The database on courses in forestry provides information on short courses available worldwide on forestry and related subjects, such as watershed management, protected areas, wildlife management, conflict management and ecotourism. Users can search according to training area, institution, language and country. Besides providing information to students and people interested in forestry, the database gives education and training institutions the possibility to advertise the short courses they offer. There is no regular reporting asked from the institutions. Depending on their planning schedule they send the information once a year or each time they plan a new course. The main effort for the future will be to strengthen the database as a collection point for those who want to make know their activity in forestry short-courses and/or training and as an up to date global database for those searching the available information.
The education in forestry database collects global information on institutes/universities and other institutions which carry on education in forestry. On a regularly base the institutions have been asked to update the information every 2 years. In order to make the information as relevant and up to date as possible the amount of information of each institution will be reduced and institutions will be asked to inform us as soon as the information changes.
Courses and education in forestry on the web: http://www.fao.org/forestry/education-db
In a growing number of countries and territories, detailed assessments on the state of forest tree genetic resources are available. The reports are made on ad hoc basis, prepared by national experts following a common methodology and outlines, which facilitate their comparison and compilation. Several country assessments are being written in the framework of the preparation of eco-regional workshops on forest tree genetic diversity, and their compilation and synthesis is used to prepare regional assessments of forest genetic resources.
Forest Genetic Resources by Region on the web: http://www.fao.org/forestry/foris/webview/siteview.jsp?siteId=2062&sitetreeId=5471&langId=1&geoId=-1
Forest Genetic Resources by Country on the web: http://www.fao.org/forestry/foris/webview/forestry2/index.jsp?geoId=0&langId=1&siteId=2041
FAO continues the development of the worldwide Information System on Forest Genetic Resources, REFORGEN, in close collaboration with national institutes and relevant international organizations. The system, which stores data on tree species (and their use) and institutions, is intended to support policy and technical decisions for genetic conservation at national, regional and international levels.
The basic information of the database was collected in 1995-96 by means of questionnaire filled by the countries. Actually the information is irregularly updated according to the specific needs, trying to cover periodically all the regions. Information and data gathered through the above process of country assessments is used to update REFORGEN.
In addition to geographically based assessments, a number of thematic studies are also undertaken, to provide in-depth coverage of specific global issues. These studies are carried out in line with, and generally in the framework of Priority Area for Inter-disciplinary Action and FAO wide interdepartmental technical working groups, such as the ones on biotechnology, bio-security and biological diversity for food and agriculture. It is in this framework that a global review of the state of genetic modification in forest trees has been launched by New Zealand Forest Research Institute and FAO, and a questionnaire sent to individual scientists and private and public research institutions in May 2003. Similar studies are planned in the future, possibly through a combination of desk reviews and targeted questionnaires to scientific institutions, in collaboration with other FAO departments (for example, to contribute to update such databases, as the recently launched on Biotechnologies in Developing Countries, SD's Bio-Dec)
Genetic resources on the web: http://www.fao.org/forestry/fgr
Forest fire database: For more than 50 years, FAO has provided information and technical assistance in the area of forest fire management, including data collection and dissemination, preparation of guidelines on forest fire management, global fire terminology, status reports on forest fires and provision of direct advice to member countries. Special attention has recently been given to information and public awareness on related policy, legal and institutional issues as well as on preparation of International Agreements for crossborder collaboration.
FAO has long been involved in data collection and analysis, and is currently collaborating with the Economic Commission for Europe, the Global Fire Monitoring Center and a number of other agencies on Global fire databases for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and developing countries. The FAO Global Forest Fire Assessment 1990-2000 is part of the FAO Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) 2000, published online (PDF) as Working Paper No. 55 (495 p.). The global fire assessment includes statistical data from a large number of countries. The data collection was made by means of a fire template filled by the member countries under FAO request. The frequency is almost annual even though not all the countries regularly report. Within the framework of the Forest Resources Assessment 2005, additional studies on forest fires are being prepared, and they will be included in the new country profiles.
Under the Interagency Task Force Working Group Wildland Fire of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) the Global Fire Monitoring Centre established Regional Wildland Fire Networks to be used for information dissemination among the global fire community. The FAO/ECE/ILO Team of Specialists on Forest Fire is using these nine (9) Regional Wildland Fire Networks; established during the latter part of 2002, for relaying best practises in forest fire management globally.
