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Forest Resources Division Forestry Department FAO |
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INTRODUCTION In line with the recommendations of the most recent Sessions of the FAO Panel of Experts on Forest Gene Resources in 1993 and 1995, and work of the FAO Commission on Plant Genetic Resources to periodically update the State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources, including forest genetic resources, the Forest Resources Division of FAO has initiated the development of a world-wide information system on forest genetic resources (REFORGEN). The overall objective of the system is to make available reliable and up-to-date information on forest genetic resources activities for use in planning and decision making at sub-regional, regional and international levels. The specific objectives of the information system are:
At the present stage, a rather simple system has been developed, covering a limited number of keyparameters related to the utilization and conservation of forest genetic resources. It is the intention, resources permitting, to gradually expand the system to a wider range of parameters, based on the results and experiences of the initial phase, and in close collaboration and consultation with the participating countries. INFORMATION IN THE SYSTEM All information in the system is aggregated at the species and at the country level (national level). The information system does not include information at the level of an individual governmental organization, research institute or company, or at administrative levels other than the national level, e.g. local or provincial level. The system can be divided into a species information component, an organizations information component, a query component, a summary reports component and a maintenance component. The actual forest genetic resources information is stored in the species information and organizations information components. Species information Information on activities related to the utilization and conservation of forest tree species, at the national and at species level, constitutes the core information in the database system. The "species information" component offers the possibility to add/edit information related to a particular species in a country and to review the information at country and species level. REFORGEN holds species information related to the following categories of information: (i) species native or introduced; (ii) species used in planting programmes (including planting on-farm etc.) and species managed in natural forests; (iii) main uses of the species; (iv) endangedness status and main threats; (v) in situ conservation activities; (vi) ex situ conservation activities in vivo and in vitro; (vii) tree improvement activities; and (viii) availability of reproductive material. Figure 1 shows the screen for data entry/editing in the system, and describes in more detail the different categories of information held in this component of the system.
Figure 1. The species information screen in the REFORGEN information system. The figure displays all the parameters at present recorded on the utilization and conservation of forest tree species in the system illustrated through an example with Picea abies (Norway spruce) from Sweden. The upper part of the screen shows country and species name together with information on the origin of the data (Questionnaire on forest genetic resources, Country Report submitted for the 4th Intl. Tech. Conference on Plant Genetic Resources, or other information sources) in the field "Source". The section of the screen with the heading "Use" records if the species is planted (used in plantation programmes), managed in natural forests or both, together with information on main uses of the species. The "Conservation" section shows information on in situ conservation activities and ex situ conservation in the form of seed, pollen and tissues, plus information on ex situ conservation stands. The "Tree improvement" section holds numerical information on the genetic units tested in trials, held in archives and used in seed orchards. Finally, the section on reproductive material gives information on reproductive materials available in the form of seeds (source identified, selected seedstands, seed orchards or F1 hybrid). Additional information for any of the fields can be entered into the "Remarks" field, which has an indefinite size (memo field). Information on the organizations (e.g. Government departments, research organizations, private companies and non-governmental organizations) active in the field of utilization and conservation of forest genetic resources in the countries, constitute the other major part of the FAO information system. Information recorded comprise name of institution, address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address, names of contact persons of the organization, the type of organization, as well as the main activities of the organization (conservation of forest genetic resources and/or tree improvement). The species information and organizations information components store all the species and country related information in the system, whereas the remaining components of the system (the query component, the summary component, and the maintenance component) are used for interrogating and managing the system. Query component This component facilitates the development of queries on the species and organizations information held in the system. Search profiles are developed by selecting the parameters (database fields) to include in the search, together with the search criteria, from a screen list. Once the search is executed, the query can be examined on the screen, or sent to printer or file. Summary reports In addition to the query component which is used for the creation of specific and targeted reports, REFORGEN includes a number of pre-defined summary reports which give an overview or summary of a particular issue or activity. These reports generally fall into three categories: (i) country profiles, which in a table format give an quick overview of the main forest tree species in the country, and the genetic resources activities related to these species; (ii) species profiles which provide a list of countries where the species is of importance and the tree improvement and conservation activities related to the species; and (iii) activity profiles which for a selected activity (e.g. in situ conservation, ex situ conservation, tree improvement) for each species show the total number and names of countries having such activities. Library/maintenance component This component of the system includes the underlying and linking database files which are necessary for the system run, as well as facilities to update these library files with additional data. The most important library files are the "species library file" with taxonomic information (scientific names and authority, family names, synonyms etc.) and the "country library file" with country names and information on geographical and socio-economic groupings. The database files in the information system are linked through a system of codes, the most important, and frequent used, being the "species code" and the "country code", linking all species related and organizations related information stored under the heading of the code, to full country