Contents
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XI. Activities and programs of the organization
A.
Technical department
B. Department of economic and social affairs
C. Department of public relations and legal
affairs
D. Regional activities
E. Implementation of Africa survey
F. Special program for agricultural education
and training in Africa
G.
Mediterranean development
H. Technical assistance in the regular
program
I. Survey and appraisal of world agriculture,
fisheries and forestry resources in relation to needs - report on
the Lower Ganges-Brahmaputra basin
J. André Mayer research fellowships
K. Measures to develop rural youth activities
in the world especially with a view to improving agricultural
production and social conditions in developing countries
L.
Codex alimentarius program
Method
of financing
M. Global locust research and control
N. Emergency fund for the control of
Livestock disease
O. Interagency relations and consultations on
matters of common interest
P. Technical co-operation programs
Q. Impact of field programs on the regular
program
R.
Conclusions
Atomic energy in agriculture
Forestry and forest products
Land and water development
Nutrition
General
Plant production and protection
a) Animal production and health
b) Fisheries
c) Fisheries biology
d) Fisheries technology
e) Fisheries economics and statistics
f) Regional and other activities of the division
119. The Conference reviewed the FAO program of work in atomic energy operated by the Technical Department through the Atomic Energy Branch working in co-operation with the six Technical Divisions and various other operational units within the Organization, including the Agricultural Services, Agricultural Education and Extension, and Legislation Research Branches, and, where appropriate, in collaboration with other international agencies including the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Health Organization. The program dealt with the application of isotopes and radiation in diverse fields across the entire range of technical interest of the Organization, and with the protection of food and food-producing resources from radioactive contamination.
120. The Conference expressed satisfaction with the manner in which the work had been developed and endorsed the proposed program and the additional professional post and related services for 1964-65 insofar as funds were available. It recognized that the program is of interest to all Member Governments of FAO, including those of the more advanced countries as well as those in the developing regions, and that on a long-term basis there would inevitably be increasing calls from agricultural services in all parts of the world for assistance from FAO in this rapidly developing field. Emphasis was placed on the importance of training of national personnel through training courses, seminars, and the granting of long-term fellowships.
121. The Conference stressed the need for nuclear science techniques to be placed in proper perspective in relation to other necessary measures for the advancement of agriculture, and commended FAO policy in this respect. It recognized that FAO is in a position to promote the required integration of atomic energy techniques into over-all programs of advice and assistance to governments in their applied research and development programs in agriculture.
122. The Conference endorsed the views unanimously expressed by the Program Committee, the Council and the Technical Committee on Agriculture that FAO, as the United Nations agency concerned with agricultural research and development as a whole, should logically be responsible for the application of atomic energy techniques in applied research and development projects intended for the benefit of agriculture.
123. The Conference, noting that the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Resolution 986 (XXXVI) on the co-ordination of atomic energy activities is in full conformity with these views, agreed with the Economic and Social Council on the need for continuing vigilance in the areas where the activities of other agencies may overlap those of FAO in this field.
124. Reference to the ECOSOC Resolution is included in the Resolution No. 27/63 adopted by the Conference on Co-operation between FAO and other Members of the United Nations system (see paragraph 431).
125. The Conference appreciated the efforts that the Director-General had made to achieve full and appropriate co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency in various ways and requested him to continue them in accordance with the principle expressed above. The Conference supported, in particular, the establishment of a joint division, already proposed by the Director-General on several occasions, as a desirable objective. In the mean while, the very closest collaboration should be maintained between the two agencies in areas of common interest, within the framework of a clear delineation of their respective functions.
a) Animal production and health
126. The Conference noted with approval the work which the Animal Production and Health Division had accomplished during the current biennium. It was appreciated that much of the work, especially that in relation to livestock breeding and development, the establishment and operation of research centers and projects concerned with education, was of a continuing and long-term nature. The Conference commended the work done through expert panels, many of which were operated jointly with the World Health Organization.
127. The Conference noted that a considerable number of expert assignments were not of sufficient duration to allow of the implementation of a thoroughly satisfactory program. It was considered that the work of the Division could have been improved by increasing the duration of certain individual assignments.
