FAO advisory committee on forestry education
Teaching course for forestry instructors
UNDP/FAO forestry education and training projects
Development of forestry education and training in tropical Africa
Changes in FAO forestry staff
FAO Advisory Committee on Forestry Education - Teaching course for forestry instructors - UNDP/FAO forestry education and training projects - Development of forestry education and training in tropical Africa - Changes in. FAO forestry staff
Meeting for a fourth session at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 1969, the members of the FAO Advisory Committee on Forestry Education were able to visit an FAO forestry education project in operation. The Department of Forestry at the University was instituted as a United Nations Development Programme (Special Fund) project, operated by FAO.
Asked to evaluate this project, the committee felt that it, and similar FAO projects and programmes, properly reflected many of the committee's earlier suggestions and recommendations. In particular, members thought that planning for education was being made to correspond more realistically to the anticipated development of forestry and forest industries in particular countries and regions.
Postgraduate education
In certain areas, however, progress had been slow. For instance, while recognizing that emphasis in FAO's field programmes was rightly shifting from professional education to technical-level training, the committee regretted the slight headway made since its last session in promoting postgraduate studies in forestry in developing countries, due in part to the generous opportunities for postgraduate study in developed countries. This was a situation highly desirable in itself but it should not lead the authorities who grant fellowships to ignore the possibilities and advantages of study in a candidate's own country or region. Nevertheless, the committee agreed that developing countries should be encouraged to take every advantage of the possibilities for postgraduate education overseas, especially in North America and Europe. It suggested that the FAO Secretariat undertake an enquiry, perhaps in connexion with a new version of the World directory of forestry schools, about the facilities existing for postgraduate study in forestry. This enquiry should cover all the various forms of study available after a first university degree, including refresher courses and ad hoc studies on specific subjects and not only preparation for higher degrees.
The committee welcomed the postgraduate education arranged within tropical countries by the Organization for Tropical Studies in the United States. Postgraduate study in tropical forestry, especially in such subjects as tropical soils, ecology, mensuration, silviculture and timber extraction, was to be encouraged at institutions in the tropics that had strong university connexions and were in a position to serve a multinational area. In emphasizing that centres for postgraduate studies should be designed to serve more than one country, the committee was well aware of the difficulties likely to be encountered in deciding on the ideal location. Environmental differences, varying stages of development and political factors had all to be taken into account. Full advantage should be taken of the possibilities for progressively developing already existing institutions at university level.
The committee noted that progress had been made by FAO in analysing the per caput costs of forestry education, particularly at intermediate levels. Such analyses posed more difficulties in the case of high level education. Further attention should be given to this kind of investigation, which should bear on both direct and indirect costs of education. Any presentation of cost benefits would be misleading if it referred only to an initial period when the educational institution had not yet reached maturity and if there were no comparison with alternative means of attaining similar educational objectives.
The committee was appreciative that FAO had been trying to promote the wider production and distribution of suitable textbooks through FAO field projects. These efforts, however, tended to be of a sporadic nature and no systematic approach to the problem was being followed.
Future world consultation on education and training
The committee's views in regard to the regional studies on forestry education and training which FAO has been undertaking, have been given earlier in this issue of Unasylva.
The committee reiterated its agreement with the proposal to convene an international consultation to examine the present content of forestry education, in the light of the rapid advances being made in science and technology and of the changing role of the forestry profession. (In 1970 a world conference on agricultural education and training is being convened by FAO at Copenhagen in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. This meeting should provide useful guidance to the forestry sector.) The committee considered that the number of topics to be dealt with should be limited, perhaps to no more than ten, priority being given to subjects that had not previously been assessed at international meetings. While the problems of the developing countries deserved particular attention, there should be no need to treat separately the problems of the developed countries and developing countries.
Members of the FAO Advisory Committee on Forestry Education, Ibadan, Nigeria, July 1969.
Consultation should cover forestry education in its widest sense - education for both forest land management and forest industries - and should be developed around three major themes: environmental forestry, production forestry, and wood science and forest products.
Other principal topics for debate might be a new strategy for attracting the investment of external aid funds into forestry education and training, assessment of the costs and benefits of forestry education, and the role of the forester in economic development.
Many suggestions were made by members of the committee about the organization of the consultation, all of which will be taken into consideration by the organizers at the due time. Members of the committee expressed their willingness to assist in the preparations, especially in regard to such matters as the selection of authors and the screening of papers. However, since its members are scattered far apart, the committee entrusted overall responsibility for handling the consultation to the FAO Secretariat and the host country, when found.
