Implementing sustainable forest management in Asia and the Pacific
Implementing Sustainable Forest Management in Asia and the Pacific. Proceedings of a Regional Expert Consultation held in Bangkok from 12 to 15 December 1995. RAP Publication 1997/7. 1997. Bangkok, FAO.
Asia and the Pacific has some of the world's most extensive tropical forests but, unfortunately, the region also has the highest rate of deforestation. The concept of sustainable forest management (SFM) encompasses assured and protected forests for the health and welfare of present and future generations.
This collection of 20 research papers, presented at a regional expert consultation, jointly organized by the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) towards the end of 1995, provides an extensive picture of the steps which countries are taking to implement SFM. The consultation drew together leading experts from the area to review ongoing national, regional and international efforts, exchange information on experiences and draft recommendations.
This publication is divided into four sections. The first consists of opening addresses. The second section contains regional reports on SFM in Asia and the Pacific; developments in the concepts and practice of SFM; ITTO perspectives and experience in promoting the implementation of SFM and South Pacific initiatives to developing a Common Code of Logging Practice. The contributions presented in the third section examine, more specifically, country approaches of Bhutan, China, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Viet Nam and others. Section four contains the summary.
The selected papers are a valuable source of information for further implementation of sustainable forest management in Asia and the Pacific. This publication should be useful for governments, non-governmental organizations and international organizations.
African Expert Consultation on Criteria and Indicators for SFM
Criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management for dry-zone Africa. Report of UNEP/FAO Workshop, Nairobi, Kenya, 24-27 November 1997. 1998. Rome, FAO.
Criteria and indicators (C&I) are tools for assessing national trends in order to achieve sustainable forest management. They could change the way the world measures, describes and evaluates forest conditions, management and associated trends and, in turn, the way we make forest policy decisions. But C&I will only be meaningful if countries are committed to using them to make the necessary policy changes. The Montreal and Helsinki processes on C&I, for example, have been agreed to internationally and are meant to be applied at the national level.
The significance of C&I was emphasized at the first international Workshop on Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) for Dry-Zone Africa, organized by FAO and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and held in Nairobi, Kenya from 24 to 27 November 1997. The participants discussed the further development of C&I, which had been identified at the Nairobi Expert Consultation and endorsed by the Tenth Session of the African Forestry and Wildlife Commission in 1995.
This document presents the proceedings of this important meeting. The participants made both general and specific observations about the importance of criteria and indicators at the national, regional and international levels. Six country reports covered the following states: Uganda, South Africa, the Gambia, the United Republic of Tanzania, Mali and Kenya. The reports presented an overview of the forest management activities and forest policy issues of each country. They also provided information on the applicability of criteria and indicators for SFM in dry-zone African states and follow-up action that each country had taken towards the implementation of C&I.
The workshop participants made recommendations addressed to government policy-makers, international organizations, donor agencies, non-governmental organizations and financial services. In its recommendations, the workshop requested UNEP and FAO to collaborate further with regional organizations such as the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD), the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in order to facilitate the implementation of criteria and indicators for SFM at the national level and, specifically, to:
· support the dry-zone Africa process in allocating the necessary means;· assist governments of the dry-zone African states to prepare guidelines by September 1998;
· request the governments of the states participating in the dry-zone Africa process to support the implementation of the conclusions and recommendations of this workshop;
· assist countries in identifying national technical needs, transferring technology, human and financial resources and harmonizing national inventories for the Forest Resources Assessment 2000.
It is hoped that this report will highlight awareness of the increasing value and potential of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management.
Directory of more than 445 periodicals on tropical forestry
Directory of selected tropical forestry journals and newsletters, 2nd edition. RAP Publication 1997/17. FORSPA Publication No. 19/1997.1997. Bangkok, FAO.
Published by FAO and Green Horizons International, this second edition of the Directory of selected tropical forestry journals and newsletters is a significant vehicle for information exchange in the area of sustainable forest management. It includes a wide range of publications focusing on topics such as sustainable forest management, conservation and environment, community forestry, industries, food security and wildlife resources, biodiversity, forest policy and law, cultivation, parks and protected areas, reforestation and regeneration, extension, education, forest fire research and many other aspects of tropical forestry.