128. The Conference endorsed the balance of the program of work and commended the close interrelationship of the activities of the three Branches and the relative emphasis given to the various disciplines involved. It also noted with satisfaction the close association with other Branches and Divisions of the Organization and with appropriate national and international bodies.
129. The Conference noted the necessity for the priority of consideration which had to be given from time to time to diseases of livestock which assumed epizootic proportions and called for emergency action. Particular importance was attached to the control of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, rinderpest and trypanosomiasis in the African region, and attention was directed to the need to co-ordinate control measures on a regional basis and to ensure that the various sources of technical assistance were directed toward the common aim of ultimate eradication. The Conference requested the Director-General to give added emphasis in field programs to the control of disease in nomadic stocks, and also to ensuring that possible reservoirs of infection were included in planned control programs. It was noted that the prevention of diseases in shifting livestock populations involved a massive and simultaneous approach throughout the whole affected area.
130. The Conference adopted the following resolution:
Participation of FAO in the campaign to control rinderpest and contagious bovine pleuropneumonia
THE CONFERENCE
Recognizing the prime importance to the economy of countries in the Sahelian regions of the eradication of rinderpest and contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, as well as the danger of contagion to countries hitherto free from these diseases,
Being aware of the absolute character of the barrier erected by rinderpest between producer countries in the Sahelian regions and certain importing countries that suffer from a shortage of animal protein,
Taking cognizance of the joint campaign to eradicate these diseases undertaken in the Lake Chad basin by the Commission for Technical Co-operation in Africa (CCTA), the International Development Association (IDA) and the European Development Fund, with the full support of the pastoral peoples concerned, and
Being convinced that the eradication of rinderpest in regions where transhumance is practiced can only be obtained by mass-scale, simultaneous action in all areas affected by this disease and, moreover, that the machinery set in motion by such a campaign can be utilized to control contagious bovine pleuropneumonia as well,
Instructs the Director-General to seek ways and means of supplementing the work currently underway through a specific program in concert with CCTA in order that the campaign to eradicate rinderpest may embrace the entire infected Sahelian region;
And further urges that the machinery set into motion for such a campaign he used to combat other diseases, in particular contagious bovine pleuropneumonia.
(Adopted 4/12/63)
131. The Conference noted the desire of a number of delegations for an increase in the activities of the Organization in foot-and-mouth disease control and research and in the volume of research, having regard to the world-wide economic importance of such work. Particular note was taken of the advances made in Latin America and other regions with improved vaccines. These are now becoming generally available and there is a need for extended field work in the form of planned and co-ordinated regional control campaigns. It was considered that the Organization should increase its efforts to ensure that improved vaccines and better control methods are applied wherever foot-and-mouth disease exists, in order to reduce the incidence of this condition. It was again emphasized that the incidence of epizootic disease anywhere in the world is a matter of concern to all countries.
132. The importance of increasing, by the most rapid means available, the supplies of animal proteins for human consumption was given special emphasis in the context of poultry production. The Conference approved the expanding activities of the Organization in this respect and considered that, where applicable, swine production should also be boosted. In appropriate areas, sheep and goat production should also receive increased attention.
133. The Conference considered that means of providing advice and assistance on a wider scale than previously should be investigated by the Organization in relation to the standardization of basic animal health regulations, the prevention of the transference of animal disease across frontiers, and the improvement of quarantine techniques, including methods leading to the earlier detection of disease and parasitism. The Conference noted that international trade in livestock and livestock products would be furthered by the improvement of disease control measures. The growing expansion in all world areas of trade in livestock and livestock products could be seriously impeded through the transference of infectious diseases and parasitisms from affected to clean areas and the resulting threat to livestock industries and sometimes to the public health.
134. The Conference considered problems and difficulties involved in the production of milk, especially under adverse conditions of climate, topography, and husbandry. The Organization should give particular attention to this matter and to methods of conserving milk products, since the improvement of milk production is among the most important means by which supplies of protein can be made available for human consumption.