Membership of advisory committee
Chairman
Dr. J.W.B. Sisam
Dean, Faculty of Forestry
University of Toronto
Toronto 5
CANADA
Members
Sr. Dn. I.N. Costantino
Sub-Administrador General de Bosques
Pueyrredón 2446
Buenos Aires
ARGENTINAProf. J.D. Ovington
Head, Department of Forestry
The Australian National University
P.O. Box 4
Canberra, A.C.T. 2600
AUSTRALIAProf. Haroldo Frenzel
Escola Nacional de Florestas
Ministerio de Educação e Cultura
Universidade do Paraná
Caixa Postal 672
Curitiba, Paraná
BRAZILSr. Dn. Hernán Cortés
Director, Escuela de Ingeniería Forestal
Universidad de Chile
Seminario 160
Santiago
CHILEProf. Dr. Gerhard Speidel
Bertholdstr. 17
78 Freiburg im Breisgau,
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANYDr. Eino Saari
Professor Emeritus of Forestry Economics
University of Helsinki
Metsätalo
Unioninkatu 40B
Helsinki
FINLANDM. J. Pourtet
Ingénieur général du Génie rural, des Eaux et des Forêts
Direction des Forêts
1 ter, Avenue de Lowendal
Paris 7c
FRANCEMr. A.K. Owusu-Afriyie
Chief Conservator of Forests
Ministry of Forestry
P.O. Box 527
Accra
GHANAThe President, Forest Research Institute and Colleges
Dehra Dun
INDIAMr. Bijan Bavandi
Director-General for Training
Ministry of Natural Resources
Tehran
IRANMr. Eiji Nara
Chief, Research and Extension Section
Forestry Agency
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
2-1 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo
JAPANMr. A.M. Oseni
Director, Federal Department of Forestry Research
Ibadan
NIGERIADr. Ing. Ion Damian
Prorector, Institutul Politehnic
Brasov
ROMANIADon M. Prats Zapiraín
Direccíon General de Montes, Caza y Pesca Fluvial
Ministerio de Agricultura
Paseo Infanta Isabel, 1
Madrid 7
SPAINMr. Mohamed Ahmed El Rashid
Principal, Forest Rangers' College
Khartoum
SUDANProf. Thiem Komkris
Dean, Faculty of Forestry
Sasetsart University
Bangkhen, Bangkok
THAILANDProf. S.D. Richardson
University College of North Wales
Department of Forestry
Bangor
UNITED KINGDOMDr. James S. Bethel
Dean, School of Forestry
University of Washington
Seattle
Washington 98105
UNITED STATES OF AMERICADr. Carlos Claverié Rodriguez
Director de Recursos Naturales Renovables
Ministero de Agricultura y Cría
Caracas
VENEZUELA
A course in teaching for forestry instructors from the Asia region was organized in Sweden in 1969. Part of the forestry education and training programme of FAO for developing countries, the course was sponsored by the Government of Sweden through the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA). The director was Lars Sjödahl of the Swedish Forest Service, and the 13 participants came from Burma, Ceylon, China (Taiwan), India, Iran, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand.
The purpose of the course was to provide training in current teaching methods used in Europe and techniques based on psychological principles and current pedagogic practices. The participants were also shown some specimens of modern teaching aids and given experience in how to use them.
The party assembled in Stockholm for an orientation programme and then moved to Skogsbruksskola, Vallmotorp, near Katrineholm, for the main work of the course. This covered five main topics: educational psychology, teaching aids, demonstration lessons, teaching methods and teaching practice.
Educational psychology included study techniques and programmed learning. As regards teaching aids there was instruction and practice in the use of still and moving pictures, slide projectors, overhead projectors, various types of copying machines, tape recorders and the flannel board.
Demonstration lessons were given by the staff of Skogsbruksskola - a vocational forestry school - to regular classes of students at the school, with members of the FAO attending as observers. Explanations were given on a rating scale covering the main features of content, organization and method used in the lesson. Group and class discussions of the assessment of these lessons were held immediately, after each lesson and a summary of the most important features prepared.
Lectures and discussions about teaching methods dealt with the types of teaching possible, their correct application in various teaching situations and their adaptation to the educational level of the students.
Teaching practice was carried out by means of exercise lessons prepared by each participant and delivered in turn to the remainder of the course. These were tape recorded and evaluated immediately after delivery by means of a discussion of the method of teaching adopted, the planning and organization of the lesson and the use of teaching aids. Closed-circuit television recordings were also made to enable participants to assess their own performance.
