Pulp and paper from the tropics
Where research is needed
Paper, in large quantities and many grades, is indispensable to any society which wants to progress. It should not be surprising, therefore, that the Third World is putting pulp and paper mills near the top of the list of industries it wishes to have. Furthermore, the potential for creating such industries is very high in many of the countries of the tropics since most of the world's forests are located there and their ecological conditions favour plantations of fast-growing tree species. Developing countries with forests are conscious as never before of the potential for converting this fibre into pulp themselves.
The task of establishing mills is as difficult as it is urgent but we are convinced that these difficulties can be dealt with effectively right now and in the immediate years ahead if there is a genuine will to do so among those concerned with pulp and paper development in both the developed and developing worlds. New production capacity should be established as much and as soon as possible in developing countries and mixed tropical hardwoods should be the first species to be utilized by these new industries. At the same time, plantations of fast-growing pulpwood species should be greatly increased in order to be able to rely more on these in the future. Many developing countries understood this years ago and are now well advanced in their plantation programmes.
If the forest-rich countries of the tropics are to have their own pulp and paper industries they themselves, first of all, must become fully conscious of the value and the potential of their forests. But along with this awareness there must also be the determination to raise the level of efficiency of the various institutions which are responsible for social, economic and technical development within these countries.
At the same time the developed countries will have to demonstrate their readiness to transfer the necessary income and technology to the developing countries. This should be reflected in trade and investment policies.
Finally, both developed and developing countries must join efforts in training personnel and in research in this essential industry.
FAO, long involved in all these efforts, looks forward to expanding its role in bringing pulp and paper production to the tropics.
Science, rushing ahead at fantastic speed in the past 75 years, has been largely responsible for the command that man has achieved over his material state of being. It has also contributed greatly to the uneasy state of togetherness of the four thousand million members of the family of man. In the Third World there is a deep awareness that science, technology, research are at the very heart of the matter of the progress of humanity.
At the forthcoming Congress of the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations in Oslo (see World of Forestry) we hope that there will be a corresponding awareness of the need to greatly strengthen the foundations of forestry research in the Third World.
Specifically, what is most urgently needed is much more work in tropical forestry, both humid and arid. One part of this effort should involve greater coordination and dissemination of the knowledge already existing, both in developing and developed countries. Another part concerns the building of research facilities for forestry in developing countries themselves and the training of personnel from these countries. The coordination and dissemination of information will not be successful without adequate facilities and trained people in the countries of the tropics.
Conventional approaches toward the transfer of knowledge internationally should not be discouraged, but it should be understood that the effectiveness of such approaches is limited. What is truly effective is the implantation and nurturing of scientific and technical institutions in the developing countries. Cultural, psychological, social and political factors are all involved in the growth and use of science and technology and anyone who thinks otherwise - or does not care to think about it - is fooling himself.
The spirit and tradition of international cooperation and collegiality is of the essence of science and, we should be proud to say, also of the forestry profession. This should work in favour of man's efforts to better understand and manage the complex tropical environment, just as it has done in temperate zone forestry. There is another advantage in the existence of IUFRO itself. It is active, well organized and has the ideal structure, already firmly established, for the all-important system of communication and linkage between the various forest sciences and the many nationalities concerned with them.
Those who will attend the IUFRO Congress have a particular responsibility to consider whether and to what degree their specialization and the subjects to which they intend to address themselves apply to the needs of the greatest number of people and the most pressing needs of society. Not that all scientific work necessarily should, but unfortunately too much of it does not. The time in which we live asks more urgently than ever for a sense of responsibility in the apportioning of man's best efforts for mankind's most pressing and obvious shortcomings. No one has to strain his eyes to see where many of those shortcomings lie, at least in terms of material and social development: two thirds of the family of man is too big to ignore, nor is it capable of ignoring the other third.
Are you looking for FAO documents on forestry?
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ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY (Vol. 1)
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AUTHOR AND SUBJECT INDEX (Vol. 2)
Publications and documents for the period 1967-73 covering forestry, forest industries, forestry education, administration, environment, wildlife and related forestry subjects.
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