B.R. Sen Award to Turkish forester
8th world forestry congress asks for country reports
Talât Eren, a Turkish forester on the staff of the FAO Forestry Department, has received the B.R. Sen Award for outstanding service as head of a watershed management project in Thailand.
The award, which consists of a medal, a scroll and a prize of $2 000, is FAO's highest recognition for professional achievement. It was the second time that a forester was given the B.R. Sen Award. Kenneth Sargent, a British forester, received it in 1975 for his work in the planning and organization of forest industries in Malaysia. The award, which is conferred by the FAO Conference, the Organization's governing body, is named for Dr. B.R. Sen, of India, who was Director. General of FAO from 1956 to 1967.
In the citation given to him, Eren, 56, was commended for "exceptional dedication and achievement" in his work in northern Thailand in aiding in the settlement of nomadic peoples, promoting better land-use practices on critical watersheds, increasing forest productivity and intensifying agriculture.
Mr. Eren worked in Thailand from 1973 to 1977. He is now Chief of the Forest Conservation and Wildlife Branch in the Forestry Resources Division of the Forestry Department.
Describing his work in Thailand he said that he realized early that the main task was to reach and convince the people, especially the rural poor, many of whom live in isolation. He and his assistants travelled extensively, visiting and talking to people, demonstrating rational land-use practices and better cropping systems. He assisted the Government in planning and building roads and infrastructure, and helped to set up a new Watershed Management Division within the Royal Forest Department.
Mr. Eren also organized a committee, comprising representatives of the royal family, monks, village head men, schoolteachers and administrative representatives, to visit villages and to encourage people in the work.
Various innovations were introduced or expanded, such as the cultivation of fruit trees, coffee and tea, beekeeping and other quick cash-yielding activities. More fertile land on gentler slopes was allocated to families in exchange for fields where they had practiced shifting cultivation. Assistance was provided in building terraces and in land conservation.
"We never imposed our views on the people," he said. "We showed what had to be done and how it should be done, and let the people take it up from there. Our own motto was: work as if you are staying here forever, but plan as if you are leaving tomorrow."
The organizers of the 8th World Forestry Congress to take place in Djakarta in October are calling for more reports on the state of forestry nations of the world.
The third Circular Information Letter reporting preparation of the Congress, issued by Mr. Soedjarwo, Director-General of the Indonesian Forest Service and Chairman of the Congress Organizing Committee, said that not enough country reports had been received. Position papers and discussions of the Congress, said the letter, are liable to be "too academic" without the background contained in country reports on the actual conditions, progress and plans for forestry on national levels.
The Congress is scheduled to take place in the Djakarta Convention Hall from 16 to 28 October 1978. It will be preceded and followed by study tours. An attendance of about 2 000 is expected
The theme of the Congress is "Forestry for People." Under this theme there will be five areas of discussion: Forestry for Rural Communities, Forestry for Food, Forestry for Employment Promotion, Forestry for Individual Development and Forestry for Quality of Life.
The 3rd Information Letter also asked governments to send in "at your convenience" suggestions for inclusion in the Congress Declaration. These points should related to the Congress theme or one of the five major discussion areas. A draft Declaration will be submitted to the Congress Panel on the morning of the last day of the Congress, 28 October.
Copies of country papers as well as suggestions for the Congress Declaration should be sent to the Secretary-General and the Associate Secretary-General of the Congress. Country reports should be sent in duplicate to each of these officers. They are:
Mr. LUKITO DARYADI
Secretary-General
8th World Forestry Congress
P.O. Box 3668/JKT
Djakarta, IndonesiaMr. OSCAR FUGALLI
Associate Secretary-General
8th World Forestry Congress
Forestry Department
FAO
Via delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome, Italy
The circular letter also gave details concerning exhibits. Depending upon size of individual stands, there are accommodations for 36 to 50 exhibitors in the Convention Hall. There will be four categories of exhibits:
· Forest products of an international character.· Information about equipment for the manufacture of forest products. These could include models, audiovisual presentations, posters, brochures and similar information material.