The course laid stress on the importance of precision in defining the goal of an educational course and the need to encourage students to participate actively in the learning process. The range of teaching methods available was dealt with at some length and emphasis was given to the desirability of varying the methods to suit particular teaching situations. Attention was drawn to the part that teaching aids could play both in achieving variety and in highlighting particular points.
Studying psychological principles helped the participants to place the methods demonstrated in their proper perspective and gave some indication of how to adjust methods to meet the requirements of individual students or particular teaching situations. The duration of the course and the different backgrounds of the participants made it impracticable to dead in depth with specific local teaching problems, but the principles from which a local solution might be derived were fully considered. Within the time available, the course went some way toward meeting the need for the formal teacher training of forestry instructors and opened up new perspectives for further study.
Completed projects
|
|
|
Date of completion |
|
Argentina |
Forestry and watershed management training institute |
April 1968 |
|
Brazil |
National forestry faculty, Curitiba |
December 1969 |
|
India |
Establishment of logging training centres |
August 1969 |
|
Jordan |
Training and demonstration in afforestation and forest management |
March 1969 |
|
Pakistan |
National forestry research and training programme |
June 1969 |
|
Philippines |
Demonstration and training in management of forests, forest, range and watersheds |
January 1970 |
|
Sudan |
Forestry research and education centre |
April 1968 |
|
Regional (Syria) |
Near East forest rangers' school, Lattakia (now the Arab Forestry Institute, sponsored by the League of Arab States) |
December 1968 |
|
Regional (Venezuela). |
Latin American forest research and training institute, Mérida (now an autonomous institution) |
December 1960 |
Projects still in operation
AFRICA
|
Cameroon |
School for training wildlife specialists |
1973 |
|
Central African Republic |
Forestry training and demonstration centre |
May 1973 |
|
Congo (Brazzaville) |
Forestry training and demonstration centre |
December 1971 |
|
Gabon |
National forestry institute, Cap Esterias March 1973 |
|
|
Guinea |
Forestry training and demonstration centre National agricultural school, Kindia (incorporating forestry training) June 1974 |
October 1971 |
|
Liberia |
College of agriculture and forestry, University of Liberia December 1973 |
|
|
Mauritania |
Agricultural training and extension centre, Kaëdi (includes forestry) |
October 1970 |
|
Morocco |
Forestry education and training centre |
January 1974 |
|
Nigeria |
Forestry department, University of Ibadan |
August 1970 |
|
Tanzania |
College of African wild life management, Mweka |
May 1970 |
|
Uganda |
Forest rangers' school |
December 1970 |
ASIA AND FAR EAST
|
Afghanistan |
Training and demonstration in forest and range improvement |
March 1973 |
NEAR EAST
|
Iraq |
Forestry research, demonstration and training centre |
April 1972 |
|
Iran |
Forestry and range faculty, Karadj University, and forest rangers' school |
June 1971 |
|
Lebanon |
Forestry education, training and research |
May 1972 |
LATIN AMERICA
|
Regional(Costa Rica) |
Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Turrialba |
September 1970 |
|
Colombia |
National forestry institute and forest rangers' school |
November 1972 |
|
Cuba |
Forestry research and training institute |
August 1974 |
|
Ecuador |
Forestry training centre |
November 1971 |
|
Honduras |
Forestry school |
June 1974 |
|
Mexico |
Integrated agricultural programme for education, research and extension, Chapingo |
February 1970 |
|
Peru |
Forestry research and training project, Universidad Agraria |
November 1970 |
|
Trinidad and Tobago |
Agricultural and forestry school |
June 1973 |
A seminar on the development of forestry education and training in tropical Africa, held in Accra from 7 to 10 July 1969, brought together senior members of forest services and forestry school staffs from both English-speaking and French-speaking countries of Africa. The group conducted an appraisal of the present situation in regard to forestry education and training in terms of existing facilities, systems and problems. It examined the methodologies evolved for quantitative estimates of trained manpower requirements for forestry and forest industries. Discussion followed as to the types of forestry personnel required, their work schedules and the conditions necessary if such personnel are to work efficiently. Consideration was also given to the identification of efforts necessary both at the national level and in terms of multilateral and bilateral assistance and intraregional cooperation to bring about developments in forestry education and training that will best serve the needs of forestry and forest industries.
The seminar was directed by A. Owusu-Afriyie, Chief of the Ghana Forest Service. Observers from North America and Europe and members of the FAO Advisory Committee on Forestry Education took part.
Discussing an overall plan for Africa, the participants agreed that a plan of this kind would constitute a useful reference for governments, as well as for bilateral and multilateral aid agencies, in their efforts to improve and strengthen existing facilities or set up new facilities for forestry education and training in the region.
