This International Conference, which is being organized by the IUFRO Task Force on Sustainable Forest Management, Ecosyst�mes Forestiers (ECOFOR) and the European Forest Institute (EFI), is the third in a row of conferences. The first one took place in Melbourne, Australia, in August 1998, and the second in Costa Rica in November 1999.
For more information, please contact: Mr Olivier
Laroussinie, GIP ECOFOR, 19 Avenue du Maine, 75372 Paris Cedex 15,
France.
Fax: +33-1-45498839
E-mail:[email protected]
www.efi.fi/events/
The 3rd Regional Workshop of the South East Asian Network on NTFP Management (SEANN) is being organized by the Institute of Forestry, Pokhara, Nepal, in collaboration with various institutions involved in NTFP management in Nepal and India.
For more information, please contact: Abhoy Kumar Das, Dean, Institute of Forestry, Pokhara, Nepal.
Fax: +977-1-279298
E-mail: [email protected]
This workshop, which is being organized by the Austrian National Node of the European Tropical Forest Research Network, is looking for answers to the following questions:
� Why should we learn from local people?
� What can we learn from local people? What do they know? What are the limitations?
� How can we learn from local people? What are the opportunities, risks and needs?
A diverse pool of natural resource management expertise will share and collaboratively draw on experiences, explore commonalties and divergences of scientific and indigenous knowledge, particularly on timber as a resource. Ways forward, potentials, and conflicts will be equally discussed.
For more information, please contact: Ms Julia Roetzer, Austrian
National Node of the European Tropical Forest Research Network, Institute of
Forest Ecology, Universitaet fuer Bodenkultur, Peter Jordan Strasse 82, A-1190
Vienna, Austria.
Fax: +43-1-4797896
E-mail: [email protected]
www.nuf.boku.ac.at/tf.htm
www.nuf.boku.ac.at/workshop42000/ws42000info_e.htm
The Environment Liaison Centre International (ELCI) and the Global Initiative For Traditional Systems of Health (GIFTS of HEALTH), University of Oxford, United Kingdom, in collaboration with other organizations, are organizing this four-day international conference on the promotion and development of medicinal plants and traditional medicine in Africa. The conference, which will be composed of a combination of presentations and workshops, will be held parallel to the Fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-5) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to be convened in Nairobi, Kenya, 15-26 May 2000.
The conference will focus on issues relating to medicinal plants for traditional human and veterinary medicine, plant-derived pesticides and on aromatic and cosmetic plants. It is expected that the conference will be attended by government and donor representatives, scientists, researchers, policy-makers, conservationists, NGOs, health professionals, herbalists and traditional practitioners, etc.
Participants from other continents are also invited to attend the conference and share their experiences or learn about the new developments of the sector in Africa.
The conference objectives are to:
� assess the current situation of the sector and to disseminate information on the current activities, experiences and research initiatives and findings relating to medicinal plants and traditional medicine in Africa ;
� identify the key challenges and opportunities and perspectives involved in promoting medicinal plants and traditional medicine in Africa, and the practical lessons that can be learnt from the recent history of R&D in the sector;
� contribute to the knowledge base of medicinal plants, traditional medicine and traditional healing systems; and
� provide interested parties with updated information and action-oriented recommendations for the development of a medicinal plant-based cooperation in Africa and sustainable growth of the sub-sector.
For more information, please contact: Mr Ernest
Rukangira, Environment Liaison Centre International P.O. Box 72461, Nairobi ,
Kenya.
Fax +2542-562175
E-mail: [email protected]
or
Dr Gerard Bodeker, GIFTS of Health, Green
College, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6HG, United Kingdom.
Fax:
+44-01865-274796
E-mail: [email protected]
www.nuffic.nl/ciran/announce/2000_05.html
This international training course is being organized by the Regional Community Forestry Training Center (RECOFTC) in collaboration with the Forest Department of Lao People's Democratic Republic. The course contents are primarily based on market analysis and development methodology (MA&D), which is designed specifically to assist tree and forest product entrepreneurs in taking advantage of these new marketing opportunities. This course provides middle management professionals with the skills necessary to facilitate the planning and development of small-scale forest enterprises.
For more information, please contact: Dr Somsak Sukwong, Director, Regional Community Forestry Training Center (RECOFTC), Kasetsart University, PO Box 1111, Bangkok 10903, Thailand.
Fax: +662-561-4880
E-mail: [email protected]
This conference will critically review the state of the science concerning the conservation and sustainable management of plant genetic resources. The conference goal is to develop a global vision for the next century.
