It would be understandable if the reader of Unasylva seeing this special issue of the journal, wanted to know why the FAO Council decided "so suddenly" - some might even say "hastily" - to proclaim 1985 as the International Year of the Forest. There are four main reasons:
· the pressure of events on the world forestry scene-throughout the world, with good reason, concern is being expressed over ominous factors that mean the removal of ever-increasing areas of forest;· acid rain and the forest degradation associated with it in Western Europe and North America, which have alerted public opinion in these countries and alarmed and challenged technicians and scientists;
· forest fires in the Mediterranean area and in the dry tropics, a major source of concern that has not yet found satisfactory solutions;
· the loss or conversion of more than 11 million ha of tropical forest resources every year while drought is killing millions of trees and causing soil erosion and desertification, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
This disturbing situation led first the European Forestry Commission and later FAO's Committee on Forestry to alert the FAO Council, which decided to take action and ring the alarm bell. Thus the Council, meeting between 19 and 30 November 1984, adopted Resolution 2/86 proclaiming 1985 the International Year of the Forest.
As with other, similar celebrations, the purpose of the International Year of the Forest is, above all, to alert, to inform, to sensitize and to motivate in such a way that action is taken for the benefit not only of world forest resources but also of all forms of production, land use, and conservation in which trees and woody vegetation in general are involved.
FAO, entrusted with the task of launching and promoting the International Year of the Forest, is doing so In a number of ways:
· the proclamation of the International Year of the Forest on 22 January 1985 by Director-General Edouard Saouma;· the dispatch of relevant information and an invitation to participate to all Member Governments other UN agencies and a number of national and regional governmental and non-governmental institutions and organizations;
· the execution of its own plan of action, which includes producing and distributing information and extension materials; disseminating existing technical information; involving and making available its own technical staff, at headquarters and in the field, for forestry, agricultural and even fisheries projects; and, finally, within the context of its regular functions, making provisions for meaningful future action resulting from ideas generated by the International Year of the Forest.
The World Forestry Congress, the Commonwealth Forestry Conference and other large international and regional meetings dealing with forestry present an opportunity to transmit the message of the international Year of the Forest.
This message will highlight all current problems relating to forestry, but special emphasis will be placed on the major theme of forestry and food security and its four supporting themes: forest conservation, forestry and people, appropriate forest industries, and the fuelwood crisis.
The articles in this issue of Unasylva deal with such problems. The lead article on forestry and food security describes the importance of forestry In the maintenance, improvement or rehabilitation of the productive capacity of agriculture. Following is an article dealing with the threat of acid rain. Finally, it must be kept in mind that the best guardians of forest resources are the people who are the first to benefit from them. Therefore, the efforts of non-governmental organizations should be directed toward helping to increase people's participation in all aspects of forest management. The third article deals with this topic.
If the International Year of the Forest succeeds in putting across its message convincingly, much will have been achieved. But even this would be no more than a beginning.
