos consistently reported inadequate resources. In contrast, Malaysia reported adequate resources in most aspects of the teaching infrastructure (Table 5).

Libraries are poorly equipped and teaching materials and books are in short supply in practically every institution surveyed. Transport facilities are inadequate too. The financial situation is dire for most forestry institutions: all countries reported inadequate national funding (no data for Malaysia). Only Vietnam reported adequate donor support to forestry education.

On a positive note, most countries have adequate teaching and support staff. Lecture rooms and communication facilities and field training sites are generally available, Laos being the prime exception.

Table 5: Resources and funding

***=Adequate; * = Inadequate

Priority needs

The priority needs most frequently reported in Southeast Asian institutions were:

1. Curriculum development

2. Improvement of teaching and support staff

3. Improvement of facilities

4. Budget improvement

Priority needs by country are shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Priority needs, by country