In all, the directory classifies and describes more than 445 periodicals, ranging from rigorously reviewed scientific journals to informal newsletters. The entries are organized in alphabetical order by region and within region by country. Publications on forestry appear in more than 23 languages, including English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Nepali, Urdu, Filipino and Afrikaans. The Appendix also includes 360 Web sites on forest resources and a list of species, geographic areas and technical focuses may be found by consulting the index at the end of the book.
The Directory of selected tropical forestry journals and newsletters should help professionals to identify and obtain publications and materials that will assist in the improvement of natural resources management in the tropical forests.
IMAZON publishes forestry handbook for the Amazon
Forest forever: a handbook for timber production in the Amazon. 1997. Rio de Janeiro, IMAZON. 155 pp. (in Portuguese)
The Amazon Institute of People and the Environment (IMAZON) has recently published a forestry handbook. The handbook, entitled Forest forever: a handbook for timber production in the Amazon, was supported by the Worldwide Fund for Nature and the United States Agency for International Development. Written in Portuguese, with 155 pages and more than 100 illustrations, the handbook is aimed at timber companies, logging crews and management staff, and foresters in the public and private sector.
The handbook presents techniques harvesting trees mechanically (selective logging) in closed tropical rain forest. It is divided into 11 chapters, nine following the schedule of forest management activities including: tree census, vine cutting, preparation of preliminary logging maps, demarcation of logging roads, log yards and skid trails; opening of logging roads and yards; tree felling and skidding; and post-logging silvicultural treatments. A tenth chapter presents techniques for fire protection. The final chapter presents an analysis of costs and benefits of forest management. In addition, the handbook contains two appendixes: the first is a list of almost 500 Amazonian timber tree species with scientific and vernacular names; the second highlights 41 timber species that may suffer population decline if not managed properly given their ecological characteristics.
The handbook underlines the fact that the benefits of forest management are greater than its costs. The benefits include the increase of labour productivity and safety and the reduction of timber waste and of damages to the remaining trees.
Ecotourism for forest conservation and community development
Ecotourism for Forest Conservation and Community Development. Proceedings of an International Seminar, 28-30 January 1997. FAO/RAP/RECOFTC Report No. 15.1997. Bangkok, FAO.
Ecotourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourist industry, yet it encounters myriad problems which are not clearly understood. Many governments and tour operators have a tendency to label almost any type of environmentally related tourism as ecotourism. The international seminar Ecotourism for Forest Conservation and Community Development, held from 28 to 30 January 1997 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, defined ecotourism as: "Purposeful travel to natural areas to understand the culture and history of the environment, taking care not to alter the integrity of the ecosystem, while producing economic opportunities that make conservation of natural resources beneficial to local people". It was organized by the Regional Community Forestry Training Centre (RECOFTC) and the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO/RAP) in cosponsorship with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service.
The objectives of the seminar were to:
· identify key emerging issues in ecotourism, especially those concerning sustainability and local management benefits;· provide and document recommendations regarding appropriate and effective community-based ecotourism; and
· analyse case studies, potential human resources and other relevant information that can be included in the design and implementation of an ecotourism course.
More than 125 professionals from 20 countries participated in the discussions. Participants felt that ecotourism is a high-risk venture which should not be the sole source of livelihood for communities. Therefore it should be viewed from a holistic perspective; one that takes into account issues such as land tenure, citizenship status and the impact of modern technologies.
This collection of 25 research papers is an overview of implications and effects of ecotourism on communities and forest conservation. The book offers general recommendations; strategies for community-based ecotourism; training and course material development; policy and legislation; and business and marketing conditions of ecotourism expansion. The papers also highlight a number of success stories in community-based ecotourism as well as some of the potential pitfalls.
The publication should be of interest to field workers, tourism operators, government officials and others concerned in the full understanding of the constraints and advantages associated with the development of successful ecotourism.