For more information, please contact: Ms Patti Sands, Assistant to the Deputy Director General (Programmes), IPGRI, Via delle Sette Chiese 142, 00145 Rome, Italy.
Fax: +39-065750309
E-mail: [email protected]
For more information, please contact: Mr Martin Price, 11 Bevington Rd., Oxford OX2 6NB, UK.
Fax: +44-186-528-4691
E-mail: [email protected]
The theme of the First Regional Conference for Eastern and Central Africa on the shea butter tree, Vitellaria paradoxa ssp. nilotica will be �The future of the nilotic shea butter tree: rural livelihoods, environment and fair trade�. The Conference will be hosted by COVOL Uganda and the Shea Project for Local Conservation and Development (the Shea Project). The conference will bring together stakeholders from Uganda, Southern Sudan, and Ethiopia, with participants in attendance from several West African countries.
The purpose of the conference is to share knowledge and experience across the range of the shea parkland savannah. Participants will explore the cultural, nutritional, ethnobotanical, ecological, technical and economic dimensions of the shea butter tree and its non-wood products. Presentations and field visits will focus on practical and appropriate rural-based solutions to the economic development of this important woodland resource.
For more information, please contact: Mr Eliot
Masters, Coordinator, the Shea Project COVOL Uganda, P.O. Box 833, Lira, Uganda.
E-mail:[email protected]
http://www.covol.org
An important dichotomy exists in the forest management debate between extraction and intensive management. This is usually reflected in the distinction between �natural forest management�, which refers to basic resource collection in natural ecosystems, and �plantation forestry� of specialized, intensively managed stands of trees.
The reality of forest production is much more varied, with a continuum of production systems between these two extremes. Various intermediate systems have been described, both contemporary and historically, that involve management of existing forest resources, �enrichment planting� and fostering valuable species in natural forests, or incorporation of forest species into agricultural production systems. Technical models developed by indigenous forest managers range from integrated management of a particular resource in the native ecosystem to the total replacement of the original forest by artificial forest-like structures (forest-gardens, agroforests). In practice, many of these intermediate management models are used by smallholder farmers, outside natural forests, in complex tree gardens within predominantly agricultural areas.
Some question the economic and/or ecological sustainability or profitability of these kinds of systems, arguing that they are just stages of "primitive horticulture" in a transitional process that leads to modern agriculture or silviculture. This perception leads to a lack of adequate official acknowledgement and inadequate technical support for these indigenous systems.
Others argue that such intermediate systems are able to meet economic, ecological and social objectives much better than either extractive systems or specialized, intensive systems. In particular, they provide a good compromise between biodiversity and productivity considerations. Proponents argue that such systems are more than just transitional stages, but may be quite stable over long periods of time. If so, there is a strong rationale for investment and policy interventions to protect existing intermediate systems and to promote the expansion of the model.
This symposium, organized by the FORESASIA project and the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), acknowledges that intermediate systems can play an important role, and may indeed have potential for wider application.
For more information, please contact: Genevi�ve Michon, ENGREF, BP 5093, 34033 Montpellier Cedex 03, France.
Fax 33-4-67-07-71-01
E-mail: [email protected]
Tibetan medicine is an important integral part of Chinese traditional medicine. In the past 1 000 years, it has made a great contribution to the prosperity of the areas inhabited by those of Tibetan nationality in China. In addition, is also used as a health resource in modern Chinese society and has been developed continuously. Among the world's Tibetan researches, the academic status of Tibetan medicine is increasing daily. China has always paid great attention to the development of traditional medicine. Tibetan medicine has achieved remarkable success in the fields of clinical practice, research, personnel training, medicines and pharmaceutical manufacture, especially in the last 20 years.
Approved by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the State Administration of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, the China Medical Association of Minorities, the Health Department of Tibet Autonomous Region and Tibet College of Tibetan Medicine will jointly sponsor this international conference.
For more information, please contact: Mr Zhu Guo
Ben, President, China Medical Association of Minorities, No.11, Bei San Huan
Dong Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China.
Fax:
+86-010-64287404
E-mail:[email protected]
www.cmam.org
The International Union of Forestry Research Organisations (IUFRO), a renowned international body in forestry research, has entrusted Malaysia to host the prestigious XXI IUFRO World Congress. This Congress will see the convergence of 3 000 foreign and local participants, making it the largest scientific congress on forestry to be held in Malaysia, the first developing country ever to host the Congress in the 100 years history of IUFRO.
The theme of the Congress, "Forests and society: the role of research", was chosen to reflect the increasing importance of research and development in sustainable forest management. The Congress, with the support of the Malaysian Government, will be organized by the Organizing Committee headed by Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM).
