Mountain Research and Development gets facelift, expands focus
With the first issue of 2000, Mountain Research and Development, the premier scholarly journal on mountains, enters a new era. Previously focused almost exclusively on research, the newly designed journal has substantially increased its attention to sustainable mountain development, with two main sections - Development and Research - and briefer sections on Platform, Notes and Media. The Development section reports on experiences of programmes, projects and community actions in sustainable mountain development. The Research section presents peer-reviewed scientific papers on generic, strategic and applied research relevant to sustainable mountain development.
The first issue of the renewed Mountain Research and Development focuses in its Development section on integrated management of mountain resources. Contributions deal with development in the Andes, Mount Kenya, the islands of Svalbard in the Arctic, the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan and the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The cross-cutting issue of the importance of self-determination is covered in an interview with a peasant farmer elected to Bolivia's Parliament.
The journal has moved its editorial office to the Centre for Development and Environment of the Department of Geography, University of Berne, Switzerland. Correspondence to the journal should be addressed to: MRD Editorial Office, Centre for Development and Environment, Institute of Geography, University of Berne, Hallerstrasse 12, 3012 Berne, Switzerland. E-mail: [email protected]. The journal is also available on line (www.mrd-journal.org).
Model forest concept to expand to Southeast Asia
The Government of Japan has agreed to provide US$1.6 million for a project to assist the development of model forests in Thailand, China, the Philippines and Myanmar. The model forest concept promotes the building of partnerships of stakeholders for the development, testing, implementation and demonstration of innovative approaches to forest management; and the sharing of information and experiences through networking. The concept was initially developed by Canada in the early 1990s and has gained a significant degree of momentum over the years.
The overall objective of the project, which will be executed by FAO, is to strengthen the national framework and capacity in the project countries to develop and implement national forest programmes and appropriate national policies for sustainable forest management and integrated land use. Model forests will be established and used to put in place frameworks for stakeholder participation in planning and delivering programme activities, in compiling best practices guidelines for model forest areas, in strengthening local-level institutional capacity for effective management of the model forest territory, and in providing feedback to support policy-making. The project is planned to last for two and a half years. The International Model Forest Network Secretariat (IMFNS) is actively collaborating with the project.
Sub-Saharan Africa forest research network launched
More than five years of planning and negotiation culminated in the successful launch of the Forestry Research Network in Sub-Saharan Africa (FORNESSA) in July 2000. The goal of the network is to strengthen forestry research in sub-Saharan Africa for greater impact on management and conservation of forests and tree resources for sustainable development.
The sustainable management, conservation and development of forest resources in sub-Saharan Africa (as in the rest of the world) are badly needed. They cannot be achieved, however, without the support of sound and forward-looking forestry and agroforestry research, conducted by national and cooperating research institutions. In Africa south of the Sahara, a weak institutional setting, understaffing and inadequate resources burden forestry research. Furthermore, forest research activities in Africa are often undertaken in isolation in the different countries, resulting in undesirable duplication of effort. Information on research activities is also urgently needed, to promote cooperation and more efficient use of the scarce resources.
FORNESSA is envisaged as a network of institutions that will facilitate capacity building at the national level and cooperation and exchange of expertise at the regional level. Operating across language boundaries, FORNESSA will build on subregional networks already active such as the Association of Forestry Research Institutions of Eastern Africa (AFREA), with membership in ten countries; CORAF-Forêt, the forest research network of the Conférence de responsables de recherche agronomique africains (CORAF), with 20 member institutions in West and Central Africa; and the Forestry Sector Technical Coordination Unit (FSTCU) of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), representing research institutions in the 14 SADC countries.
FORNESSA's work plan for the next two years includes assessment of forest research needs and capacities in sub-Saharan Africa; development of a strategic plan; awareness raising on key forestry issues for the region and lobbying for support; training; syntheses on key topics; and facilitation of information exchange.
The first Chairman of FORNESSA is Dr Paul Konuche from the Kenya Forest Research Institute. The Deputy Coordinator of the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO) Special Programme for Developing Countries, hosted by the FAO Regional Office for Africa in Accra, Ghana, will act as Secretary of FORNESSA, thus ensuring the network's strong ties with both IUFRO and FAO.
Italian NGO fosters forest conservation in Latin America
The non-governmental organization Bioforest - Association for the Regeneration of Natural Environments is using donations, primarily from industrial corporations in Italy, to finance reforestation and scientific research in forest conservation, with a focus on Latin America. Current projects include Operation Otonga, which is focused on the purchase of areas of primary forest in Ecuador to preserve biological diversity; and Operation Xavante, focusing on restoration and expansion of degraded forest areas assigned to the Zavantes and Tapirapé Indians in the Mato Grosso area of Brazil.
Under operation Otonga, some 800 ha have been purchased in an area contiguous to the La Forestal state reserve on the border of Pichincha and Cotopaxi Provinces. The area has been designated permanent forest reserve by the Government of Ecuador, and a research station is being constructed to facilitate international study.
Operation Xavante has started to involve local populations in restoration of degraded forest. Both tree and non-wood forest product species are to be planted after the elimination of invasive grass species. Both projects are envisaged over a ten-year time scale.