135. The Conference adopted the following resolution:
Measures against the spreading of animal diseases
THE CONFERENCE
Recognizing the importance to member countries of extending their international trade in livestock and livestock products,
Noting the growing expansion of such trade in all world areas,
Drawing attention to the serious actual and potential dangers of the transference of infectious parasitisms and diseases from affected to clean areas and the consequent serious threat to livestock industries and in some cases to public health,
Indicating the dangers posed by insect-borne diseases of both man and animals through the transference of the vectors by aircraft, and hence the urgency for such Organizations as FAO and the World Health Organization ( WHO) jointly to consider improved means of ensuring that aircraft are rendered free from all insects upon arrival at any international airport,
Approving the proposed Meeting on Basic Principles for Control of Inter national Traffic in Animals and Animal Products to be held in Bern, Switzerland in 1964, and
Considering particularly that the attention of all countries must be drawn to the need for co-ordinating appropriate measures for the standardization of basic national animal health regulations,
Requests the Director-General to investigate all means by which countries could be better safeguarded against the introduction of animal diseases and to report his findings to the Council and the Conference; and
Recommends that member countries should closely examine their existing import regulations and, realizing the responsibilities which both exporting and importing countries bear to prevent the transference of diseases across national boundaries, should urgently consider methods of improving on a sound biological basis their precautions against the introduction of disease.
(Adopted 4/12/63)
136. The Conference approved the work carried out in the field of fisheries in 1962-63 and the proposed program of work for 1964-65. It expressed concern at the inadequacy of the staff and funds in a field which was so essential for supplying the world with high-quality protein foods. Accordingly it adopted the following resolution:
Fisheries development
THE CONFERENCE
Realizing that the most pressing need in human nutrition is to make available to people in all parts of the world an adequate supply of high-quality protein such as that derived directly from animals,
Noting that whereas there are great difficulties in rapidly increasing supplies of animal protein in many parts of the world, the oceans and inland waters offer exceptional possibilities for meeting this urgent need,
Observing that world fisheries production has doubled within the past decade and that opportunities exist for comparable increases in the next several decades,
Noting the increased attention which has been given in recent years to the rational exploitation of the living resources of the oceans and inland waters by national and international governmental and nongovernmental bodies concerned with research, management and development,
Emphasizing that wasteful duplication in international fishery work can be avoided only if all efforts are properly co-ordinated,
Recognizing the constitutional responsibility of FAO in this field, and the increasingly important role that the Fisheries Division should play in the rational use of aquatic resources in order to supply food needed for the world, and
Realizing the limited attention which the Fisheries Division has been able to give to this responsibility,
Requests that the Director-General prepare, for consideration by the Council and the thirteenth Session of the Conference, proposals outlining measures which can be taken to ensure that FAO, through its Fisheries Division, has in future years the status of being the leading intergovernmental body in encouraging rational harvesting of food from the oceans and inland waters, bearing in mind the dynamic relationship between the living aquatic resources and the environment and also bearing in mind the importance of fisheries in providing needed animal protein;
Also requests that consideration of the means for carrying out the proposals which are to be outlined by the Director-General should take into account resources not only under the Regular Program budget but also from all other possible sources; and
Further requests the Council to consider the status of the Fisheries Division in order to determine how the fisheries activities could be given full recognition in the Organization and among other international bodies that concern themselves with matters related to fisheries.
(Adopted 4/12/63)
137. The Conference authorized the Director-General to strengthen the Fisheries Division in 1964-65, within the limits of the funds available:
(ii) by strengthening the Inland Fisheries Section of the Fisheries Biology Branch, the minimum requirements being one professional officer and one General Service staff member;
(iii) by strengthening similarly the Boat Section of the Technology Branch; and
(iv) by strengthening the work of the Division in Africa and especially the East African subregion by establishing one professional post.
138. The Conference also recommended that the Director-General consider allocating funds out of the Regular Program of Technical Assistance for a regional course of studies of stock assessment and a regional seminar on fisheries development planning and administration, both in Latin America. The Conference further recommended that the Director-General consider allocating funds from the Special Program for Agricultural Education and Training in Africa under the Regular Program for a seminar on fisheries development planning and administration for selected French-speaking member countries in Africa. The Conference also requested the Director-General to endeavor to secure funds under the Expanded Program of Technical Assistance (EPTA) Regional Program for a training center on fish processing and marketing in Africa in the 1965-66 EPTA biennium. Associated production problems should also receive attention.