The Congress will cover pertinent issues such as sustainable management of natural resources, forest and society needs, changes in environment and society, cultural diversity in forest management and the global vision of forest and society. A renowned speaker will address each of these topics at the Congress during the keynote addresses.
Apart from keynote addresses, there will be numerous scientific sessions comprising technical paper and poster presentations based on the above theme and issues.
There will be a one-day in-congress tour to the Klang Valley, which will be related to forestry activities to highlight Malaysia's commitment towards achieving sustainable forest management.
The promotional activities have brought encouraging response from scientists, forest managers, planners and decision-makers worldwide. By June 1999, over 1 700 participants from 104 countries had expressed interest in participating. Similarly, the Congress Scientific Committee has received more than 2000 abstracts. Out of the total, about 500 papers and 1 000 posters will be selected for presentation.
For more information and to receive a registration package, please contact: Chairman, Congress Organising Committee, XXI IUFRO World Congress, Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), 52109 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Fax: +603 636 5687/6367753
E-mail:[email protected]
http://frim.gov.my/iufro.html http://iufro.boku.ac.at/iufro/congress/
The seminar is being organized under the auspices of the Joint FAO/ECE/ILO Committee on Forest Technology, Management and Training with the participation of the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations and in cooperation with the Turkish Government.
The seminar will offer the opportunity to exchange experience and share state-of-the-art knowledge on recent developments in forest harvesting, trade and marketing practices for NWFPs, as well as their potential importance for socio-economic development.
It will, in particular, discuss issues on sustainable forest operations and improved utilization of NWFPs, as well as the reduction of environmental impacts and wastes in the forests and processing facilities. The seminar will also cover financial, organizational and administrative support measures being taken by governments, the private sector, and NGOs to promote the sustainable utilization of NWFPs, and their importance for development, employment and income generation, particularly for local populations.
It is expected that the seminar will offer an overview of trends on environmentally friendly forest operations and processing of NWFPs, their importance within the forestry sector, changes needed and guidelines for their implementation.
The seminar shall also provide an overview of existing training, education and extension facilities and needs to enhance the promotion of the efficient and reduced impact utilization of NWFPs.
For more information, please contact: Mr Joachim Lorbach, Forest
Harvesting, Trade and Marketing Branch, Forestry Department, FAO, Viale delle
Terme di Caracalla 00100 Rome, Italy.
Fax: +39-06-57055618
E-mail:[email protected]
or
Dr Erkan Ispirli, Department Chief of Foreign Relations and EC Department, Orman
Bakantigi, Atat�rk Bulvari, 153, 06199 Bakanliklar/Ankara, Turkey.
Fax:
+90-312-4179160
E-mail[email protected]
The International Society of Ethnobiology (ISE) will hold its 7th International Congress in Georgia, United States. The theme of the Congress, symbolized by the turtle, is earth in the next century-specifically ethnobiology's role in maintaining biocultural diversity and ensuring equitable benefits-sharing and open dialogue with traditional and indigenous research collaborators.
Since its founding in 1988 in Bel�m, Brazil, the ISE has met every two years. Subsequent congresses have been held in Kunming, China (1990), Mexico City (1992), Lucknow, India (1994), Nairobi, Kenya (1996), and Whakatane, New Zealand (1998).
The ISE 7th Congress Planning Committee is calling for symposia and/or papers on:
� ethnobiology of human health;
� intellectual property rights and ethnobiological research;
� conservation of biological and cultural diversity;
� sustainable development of plant resources;
� collaborative research protocols; and
� benefits-sharing and drug discovery initiatives by indigenous, traditional, and local communities, and scientists to conserve biological diversity;
Following its traditional format, the 7th Congress will be preceded by a number of pre-congress training workshops, which focus on topics relevant to particular geographical areas or specialized interests.
For more information, please contact: 7th International Congress of
Ethnobiology, c/o John R. Stepp, Department of Anthropology, The University of
Georgia, 250 Baldwin Hall, Athens, GA 30602-1619, USA.
E-mail:[email protected]
www.guallart.dac.uga.edu/ISE
For more information, please contact: Dr Joseph Kengue, Executive
Secretary, African Safou Network (ASANET), PO Box 2067, Yaound�,
Cameroon.
Fax: +237-237571
E-mail:[email protected]
For more information, please contact: Dr Ram
Prasad, Director, Indian Institute of Forest Management, PO Box 357, Nehru
Nagar, Bhopal, India-462 003.
Fax: +91-755-772878
E-mail:[email protected]