· Photographic displays. These should show activities related to the theme, sub-themes or discussion areas of the Congress, or to the general development of forestry on the national level.
· A furniture fair.
With the exception of the furniture fair, the exhibits will be housed in the Convention Hall. The furniture fair will be held in the Djakarta Fair Grounds. Exhibits involving the projection of colour slides are encouraged.
Rental costs for exhibits will be about US$50 or Indonesian rupiahs 20 000 per square metre. Electric cur rent in the Convention Hall is 1.3 to 2 kW of 220 volts, 50 cycles.
The original plans for a film festival during the Congress have been dropped but the organizers are still anxious to obtain recent films on forestry, especially if they are related to subjects to be discussed at the Congress. Films will be shown on nights when social events are not scheduled.
One year timber course
In recent years the Timber and Materials Section of the Department of Art Design (Furniture and Timber) at Buckinghamshire College of Higher Education have offered a one-year timber studies course for graduates or executives from the timber industry. It covers aspects of timber preparation, processing, trade practices and utilization. In addition students select a specialization for in-depth study, i.e., sawmilling or yard-handling.
Candidates who are successful in the Diploma Examination may be awarded passes at First or Second Class Honours as well as becoming eligible to be awarded Associate Membership of the Institute of Wood Science.
Overseas students may be supported by the British Council or FAO. Students from the U.K. may be eligible to receive TOPS grant awards while attending the College.
Further details of the course can be obtained from Mr. D.G. Patterson at the College, Queen Alexandra Road, High Wycombe HP 11 2JZ, Great Britain. Telephone 22141, ext. sit
International Symposium on Forest Meteorology
The World Meteorological Organization is sponsoring a symposium on forest meteorology to be held in Ottawa, Canada, 21-25 August 1978. The symposium is being hosted jointly by the Canadian Forestry Service and the Atmospheric Environment Service of Canada. The purpose of the meeting is to bring together scientists from all over the world who have a common interest in the scientific problems of forest meteorology as well as the applications of meteorology to forestry. Technical sessions are planned in the following areas:
· Effects of climate and climatic variability on world forest distribution.· Applications of climatology in forestry planning.
· Applications of meteorology in forestry operations.
· Meteorology and climatology in relation to management of forest fires.
· Meteorology in forest disease and insect control.
· Impact of environmental factors (including pollutants, wind, temperature, precipitation, etc.) on forest development and forest production.
· Role of forests and wildlands in global and/or regional balances of heat, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, etc.
Each session will be introduced by an invited keynote speaker followed by presentation of individual relevant papers and/or panel discussions. The official languages of the symposium will be French and English with simultaneous interpretation.
To permit flexibility in scheduling of papers, and to allow for papers on topics not on the formal agenda, one or more "poster" sessions will be scheduled. In these sessions, scientists can present current research results on prepared posters and be available for discussions with interested symposium participants.
A field trip to the Maniwaki Fire Management Research Application and Testing Station is scheduled and other trips may be added.
The meeting will be held at the University of Ottawa in downtown Ottawa. Low-cost dormitory accommodations will be available and additional hotel and motel accommodations are nearby. Sightseeing programmes for accompanying spouses are also being arranged.
For further information on submission of papers and abstracts, contact the Symposium Director, Professor William E. Reifsnyder, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, Marsh Hall - 360 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, U.S.A. Phone (203) 436-0020.
For information on accommodations, contact the Arrangements Coordinator, Dr. James B. Harrington, Jr., Forest Fire Research Institute, 240 Bank Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1G 3Z6, Canada. Phone (613) 996-0811.
ECE/FAO Agriculture and Timber Divisions merged
The joint Agriculture and Timber Divisions of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) were merged on 1 January 1978.
Eero F.I. Kalkkinen, Director of the ECE/FAO Timber Division since 1963, and a member of the staff of FAO since 1948, heads the new ECE/FAO Agriculture and Timber Division. Peter Meihsl has been named Deputy Director of the new division, and Chief, Agriculture Section. Timothy Peck has been appointed Chief, Timber Section.