139. The Conference emphasized the need for accelerating work in the assessment of stock including whale and tuna resources. It drew attention to the requirements of the Working Party for Rational Utilization of Tuna Resources in the Atlantic.
140. Having reviewed the work of the FAO Advisory Committee for Marine Resources Research (ACMRR) and the Expert Panel for the Facilitation of Tuna Research, the Conference approved the holding of two sessions of the Advisory Committee and one meeting of the Expert Panel members in the 1964-65 biennium. Regretting that a substantial part of the approved program for 1962-63 had not been carried out because of understaffing, the Conference stressed the urgent need for the assessment, development and management of inland fisheries resources and for the development of fish culture.
141. The Conference confirmed its approval, given at the Eleventh Session, concerning the holding of a world symposium on fish culture in 1964-65. It would be necessary to publish the reports and proceedings of this symposium.
142. The Conference considered that the most urgent questions in this field were: freshwater fisheries; the ACMRR session; stock assessment of whales and tuna and the Tuna Panel meetings; and cooperation with panels and working groups of other bodies.
143. Having evaluated the useful services rendered by the World fisheries abstracts, the Conference requested the Director-General to undertake a full review of the contents, nature, scope and method of production of this publication, and the relationship of the publication and associated matters to the newly-established Technical Intelligence and Reports Section.
144. The Conference stressed the urgent need for standardization of fishing gear and materials and of data on different types of fishing nets and methods. The Conference urged continued co-operation with the International Organization for Standardization in these matters.
145. The Conference stressed the importance of continuing the work on the stability of fishing vessels and scantlings of the wooden craft, and asked that the closest technical co-operation be maintained between FAO and the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO), and also with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and that their respective responsibilities be clearly apportioned. The Conference requested the Director-General to ensure that the assumption by IMCO of certain responsibilities relating to stability, safety at sea and productivity should not lead to duplication of effort between the two agencies.
146. In the field of fish processing technology, the Conference endorsed the work in the fields of fresh and frozen fish handling, and fish drying and utilization, so as to promote the better utilization of fish for human consumption. It approved the proposed expanded program in the field of fish products development, with special emphasis currently directed to fish-protein concentrates for human consumption.
147. The Conference noted with approval the work done in support of the joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission in close collaboration with the Organization for European Co-operation and Development (OECD) and other organizations.
148. The Conference approved the holding of the following meetings: a technical meeting on boats concerning small units for developing fisheries; a symposium on the significance of fundamental research in the successful utilization of fish; a symposium, in conjunction with the Eleventh Session of the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council, on improved fish handling and distribution; and a joint FAO/CCTA symposium on the preservation and distribution of freshwater fish in Africa.
e) Fisheries economics and statistics
149. The Conference noted with satisfaction the continued improvement of the FAO yearbook of fishery and approved the issue of special bulletins of fishery statistics. The Conference also approved the publication of four volumes of the Yearbook during the 1964-65 biennium.
150. The Conference noted that the FAO Working Party for Rational Utilization of Tuna Resources in the Atlantic, appointed by the FAO Council, had indicated the urgent need for the assembly of catch and fishing effort statistics in respect of tuna fisheries, but recognized that such work could not be undertaken without some strengthening of the Division's Statistics Section.
151. In the field of fishery institutions and enterprises, the Conference noted that in the ensuing biennium the main emphasis would be on activities within the framework of the intensification of FAO's work on the production and use of high-protein foods, where special attention would be given to fish-protein concentrates for human consumption. The Branch would collaborate closely with Fisheries Technology Branch and the Nutrition Division.
152. In the field of fishery administration and services, the Conference endorsed the proposal to convene a world meeting on fishery administration in 1965, a proposal already approved in principle by the Eleventh Session of the Conference. It also noted that, in response to a recommendation of that Session, a Seminar on Fishery Development Planning and Administration had been conducted in Ghana in 1963, within the framework of the FAO Special Program for Agricultural Education and Training in Africa, while a similar seminar for the Indo-Pacific region was to be organized by invitation of the Government of Australia in 1964, under the Expanded Program of Technical Assistance.
