FO:LACFC/2002/INF.1

Place and Dates

1. At the kind invitation of the Government of the Republic of Argentina, the 22^nd Session of the Latin American and Caribbean Forestry Commission (LACFC), will be held in the City of Buenos Aires, from 7 to 11 October, 2002, at the Mirador Salon of the Hotel Colón, located on 507 Avda. Carlos Pellegrini, Tel: (54-11) 4320-3500, Reservations Tel: (54-11) 4320-3511, Fax: (54-11) 4320-3516, e-mail: [email protected], Internet address: http://www.colon-hotel.com.ar

2. The participants should arrive at the Ministro Pistarini International Airport (Ezeiza) or at the Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, in the city of Buenos Aires, where they will be met and taken to the hotel by the organizers of the event. The participants should inform the local organizers of the date and time of their arrival in advance, in order to enable them to comply with the reception at the airport, and send the Enrolment Form mentioned in point 3.

3. The Opening Session will take place at 09.10 hours on Monday 7 October.

Registration

4. The registration of the participants will take place on Sunday, 6 October, between 17:00 and 19:00 hours, and on Monday, 7 October, between 08:30 and 09:10 hours, at the Hotel Colón. Participants are kindly requested to send the attached Enrolment Form before 5 September, 2002.

Lodging

5. Rooms have been reserved at the Hotel Colón (where the event is to be held). The rate for the participants at the meeting in single room is of $Arg. 112 (Argentine pesos) and for a double room is $Arg. 140, including taxes. Both rates include the following services: buffet breakfast, lunch, use of the business centre with computers connected to Internet, hotel insurance and gymnasium.

Languages and documentation

6. The working languages for the Commission Meeting will be Spanish and English. There will be simultaneous interpretation services and documents will be provided in these languages. The documents will be distributed to the Member States before the session and participants are kindly requested to bring them along as there will be a limited number of copies available. The documents will also be available at the Web site of the FAO Regional Office: http://www.rlc.fao.org/organos/coflac/2002/defaulte.htm

Passport and visas

7. The participants from countries bordering Argentina do not require a passport, only the national identity document. The remaining participants are recommended to consult at the Argentine Embassy and/or Consulate in their countries of origin regarding the requirements for entering the country.

Foreign exchange

8. The local currency in Argentina is the peso. Payments for the hotels, meals and taxis are made in national currency, although payments in US dollars are also accepted. Visa, Mastercard, Diners, American Express and Cabal credit cards, among others, are accepted at different tourist facilities and at the Hotel Colón. At the time of preparing this information note, the average exchange rate was US$ 1 = $Arg. 3.6.

Airport tax

9. The airport tax when leaving the country is US$ 18. For additional information, it is suggested to visit the following Internet address: http://www.exchangerate.com/200plus_calculator.html

Excursion

10. On Thursday, 10 October a field visit will be made to a forestry establishment located in the Delta of the Paraná river. Departure is planned from the port of Tigre in a catamaran, along the channels and streams to observe the typical natural landscape, all the way to the establishment, where poplar and willow plantations and the infrastructure will be observed.

General information about the country

11. Official name: Republic of Argentina. Located in the extreme south of South America, it is transversed by the Tropic of Capricorn in the continental American Region and by the Antarctic Polar Circle in the Antarctic.

12. Geographic location: Located in South America, it is the second country in size and population. It lies North to South, from slightly North of the Tropic of Capricorn as far as Tierra del Fuego, and from West to East from the Andes mountain range to the Atlantic Ocean, with vast plains between them. The principal plain is the Pampa covering an area of more than 700 thousand m² between the Salado River (N) to the Colorado River (S).

13. Area: The Argentine territory has an area of 3 761 274 km², with a length of approximately 3 880 km from North to South and approximately 1 423 km from West to East. The country has a large variety of climates and soils, it is possible to go from the arid flatland of the Patagonia to the hills of the Northwest going across the fertile Humid Pampa, the forest area of the Chaco and the Subtropical Mesopotamia.

14. Borders: The country borders on Bolivia and Paraguay in the North, Brazil, Uruguay and the Atlantic Ocean in the East, Chile and the Atlantic Ocean in the South, and Chile in the West.

15. Demography: The total population is approximately 34 670 000.

16. Buenos Aires : Is the Federal Capital of the Republic of Argentina. It is the most cosmopolitan city of South America and port of entry on the Rio de la Plata (facing the Uruguayan capital) surrounded by the "Great Buenos Aires" belt with the highest population density of the country, and is part of the province of the same name, which covers the major part of the fertile and productive pampean plain. Located on the right margin of the River Plata, it is the tenth most populated metropolis of the world with approximately 12.2 million people, about one third of the Argentine Republic's total population.

Climate

17. During Spring the average temperature in Buenos Aires, in the month of October, fluctuates between 18º C and 20º C with sporadic rain and an average humidity of 80%. It is suggested that participants bring medium warm and warm clothing. For additional information, it is suggested to visit the following Internet address:http://espanol.weather.com/weather/local/ARBA0009 .

Electricity

18. Electric power in Argentina is 220 V.