The ECE secretariat in Geneva now consists of the following nine divisions: agriculture and timber; energy; environment and human settlements; general economic analysis; industry, projections and programming; statistics; trade and technology; transport.
Finger-jointing for green lumber
Scientists at Canada's Western Forest Products Laboratory (WFPL) in Vancouver, British Columbia, have developed a method of finger-jointing which they say is simpler and cheaper than methods used up to now and which can be employed on green lumber.
The following description of the new method is from an article by Miles Overend appearing in Canadian Forest Industries magazine.
The new finger-jointing technique, for which patterns are pending, would make possible the upgrading of green lumber shorts into longer structural members. At the present time the radio-frequency method of making finger joints can only be used with kilndried lumber and in addition is not suitable to some species of wood, such as those from the interior of British Columbia.
The method was developed by the Adhesives Research Group of the Western Forest Products Laboratory, under Dr. Suezone Chow. The group has been working for the past six years on problems connected with the gluing of wood products such as plywood and laminated beams.
Current methods of finger-jointing are expensive, and, in the case of some species, uncertain. As a result, in Canada only Douglas fir and western hemlock, two species from the coastal area of British Columbia, have been found suitable for the radio-frequency method. Initial research into the problems connected with the use of other species showed that the heat build-up in the bonding agent resulted in burning and consequent weakening of the joint. The ability to make finger joints in green wood, which would pass structural tests, could result in millions of dollars saved in salvaged short ends.
Under the present radio-frequency method of finger-jointing, the lumber must be dried to a 10 percent moisture content before the finger-jointing process can be applied.
After drying, lumber is put through the finger-jointing machine which cuts the fingers. Then the joint is fitted and glued and the whole assembly is passed through a radio-frequency field under a pressure of 400 to 600 psi.
In the new WFPL method, the green lumber is cut on the finger-jointing machine, heated for ten minutes at 160°C, then cooled, and the glue applied with an end pressure of 600 psi. Heat stored in the wood is transferred to the fingers to cure the joint.
No radio-frequency curing is needed, and the pre-heating needs only to be applied to the finger joint itself, not the whole piece of wood. In fact all that's needed for the bond is a moisture content of not more than 50 percent in the fingers themselves.
Several Canadian companies are interested in the new process, and it's likely a pilot plant will be built in the near future. One interior sawmill is already negotiating for a finger-jointing line for spruce-pine-fir stud lumber.
Studs from the company were sent to WFPL to be finger-jointed and tested according to Canadian Standards Association standards. Their minimum bending strength was 2.55 times the allowable unit stress for select (structural grade) lumber. The combined average bending strength for the tests in narrow and wide faces of lumber was 3.57 times greater than the unit stress for select structural grade. Minimum tensile strength of the finger-jointed lumber was 2.2 times the unit stress for select structural grade lumber, and the average tensile strength was 3.83 times that for select structural grade.
Road building and harvesting course in Austrian mountains
The Second FAO/Austria Training Course on Forest Roads and Harvesting in Mountainous Forests will be held at Ort and Ossiach, Austria, from 3 June through 3 July 1978.
The programme is designed for teaching technical and economic aspects of road building and harvesting in mountains through lectures, practical training, demonstrations and study trips. Emphasis will be put on road planning, construction and maintenance, and wood extraction with modern tech piques. Reduction of harmful effects on soil and stands will be among the considerations. The month-long course is arranged with lectures in the mornings and field work in the afternoons.
Applicants for the 35 places should be professional-level foresters from developing countries, with or without university training. They should be actively engaged in forestry. In selecting candidates preference will be given to younger foresters with at least two years' experience and especially those who are likely to put what they learn to use in supervisory capacities.
The first course of this kind jointly sponsored by the Austrian Government and the FAO was held in 1975. It is foreseen that it will be repeated at two-year intervals.
Further information may be had from Rudolf Heinrich, Forestry Department, FAO, Rome, who is in charge of organizing the course.