153. As the training of staff, particularly foremen and extension workers, was essential for fishery development in developing countries, the Conference requested that priority be given to the education and training of fishery technicians at all levels. Consequently, it requested the Director-General urgently to take the necessary measures to tackle this problem, which was now one of great concern to the developing countries with potential for fishery development.
154. In the field of fishery economics and management, the Conference noted the widespread interest aroused by the FAO Meeting on the Economic Effects of Fishery Regulations, and approved the preparation of a special chapter on the Management of the Living Resources of the Sea for inclusion in The state of food and agriculture. It also approved holding a Meeting on Business Decisions in Fishery Industries in 1964 as a follow-up of the FAO Technical Meeting on Costs and Earnings of Fishery Enterprises in 1958. In the same general field of work, the Conference approved the issue of a Fish Marketing Guide.
f) Regional and other activities of the division
155. The Conference endorsed the Director-General's proposals to strengthen regional work in the field of fisheries by the engagement of consultants to assist the regional fisheries councils and commissions and by outposting more technical staff to the regions.
156. The Conference accepted the reports of the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council (c 63/FI/2) and the General Fisheries Council for the Mediterranean (c 63/FI/3) and took note of the work of the European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission, the Regional Fisheries Commission for Western Africa and the Regional Fisheries Commission for the Southwest Atlantic.
157. The Conference endorsed the continued use by the Director-General of the FAO Panel of Fisheries Experts for consultative purposes and for the selection of members of panels and working groups. The Conference also supported the continuation of the Advisory Committee on Marine Resources Research and the Expert Panel for the Facilitation of Tuna Research, as well as a Joint FAO/ILO Working Party on Fishery Cooperatives. The Conference approved the work of the FAO/ICES/ICNAF Continuing Working Party on Fisheries Statistics in the North Atlantic Area and suggested extension of this type of activity to other regions. The Conference agreed with the abolition of the Panel of Experts on Fisheries Products Technology.
158. The Conference drew special attention to the destructive effects of pollution on fisheries in the rivers and lakes as industrialization progresses. It urged that the Organization, in collaboration with other international and regional agencies concerned, should endeavor to give more attention to the biological, technical and economic aspects of pollution with a view to advising governments on measures to solve this serious problem. With regard specifically to the Indo-Pacific region in which the freshwater fisheries are of considerable importance, it was suggested that, in the first instance, the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council might arrange a symposium on this subject.
159. The Conference particularly stressed the necessity of making special efforts, under the Regular Program and field programs, to meet the needs of the developing countries through short-term economic and technological studies and projects on fisheries. The Conference recommended that the Fisheries Division continue to receive support in its African program through the Special Program for Agricultural Education and Training in Africa, and that increased support for development planning in fisheries be allocated to the Division from the Regular Program Technical Assistance budget.
160. The Conference recognized the importance of the survey of fishery resources and recommended that the Director-General should take up urgently, with the United Nations Special Fund and other agencies, the matter of assistance in the preparation and sanction of projects of survey and exploration of fishery resources of the oceans adjoining the coasts of Burma, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and other countries, and recognized that many similar projects would be necessary elsewhere. Accordingly, it adopted the following resolution:
Fisheries survey projects
THE CONFERENCE
Recognizing the urgent importance of oceanographic survey and exploration of marine resources in many parts of the world,
Considering the increasing importance of deriving more and more food from the sea to supplement the food available from the resources of the land,
Recognizing the economic importance of exploiting the wealth of the seas,
Considering the seriously inadequate per caput protein food consumption in the developing countries,
Considering further that there is in many cases insufficient information about the availability, migration, habitat, etc. of fish, to enable proper fishing activities to be undertaken,
Being of the opinion that there is urgent need for comprehensive projects to be carried out by the governments concerned, severally and jointly, with the help of FAO and the financial assistance of the United Nations Special Fund and/or other aid sources for:
(b) economic and marketing surveys of fish and fish products,
(c) the development and improvement of boats, gear, and nets for use in fishing operations, and
(d) the designing and location of fish harbors, jetties, cold storage and processing plants to be constructed in this connection,
Noting that FAO, through its outposted officers and field staff and sometimes by special arrangements with the agencies concerned, can render only limited assistance to governments in the preparation of such projects,
Being informed that the Government of Pakistan, jointly with other governments has proposed two such projects, one for the seas adjoining the coast of East Pakistan and Burma, and the other for the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf and other waters adjoining the coasts of Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and other countries concerned, and that those countries fully support this proposal, and
Being aware that many similar projects will be necessary in other regions,
Requests the Director-General to assist Member Governments, taking up with the Managing Director of the United Nations Special Fund and the heads of other agencies concerned the need for assistance in the preparation of such projects which could be given to the governments quickly and adequately and thereafter help in getting the projects supported and sanctioned, and in widening the scope of applications for similar Special Fund projects to cover the waters of the adjacent countries;
Also requests the Director-General meanwhile to provide such urgent assistance in this field as he is able to give.
