Austria
A subject which continues to arouse interest is the application and transfer of intermediate technology involving local populations as demonstrated at the FAO sponsored Seminar on the Environmental Impact of Forest Harvesting on Steep Terrain. The event was held between 27th May and 14th June, 1991, in Austria and attended by 20 participants from 18 countries.
Subjects dealt with include: environmental impact studies, ecological forest management zoning, planning and management of forest operations, watershed management activities related to harvesting and road construction, road network planning and development, operations harvesting and management plans under different ownership, applications of appropriate harvesting technology including the use of animals, simple machinery and tools in wood extraction and transport.
Participants suggested that, based on the successful seminar, national follow-up seminars should be undertaken to promote appropriate forest operations, improve efficiency of harvesting and transport as well as reduce environmental impact of these operations. In this respect, Nepal and Chile will organise follow up seminars with assistance from FAO.
More weight should be given to economic evaluation of various harvesting systems and models, taking into consideration the basic needs in developing countries.
Uganda
There is a need to raise awareness of the environmental dimension of sustainable forest harvesting in natural and plantation forests. With this objective in mind, a regional seminar on Environmentally Sound Forest Harvesting Techniques was held in Uganda from 18th November to 6th December 1991; it was organized by the Forestry Training Programme (FTP) of Finland and the Forestry Department in Uganda, in collaboration with FAO's Forestry Department. It was financed by the Finnish International Development Agency, FINNIDA.
The Seminar was designed for participants at the planning, supervisory and management level, including instructors and trainers, covering the forest resources and forest products sectors.
Emphasis was placed on identifying measures required to improve forest harvesting practices to meet environmental and socio-economically acceptable standards, making wise use of the resource base.