The FAO/ECE/ILO Team of Specialists on Forest Fire is also publishing the International Forest Fire News (IFFN) in Freiburg, Germany. The bi-annual publication disseminates the latest global information received from within and outside FAO member countries (see: http://www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/iffn/iffn.htm).
Forest fire on the web: http://www.fao.org/forestry/fire
The main activities related to pulp and paper consist in providing assistance and transfer of technology in the development, planning and management of wood-based industries, in developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
Other main tasks include the establishment of viable wood-based industries, the organization of training activities in planning and management of wood-based industries in developing countries, the support, collection and dissemination of information on wood-based industries, and the provision of technical services to the FAO Advisory Committee on Paper and Wood Products (ACPWP).
The Pulp & Paper Capacity report is based on information submitted by correspondents worldwide, most of them pulp and paper associations or, in their absence, paper companies. The survey presents only the results for countries that submitted answers to the annual questionnaires and no attempts have been made to estimate figures in the absence of returned information.
Recovered Paper Data: FAO survey is an annual publication produced, in cooperation with the Confederation of European Paper Industry (CEPI) which supplied the necessary data relevant to its member countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom) and its associate members (Czech Republic, Hungary, Norway, Slovak Republic, Switzerland). FAO collected data for the other countries.
The survey presents data on recovery, trade, and utilization of recovered paper. Historical data for the reference year is presented and some countries provide projections of recovery and use of recovered paper for the next 5 years.
Generally the countries that answer represent over 80 percent of the world paper and paperboard production, and the data presented can be considered representative of the recovery, use and trade of recovered paper in the world.
The database on Non Wood Forest Products provides information on organizations and individuals involved with non-wood forest products including contact information, field of expertise, activities and geographical coverage. The data collection started in 1997-1998 and the data stored in that information system are based exclusively on replies to a questionnaire which was developed in 1996 (available from the database's web site). The database is continuously (but irregularly) updated.
Pulp and paper and wood industries on the web: http://www.fao.org/forestry/industries
Non wood forest products on the web: http://www.fao.org/forestry/nwfp
The general distribution of mangroves corresponds to that of the tropical forests, but they extend further North and South of the equator, sometimes beyond the tropics, although in a reduced form.
High population pressure in coastal areas has led to the conversion of many mangrove areas to other uses and numerous case studies describe mangrove losses over time. However, scarce information exists on status and trends in mangrove areas at the global level.
A recent initiative by FAO aims at facilitating access to comprehensive information on the current and past extent of mangroves in all countries and areas in which they exist. This builds on an earlier assessment by FAO/UNEP in 1980, FRA 2000 and an extensive literature search.
More than 2800 national and sub-national data sets have been collected, covering 121 countries and areas where mangroves are known to exist, with the earliest estimates dating back to 1918. An updated list of the most reliable, recent estimate for each country has been prepared. Regression analyses based on earlier data provided estimates for 1990 and 1980 and an extrapolated estimate for 2000 for each country.
The statistics are available on the FAO Forestry web site, under "mangrove management" even if the work is still in progress.
Mangrove management on the web: http://www.fao.org/forestry/mangrove
The expression national forest programme designates the wide range of approaches to the process of planning, programming and implementation of forest activities in a country to be applied at national and sub national levels, based on a common set of guiding principles as also agreed by the IPF/IFF process.
The purpose of the national forest programme is to establish a workable social and political framework for the conservation, management and sustainable development of all types of forests, which in turn will increase the effectiveness and efficiency of public and private operational and funding commitments. National forest programme requires a broad inter-sectoral approach at all stages, including the formulation of policies, strategies and courses of action, as well as their implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
From 1999-1998 the work was done to review the existing data and their reliability, in collaboration with expert of the countries. There is neither regular reporting nor reporting format for this purpose. Each time the ToR defined the different field of data collection and analysis request to the country.
National forest programmes on the web: http://www.fao.org/forestry/nfp
A corporate data base is being developed that is intended to function also as a basis for monitoring the evolution of FAO-NGO/CSO relations and building a cumulative record of cooperation with individual organizations. It includes information on NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and CSOs (civil society organizations) regarding: the general structure of the organization and the contact persons; the type/category of the organization, including membership and networks to which it belongs; the main field of activity and countries of intervention; the cooperation with FAO; etc.
The database is being developed. The next step will be to make it accessible to public users through FAO-NGO/CSO web pages.