(Adopted 4/12/63)
a) Publications
b) Studies of wood resources and requirements
c) Forest policy and management
d) Man-made forests
e) Forestry and the freedom from hunger campaign
f) Forest inventories
g) Forestry and forest products statistics
h) Forest industries and utilization
i) Forestry education
j) Interagency co-operation
k) Agricultural and forestry interests
l) Regional forestry commissions
m) Sixth world forestry congress
n) Future programs and program trends
161. The Conference approved the operations and projects conducted in 1962-63 in the field of forestry and forest products and the work program proposed for 1964-65.
162. Noting with interest the paper The role of forest industries in the attack on economic underdevelopment, the Conference considered, on the basis of FAO studies on trends in the forestry and forest products economy that special opportunities present themselves in developing countries, and approved the objective of expanding forestry and forest products industries in these countries. The Conference approved, in particular, the proposed expansion of the program and budget of the Division concerned, as well as the organizational changes and the posts and adjustments proposed by the Director-General. It considered this expansion to be a modest one. The Conference submitted to the Director-General for evaluation the additional adjustments recommended by the Technical Committee on Forestry and Forest Products.
163. The Conference approved the continued publication of Unasylva, as an outstanding international periodical widely read all over the world by practising foresters and forest utilization specialists.
164. The Conference agreed in principle to placing other publications with commercial publishers, provided the requirements for simultaneous release in the three languages were met.
b) Studies of wood resources and requirements
165. Of the work undertaken during 1962 and 1963, the Conference singled out for special mention the national and regional studies of wood resources and requirements which are of value to all bodies, governmental and private, concerned with the planning and development of forestry and forest industries. Delegates cited many examples of the application of the findings of these studies to policy and investment decisions. In connection with the preparation of these studies, satisfaction was expressed at the widening scope of the Organization's collaboration with the regional economic commissions of the United Nations. The Conference endorsed the proposal to give first priority during the ensuing biennium to completing the current cycle of regional studies and to combining them into an integrated analysis of the current situation and future prospects for the world forest and forest products economy, for presentation to the Sixth World Forestry Congress.
c) Forest policy and management
166. The Conference considered that in view of the rapidly changing technical, economic and social circumstances described in the above-mentioned studies, fresh attention must be paid to forest policy as one aspect of the rational use and conservation of all renewable natural resources, including wildlife and water. A new look at forest management was also called for. Stress was laid by delegates on the need for the simultaneous planning of forest management and industries, including transportation planning. With the possibilities afforded by the use of quick-growing species and short rotations, forestry development could no longer be regarded as a slow process. Moreover, as many delegates pointed out, governments are more ready to accord priority to forestry in their investment policies if there is promise of revenue and income from the development of forest industries.
167. The creation of man-made forests with selected fast yielding species is often the most efficient and rapid way of providing the raw material derived from forestry and needed by expanding economies. This, however, was not a panacea for the forestry development of the future. The bulk of forest production still came from natural forests and these continued to present complex management problems. The Conference therefore considered that governments should continue to encourage the study of techniques and the application of measures to raise the production of natural forests to the maximum extent possible.
e) Forestry and the freedom from hunger campaign
168. The Conference stressed that forestry had an important and often vital part to play in the Freedom from Hunger Campaign, and the attention of Member Governments was drawn to this point.
