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FAO FOCUS: PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMMES |
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Retirees |
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Interview with Oscar Fugalli, retired Forest Resources expert
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Can you tell me about your career with FAO?
It's a long story. I started in 1951 as a young professional and gradually, with the passing of time, I was promoted through the professional ranks until I became a director in my sixties. I retired two years early. At the end of my career, I was the Chief of the Forest Management Branch and the Associate Secretary General of the World Forestry Congress before I was seconded to CILSS - the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel - as a consultant in forestry economics.
When you started working at FAO, what were you doing?
I can't remember. I was assigned to the special section on forest policy and I was working with Monsieur René Fontaine, one of the founding fathers of FAO.
And what are you doing now?
I am helping the Forestry Library staff in their fight against limited space. They don't have the technical knowledge to determine the value of the material that comes to them so I'm giving them a hand in sorting out what should be retained and what should be thrown out. The throwing out is a painful operation.
I am a member of the Forestry Library Users Committee and also work with the Forest Resources Development Service (FORM), my previous unit in FAO, especially in relation to the International Poplar Commission. This year we will celebrate the Commission's fiftieth anniversary. It had a companion, the Chestnut Commission, but it did not last long. Poplar has lasted because it is a very interesting species, rapid-growing, multipurpose. That is why it interests many countries. I think the Commission now has 36 member countries. On the occasion of the anniversary, I have prepared a history of the Commission to be used during the celebrations.
Have you been involved with the International Poplar Commission throughout your career?
I've been the Secretary of the Commission for 20 years. It's my baby.
Can you tell me about your reasons for continuing to work for FAO after retirement?
I feel very much indebted to FAO. When I joined I was seconded by the Italian Forestry Service. We were in a difficult situation in this country, just after the war, and in the space of one day, my salary increased fourfold, which was a shock from which I never recovered, not even now. That is one of the reasons why I do what I'm doing now without compensation. I'm paying back what I got. Another reason I continue working for FAO is to help the developing world, which is poor and getting poorer and poorer. The little I can do for the developing world is something that is needed. What I can do is far from being adequate, but at least it is a contribution that I'm happy to be able to make.
Other reasons? I hate the idea of being a leftover. I enjoy feeling part of the active world, and being able to maintain contacts keeps me alive.
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