Southeast Asian countries differ greatly in size, population, forest cover, political history, economic development, etc. These changes are reflected in forestry education. Trends valid throughout the region were therefore few. Rather, there are national trends that sometimes go in opposite directions. Regional averages are also heavily influence by Philippines and Indonesia which have many forestry institutions.
Overall, this study indicates that graduation from lower levels - certificate and diploma - is decreasing, while first degree and master, and to some extent, PhD graduation is increasing. The exception is Laos, where national policy to raise the admission to higher education has very steeply increased graduation at certificate and diploma levels. First-degree graduation in Vietnam also increased. Only in the Philippines is graduation decreasing at all levels. The female ratio among graduates is rather similar between the different levels (21.9 - 25.9%), and has changed little over the 10- year period. But there are large differences between countries, with almost 50/50 ratio in the Philippines, but less than 20% female graduates in Laos and Vietnam.
Forestry education enrollment per institution and program is decreasing at all educational levels in the Philippines and is increasing in Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. Second, there is a trend towards increased enrollment at first degree and master level, while the lower educational levels are decreasing.
Forestry employment in SEAsia is largely dominated by the public sector. Graduates generally get employment in various government agencies. Especially in Laos and Vietnam the public sector is the predominant employer. Traditional forestry jobs dominate, such as forest department, forest enterprises, and research and education positions. Non-traditional jobs in the public sector seem to increase in importance. Foresters are now also getting employments dealing with the environmental, community development, agroforestry, etc. The private sector is still a small employer of forestry graduates, especially in countries with lower level of economic development. NGO's were reported to be important employers of foresters in Philippines and Vietnam. Self-employment was only reported in the Philippines.
All countries reported significant on-going shift from traditional forestry towards social/community forestry, agroforestry, environmental conservation, etc. These changes demand competencies among foresters in human aspect of forestry, multi-disciplinary approaches, and participatory tools. Within the forestry sector, a broader spectrum of competences is also in demand, such as economics, entrepreneurship and wood technology. The vast majority of the responses indicated that these changing roles are being included in curricula. Indeed, forestry education is in a stage of change throughout the region.
The availability of resources, facilities and funding again varies a lot among countries and among institutions. Malaysia reported adequate resources in most areas of the teaching infrastructure. In contrast, Lao institutions have inadequate resources, facilities and funding in almost every aspect of forestry education. Most countries reported needs for library and teaching materials/books, current publications, laboratory and equipment, transport facilities and financial resources.
When institutions were asked to prioritize their needs, the following where the top priorities:
1. At a time where the forest cover in the region continues to decrease, all countries except the Philippines reported increasing graduation at first degree and master degrees. Similarly, enrollment is increasing in most countries and programmes except for the Philippines. This raises questions about job opportunities for forestry graduates-in a job market strongly dominated by the public sector. Universities and education policy makers need to carry out further studies on job markets in order to adapting both the size and content of forestry education.
2. At certificate and diploma level, the trend varies between countries. Especially noticeable increases in graduation were reported in Laos (certificate and diploma), Vietnam (first degree) and Thailand (master). In the case of Laos, this increase puts a great pressure on the limited resources in its educational institutions. This raises serious concerns about education quality, as well as employment opportunities for graduates. International development cooperation should take note and assist the educational development in Laos.
3. Employment of foresters in Southeast Asia is largely in the public sector, in line with most governments' policies to keep forests and forestland within the state's domain. However, non-traditional jobs, still mostly in the public sector, are growing in importance with dwindling forest resources, increased attention to environmental services, and the increase of trees outside the forests in various agroforestry and community forestry arrangements. Other `alternative' jobs also appear in wood processing, ecotourism, economics and marketing, etc. However, there seems to be an un-tapped potential to increase the presence of foresters in other private sector job niches - including non-traditional ones - where competences on natural resource management is an advantage.
4. The roles of foresters are changing in all countries in the region, and these changes are being incorporated in curricula. Yet, curriculum development remains the highest priority and needs further support from governments, donors and education specialists.
5. Forestry education institutions in Southeast Asia, and in particular in Laos, suffer from insufficient teaching materials and resources. Especially needed are library resources and teaching materials/books, current publications, laboratory and equipment, transport facilities for staff and students and financial resources. These deficiencies affect negatively the quality of education. Government and donor support, as well as national, regional and international collaboration could help mitigate these problems.
