ONE hundred years ago Seattle was a lumbering settlement. Now it is the thriving capital of a great state. Not far from the city one still sees forlorn ranks of great stumps of Douglas fir, reminders of the early profligate times. One can also visit nonstop sawmills where still again giant trees - fir, cedar, hemlock - are quickly out up into an incredible amount of lumber but all the waste of the operation is put to profitable use. And around them a ring of private " tree farms, " national forests, and great national parks.
Against this background was held in 1960 the Fifth World Forestry Congress, attended by 1,970 members. Over one third of these came from abroad, a striking tribute to the interest which American forestry commands in today's world. It was an outstanding gathering of the world's foresters and of all concerned with forestry in its many aspects. Sixty-five countries were officially represented and individuals attended from another six. Their presence is permanently commemorated by the International Friendship Grove which was planted in a colorful ceremony on the campus parkway of the University of Washington.
The purpose of the Congress was to provide an opportunity for free discussion and to reveal trends of thought about forestry problems of international importance which should be reflected in FAO's program of work. The pressure of formal papers and the range of specialized information which they covered limited discussion during the meetings themselves, but there were ample opportunities elsewhere for contacts and exchange of views. The object, therefore, was more than fulfilled.
The central theme of the Congress was the " Multiple Use of Forest and Associated Lands." Multiple use means the management of the forest in a manner that, while conserving the basic land resource, will yield a high level of production in the five major uses - wood, water, forage, recreation, and wildlife - for the benefit of the greatest number of people in the long run. This concept has passed into everyday usage in the United States of America, the host country for the Congress, as the way toward meeting the urgent wants and needs of a rapidly growing population in a dynamic economy.
The Congress concluded that the multiple-use concept presented new challenges and new opportunities to foresters everywhere, with great prospects for additional services to the welfare of mankind. It is not, however, a panacea to solve all forest management problems. Often one use must be dominant and other proposed uses must not then be detrimental to the major one. Moreover there can be disadvantages to multiple use when it is inefficiently applied. But multiple we must be recognized as an important goal of forest policies.
The Congress also reviewed in plenary session the progress made in forestry, region by region and in the widest sense of the term, since the last World Forestry Congress held in India in 1954. In an introductory address (reproduced in Unasylva, Volume 14, Number 3) the Director of FAO's Forestry and Forest Products Division said that there had been significant progress over recent years in all the various aspects of forestry and forest industries development throughout the world. But considering primarily wood production, the progress in the main had been, as with agriculture, in the already highly developed areas of North America, Europe, and in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In the so-called underdeveloped parts of the world, production had not risen as was hoped. Indeed, the failure for output and consumption to rise in these areas, as should be warranted by population expansion, better living standards, and greater industrial needs, was the great disappointment of the last decade. Needs would continue, to grow, and governments must more readily take this into account in their forward planning.
Before the members departed on tours to various parts of the United States and Canada, the Congress expressed its sincere appreciation to the people of Seattle and the state of Washington for the welcome and hospitality which had been enjoyed. To the Chief of the United States Forest Service, Richard E. McArdle, his Organizing Committee and to all who contributed to its work, the members extended the warmest congratulations on the signal success of the Congress.
HONORARY PRESIDENTS
Eino Saari (President, Third World Forestry Congress)
C. R. Ranganathan (President, Fourth World Forestry Congress)
PRESIDENT
Richard E. McArdle (U.S.A.)
CO-PRESIDENT
John D. B. Harrison (Canada)
Enrique Beltrán (Mexico)
VICE-PRESIDENTS
Walter Mann (Germany)
Hitoshi Yamasaki (Japan)
Erik W. Hojier (Sweden)
Earl of Radnor (U.K.)
Anatole B. Zhukov (U.S.S.R.)