169. The Conference noted with satisfaction the assistance rendered to member countries, through the Expanded Program of Technical Assistance (EPTA) and Special Fund programs, in the inventorying of forest resources for development programs. Modern techniques of aerial forest inventory had made it possible to acquire more quickly and cheaply the resource data necessary for development. The need for training staff in the application of modern techniques for applying aerial photography and up-to-date sampling methods to forest inventorying, could be expected to grow, and the Conference urged the Director-General to give high priority to training seminars on forest inventorying in FAO's field programs.
g) Forestry and forest products statistics
170. The Conference drew the attention of governments to the need to base their plans on a sufficiently reliable statistical foundation. It was conscious of the risks arising from inadequate statistics in the planning of development programs and expressed disappointment that so few Member Governments were taking advantage of the opportunities offered by field programs in this connection. Statistical information on the extent and location of manmade forests was particularly desirable in the view of several delegations.
h) Forest industries and utilization
171. The Conference acknowledged the assistance rendered to the Organization by its Advisory Committee on Pulp and Paper.
172. It learned with interest of the completion of a special study, about to be published, on pulp and paper prospects in western Europe, financed by industry as the result of the initiative of this Advisory Committee, and considered that the possibilities for similar studies covering other regions of the world should now be explored. The Conference welcomed the holding of a first conference on pulp and paper development for Africa and the Near East, due to be organized in 1965 in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. It also supported the expansion under EPTA of the Latin-American Pulp and Paper Advisory Group (FAO/ECLA) to cover all forest industries, and requested the Director-General to establish on funds from the same source further forest industries advisory groups for Africa and the Near East, and for Asia and the Far East. This expansion would clearly be in keeping with the objectives of the 1964-65 program in forestry and forest products.
173. The Conference noted that the World Consultation on Plywood and Other Wood-Based Panels which took place in Rome in July 1963 had recommended the establishment by FAO of an advisory group on wood-based panels. The Conference appreciated the growing importance of the wood-based panel industries and their potential contribution toward raising living standards in the developing countries, and agreed that the Director-General should be able to call on expert advice in this regard. But the Conference reached no conclusion as to whether an advisory committee was, as a matter of principle, the most appropriate means for securing such advice, and requested the Director-General to consider the matter further, in consultation with the Council and, in particular, its Program Committee.
174. The Conference concurred in the proposal of the Fifth FAO Conference on Wood Technology, held at the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin, in 1963, that certain sectors of work formerly carried out by FAO and by working parties of the Technical Panel on Wood Technology could now be taken over by the strengthened International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO). It further approved the proposition that joint FAO/IUFRO meetings might be organized in the future on an ad hoc basis on matters where the interests of the two Organizations complement each other, and requested the Director-General to explore this possibility further with IUFRO. On this basis, the Conference considered that the FAO Panels on Wood Chemistry and Mechanical Wood Technology could be dissolved. The Conference was pleased to learn that the International Wood Research Society, established under the auspices of FAO, was now emerging as a society for fundamental science in wood technology, and that the Organization would not for the future be requested to provide secretariat services.
175. The Conference welcomed the expansion of activities undertaken in forestry education both under the Regular Program and field programs. Attention was drawn to the importance of forestry education at the intermediate level.
176. Having reviewed the work accomplished until now, the Conference adopted Resolution No. 42/63.
177. Many delegates emphasized that research is one of the fundamentals for development. There was a clear need for forest research programs to be adapted to national development policies. The Conference expressed appreciation at the increasing cooperation developed between the Organization and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations. The FAO/IUFRO World Consultation on Forest Genetics and Tree Improvement held in Sweden in 1963 had, for instance, been a worthwhile undertaking. This cooperation should be further extended. The Conference welcomed the information that. through the appointment of a forestry adviser by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), collaboration between FAO and that agency would be strengthened, especially in regard to forest working techniques and training of forest workers.
Contents
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