Speakers placed emphasis on the need for forestry educational plans and programmes to be linked with the general educational system by making use of facilities for training in allied disciplines and by adjusting entry qualifications, as well as duration of courses, to professions with comparable employment opportunities. The content of education and training should be subject to continuous review in order to adapt it to advances in science and technology relevant to forestry as well as to socioeconomic circumstances. Research was fundamental to the modernization and improvement of forestry education.
Where justified, postgraduate educational programmes should be developed within the region, notwithstanding the recognized value of the stimulus gained from association with graduate students of different backgrounds, from undertaking advanced studies in different institutions, and from taking advantage of experience and facilities available for given types of study in well-established institutions of the developed countries.
The cooperation already existing between countries in the region on matters of forestry education and training should be strengthened further by such means as the exchange of students, teaching staff, research re suits and publications, as well as through establishment of joint training facilities.
The efficiency of teachers could be improved by providing courses in audio-visual aids, teaching techniques, and educational planning; paying adequate salaries; and providing textbooks suited to local conditions.
Vocational training was considered as primarily the responsibility of individual countries, but international organizations were urged to step up their efforts in this field.
Examining trained staff requirements for forestry and forest industries, the participants at the seminar felt that more regard must be given to actual demand as distinct from the estimated requirements for trained personnel. It was agreed that actual demand would rise closer to estimated requirements if the content of training was gradually adapted to meet needs in fields hitherto neglected, such as logging and forest industries; if formal education was adequately complemented with strong programmes for education of the public at large and public relations in forestry; and if forestry and forest industries development plans gave due consideration to the human resource component.
The seminar agreed with the main principle underlying the methodology used for the assessment of' requirements for trained personnel, namely that forestry development planning must be linked with educational planning for forestry. It was recognized, however, that manpower assessment methods varied in complexity as well as in the required degree of accuracy, depending on the objectives being pursued. FAO was urged to continue its work in this field and encourage Member Nations to initiate or pursue their own assessments of the trained manpower needed for forestry and forest industries development. In so doing, countries should avoid rigidity, bearing in mind that the main value of the exercise lies in a constant review of forestry and forest industries operations, and in the realism it can give to both forestry development planning and forestry education.
The long - and short - term prospects of optimizing the use of trained personnel were also examined. The main conclusions were that forestry education and training should be considered as a system giving balanced attention to all its components, from the training of forest workers and the education of the public to vocational, technical and professional training; sound professional training being the key element of the system.
A point made was that countries must reconcile the need for forestry education and training for specific tasks, geared to forestry development objectives, with the fulfilment of legitimate aspirations of students for further training, and with an opportunity for employment in other technical and professional fields. The specific training requirements of forest industries should receive proper attention in educational programmes which should be continuously revised in the light of rapid advances in science and technology relevant to the forestry and forest industries sectors, both public or private. By this means good students could be attracted to forestry schools and professionals and technicians retained, so compensating for the relatively longer period required. for forestry studies.
As reported in the last issue of Unasylva, the former Forestry and Forest Industries Division of the Organization has been replaced by a Forestry Department. The new Department includes a Forest Resources Division and a Forest Industries and Trade Division.
B.K. STEENBERG (Sweden) becomes an Assistant Director-General in charge of the new department. He has recently been awarded the gold medal of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry in the United States of America (TAPPI), the first recipient of the medal outside North America.
Jack C. WESTOBY (United Kingdom), former Deputy Director of the Division, becomes :Director of Programme Coordination. L.E. HUGUET (France) has been appointed Director of the Operations Service.
R.G. FONTAINE (France), former Chief of the Forest Management Branch, becomes Director of the Forest Resources Division. P.J. VAKOMIES (Canada), who was Chief of the Forest Industries Branch from 1963 to 1965, has been appointed Director of the Forest Industries and Trade Division.
So, after 25 years, effect has at last been given to the recommendations on staff structure made by Henry S. Graves and his colleagues of the Technical Committee on Forestry and Primary Forest Products and. endorsed in turn by Lester B. Pearson, Chairman of the Interim Commission which launched FAO. A member of that Technical Committee was Jean VINZANT who is retiring from the FAO Forestry Department in May 1970. After serving on the committee while a member of the French Supply Council in :North America, he attended with the French delegation the First Session of the FAO Conference at Quebec in 1945. In 1946 he joined FAO as personal assistant to the first director of the then Forestry Division, Marcel Leloup. Since 1951 Jean Vinzant has been associated with FAO'S work relating to forest machinery and equipment.