SECRETARY-GENERAL
I. T. Haig (U.S.A.)
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL
J. S. Williams (U.S.A.)
Multiple Use of Forest and Associated Lands
Chairmen:
Enrique Beltrán (Mexico)
John D. B. Harrison (Canada)
Secretary:
André Métro (FAO)
Progress in World Forestry
Chairmen:
President of the Congress Erik W. Hojier (Sweden)
Secretary: Leslie J. Vernell (FAO)
Technical Sections
Silviculture and Management
Chairman:
M. Vyskot (Czechoslovakia)
Vice-Chairmen:
W. Robyns (Belgium)
D. R. DeWet (Union of South Africa)
Rapporteur:
A. Y. Goor (Israel)
Secretary:
Albert C. Cline (U.S.A.)
Forest Protection
Chairman:
Elías Dabas (Argentina)
Vice-Chairmen:
H. Van Vloten (Netherlands)
J. M. de Carvalho (Portugal)
Rapporteur:
Leslie R. Holdridge (Costa Rica)
Secretary:
John R. Hansbrough (U.S.A.)
Education
Chairman:
Stephen Tolbert (Liberia)
Vice-Chairmen:
Yu-tien Tao (China)
Hamda Hafsia, (Tunisia)
Rapporteur:
Sir Harry Champion (U.K.)
Secretary:
Thomas F. McLintock (U.S.A.)
Forest and Range Watersheds
Chairman:
Antonio Bernad (Spain)
Vice-Chairmen:
P. Margaropoulos (Greece)
Salahud-din Ahmad (Pakistan)
Rapporteur:
N. Celac (Romania)
Secretary:
Herbert C. Storey (U.S.A.)
Logging and Forest Operations
Chairman:
J. Jungo (Switzerland)
Vice-Chairmen:
Tan Chein Hoe (Burma)
A. E. Langsaeter (Norway)
Rapporteur:
W. A. E. Pepler (Canada)
Secretary:
Ira J. Mason (U.S.A.)
Genetics and Tree Improvement
Chairman:
A. De Philippis (Italy)
Vice-Chairmen:
H. Frølund (Denmark)
A. P. Thomson (New Zealand)
Rapporteur:
Sin Kyu Hyun (Korea)
Secretary:
George M. Jemison (U.S.A.)
Forest Economics and Policy
Chairman:
Jean-Pierre Levy (France)
Vice-Chairmen:
J. H. François (Ghana)
D. D. Jovic (Yugoslavia)
Rapporteur:
J. S. Speer (Germany)
Secretary:
George F. Burks (U.S.A.)
Forest Products
Chairman:
M. R. Jacobs (Australia)
Vice-Chairmen:
Rudolf Ender (Austria)
E. Schmeisser (Chile)
Rapporteur:
L. J. Markwardt (U.S.A.)
Secretary:
John T. Drow (U.S.A.)
Forest Recreations and Wildlife
Chairman:
V. S. Rao (India)
Vice-Chairmen:
Roland Bru (Gabon)
Ram Bahadur Thapa (Nepal)
Rapporteur:
J. D. Ovington (U.K.)
Secretary:
Lloyd W. Swift (U.S.A.)
Tropical Forestry
Chairman:
T. S. Serevo (Philippines)
Vice-Chairmen:
D. de Azambuja (Brazil)
C. Sirivarna (Thailand)
Rapporteur:
Roberto Villasenor (Mexico)
Secretary:
Frank H. Wadsworth (U.S.A.)
Committees
General Committee
Chairmen:
President of the Congress
Tom Gill (U.S.A.)
Secretary:
V. L. Harper (U.S.A.)
Credentials Committee
Chairman:
Mako Dakov (Bulgaria)
Members:
O. Porras Rivera (Colombia)
Luong-Si Chuong (Viet-Nam)
Program Committee
Chairman:
Hardy L. Shirley (U.S.A.)
Secretary:
B. H. Payne (U.S.A.)
Reports and Resolutions Committee
Chairman:
J. H. Jenkins (Canada)
Members:
M. N. Kolar (Israel)
M. Kreutzinger (Poland)
Nestor Altuve González (Venezuela)
Tours Committee
Chairman:
Henry Clepper (U.S.A.)
Host Committee
Chairman:
Corydon Wagner (U.S.A.)