names and scientific names. This system facilitates easy data entry and up-date, and saves storage space. INFORMATION SOURCES FOR THE SYSTEM The core data in the FAO world-wide information system on forest genetic resources has been provided by the countries through replies to a questionnaire on forest genetic resources which was sent out in March 1993 to Heads of National Forest Services. The covering letter to the questionnaire requests Heads of National Forest Services to contact and consult all concerned institutions and agencies in their countries, including other governmental bodies, research institutes, universities, the private sector and NGO's. To ensure as complete a response as possible, FAO's Forestry Department has, furthermore, dispatched copies of the questionnaire to individual contacts in a range of countries, drawing their attention to the questionnaire, and asking them to please input data to the national-level survey, possible sending a copy of such inputs also directly to FAO to ensure that information provided is not inadvertently overlooked, or lost. The information provided through replies to the questionnaire has been complemented by information on the conservation and utilization of forest genetic resources from Country Reports submitted by countries in the preparatory process of the Fourth International Technical Conference on the Conservation and Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources held in Leipzig, Germany, 17-23 June 1996 (see elsewhere in this issue of Forest Genetic Resources). The Country Reports document the status of plant genetic resources in each country, focusing on needs and gaps in institutional capacities for conserving and developing these resources. Forest genetic resources should, according to the guidelines for preparation, be covered by the Country Reports. This is the case in many, although not in all submitted reports (Table 1). In addition, information collected through a number of other sources (publications, FAO field programme activities, letters, travel reports etc.) has been used to complement the information received through the questionnaires and information contained in the Country Reports. As of 1 June 1996, information on forest genetic resources activities in 144 countries has been received or collected, and the data entered in the information system (Table 1). The information is fairly well distributed between regions and between developed/developing countries. Completed questionnaires on forest genetic resources have been returned from 84 countries. From several countries more than one reply has been received, thus bringing the total number of received questionnaires above 100. More replies are expected as contacts have been made to a number of countries and feed-back is expected. The data in the questionnaires has been complemented with data from the Country Reports for the Fourth International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources for a total of 128 countries. Most of the data from the above information sources has been entered, and the process of checking and revising of this information has been started. There is a large variation between countries in the amount of information on forest genetic resources at present available in the system, ranging from limited information on a few key forest tree species for some countries, to rather detailed information on a wide range of species and activities for other countries. Generally, the most complete information is found for the countries, which responded to the questionnaire on forest genetic resources compared to countries where the information in the system is restricted to information from the Country Reports (often of a more general nature). CONCLUSION Once fully operational, the FAO world-wide information system on forest genetic resources will be an useful tool in the planning and decision-making process related to the status of forest genetic resources and on-going activities and programmes at sub-regional, regional and international level. The FAO information system should be used as a tool in planning and decision-making in addition to other information systems at the same level, already existing or planned, such as the TREESOURCE system of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute and databases on protected areas and endangered species of the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as well as a number of other systems. There is an continuing imperative for close collaboration between these systems to ensure compatibility and complementarity between them, to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort and to make efficient uses of the limited resources available for conservation and utilization of forest genetic resources. Such collaboration should be both at the technical level (collaboration in database development) with the use and joint development of a number of basic components common to all systems as e.g. taxonomic information (species lists), as well as at the policy level in more clearly defining the complementary role and links between the systems. Regular up-dating of the information in the system is foreseen. The modus operandi for the up-dating process is still under consideration, but will most likely be done both continuously as new information becomes available from the countries or from other sources (reports, letters, visits etc.) and at fixed intervals, where all information in the system is revised in collaboration with the focal-point institutions in the countries. The frequency of major up-dates is still to be decided, but will probably be every 3-5 years, taking into consideration the need for up-dating the information, the speed of data turn-over, and the available resources for up-dating and maintaining the system. One option being considered is up-dating the information region-wise in connection with the Sessions of the FAO Regional Forestry Commissions, which meet every two years. The system presently under development is to be seen as a basic system, covering a limited number of key parameters of importance for decision-making regarding forest genetic resources activities and programmes. In the process of development, it has been the objective to create a basic system, which - once implemented and good coverage and reliable data been collected - could be expanded to cover additional parameters of importance for the utilization and conservation of forest genetic resources. The world-wide information system on forest genetic resources, REFORGEN, is developed by FAO for use by all concerned institutions in the countries, which at the same time are the providers of the information in the system. REFORGEN is a tool whose value very much depends on the collaboration of its users to up-date and improve it on a continuous basis. Table 1. List of countries with information available in the REFORGEN information system as of 1 June 1996. Countries grouped according to FAO regions. The main source of information is indicated in brackets behind the country name; Q: Information from Questionnaire on forest genetic resources sent out by the FAO Forestry Department, CR: Information from Country Report submitted for the 4th Intl. Tech. Conf. on Plant Genetic Resources. Information from 144 countries is currently included in the REFORGEN information system.
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