NGOs and CSOs on the web: http://www.fao.org/tc/NGO/
Insects and diseases are integral components of forest dynamics and their causative effects fulfil important roles. However, occasionally the populations grow rapidly to damaging proportions. Such sporadic outbreaks can have catastrophic impacts on forests and trees, in some cases leading to the complete destruction of large areas of natural and/or planted forests, loss or reduction of vital forest ecosystem functions, and considerable economic losses. In developing countries and countries in transition, severe outbreaks may compromise national economies, threatening local economic stability and food security.
Despite the significant adverse impacts and indications that outbreaks of forest insect pests and diseases are on the increase, there has been no attempt to systematically gather and analyse comprehensive information on the type, scale and impact of such outbreaks over time at the global level. Dissemination of information on successful protection and control strategies has also been limited.
Recent efforts by FAO to develop a global information system (database) on forest pest outbreaks and their impacts are aimed to help remedy the present lack of information and to assist countries through providing a basis for improved planning and decision making in this respect.
To date the data has been collected mainly through search of FAO documents related to forest health, and this will be verified by country contacts. In order to obtain reliable, comprehensive and updated information on the incidence and extent of forest pests over time, a questionnaire (in English, French and Spanish) has been developed in consultation with national experts from Chile, Malaysia, Slovakia, Thailand, and USA. The questionnaire is available through the FAO Forest Health website and will eventually also be available through the IUFRO website. The questionnaire will also be distributed to FAO Member countries, using the network of country correspondents nominated within the framework of the FAO Forest Resources Assessment Programme and to forest health experts. Countries from all regions will be included in this phase of the work, with special attention given to developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Countries which have recently been seriously affected by pest outbreaks will be among those specifically targeted. Several test questionnaires have been sent to Chile, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Slovak Republic and Malaysia and responses from technical specialists have been entered into the database.
Once completed, the information system will be regularly updated and made widely available by electronic and printed means.
Pest management on the web: http://www.fao.org/forestry/pests
Plantation forests database: Data collection was made together with FRA data collection by means of a questionnaire. The response to the questionnaire was very poor, so plantation data collection depended heavily upon FAO HQ desk research from country documents, verified by regional and country focal persons. However, important parameters were missing such as: growth rate, rotation length; age classes, harvest yields, product outturns and differentiation between new and replanting rates.
A complementary analysis of references on the world's planted forests was made, in order to supplement the existing data on these topics, however data sets are incomplete and unreliable, so of limited usefulness for policy and planning purposes. A new questionnaire is proposed to verify existing data and collect further information on planted forests. The options are either to send it together with the global variables for the next FRA 2005 or to direct the questionnaire separately through the national correspondents to technical persons responsible for planted forests for their direct response.
It is proposed to post the initial version of the planted forest database on the FAO planted forest website in user friendly interactive options by mid 2003 and to have a comprehensive Planted Forest Working Paper (FP/25) available by 30 May, 2003. The database will be progressively updated and tested as supplementary data is available and applications demonstrated.
Planted forest on the web: http://www.fao.org/forestry/planted-forest
Research database: In the beginning a questionnaire was used to collect information for the database on forestry research institutions. A sub-set of basic information (address and other contacts, main research areas, etc) was published in a directory every two years, and made available on the internet.
The most recent version of the database was hosted by GI and maintained by FORC through a web interface. Now it would need to be updated.
Previously the questionnaire was sent to the member countries almost every two years; now the database will be updated mainly through internet and e-mail, with questionnaires sent only to institutions of those countries having poor access to internet or e-mail. The questionnaire is actually under revision. Only basic information will be included in this global database because the experience showed that it is very difficult (impossible) to update some specific information. More specific information is being included, and more relevant, in regional databases that are being established by regional forestry research networks in Europe and, with the assistance of FAO, in Africa and Asia.
Research on the web: http://www.fao.org/forestry/research
Wood Energy Information System database: The collection of wood energy data at national and local level in order to fill the current gaps and update and upgrade existing data bases constitutes one of the major challenges in the near future. Infrastructures, with properly trained personnel, are required in both the forestry and energy agencies of the countries for the collection, interpretation, collation, storage and presentation of wood energy data. In line with these requirements, FAO has initiated the implementation of a number of activities for the development of improved wood energy data bases, and for the provision of technical assistance to member countries in building capacities for the systematic collection, collation and analysis of information on wood energy aspects and issues.
The WEIS (wood energy information system) is an interactive database with wood energy data at national level derived from the FAO's Wood Energy Today for Tomorrow (WETT) studies. WETT constitutes the major mechanism for the collection and analysis of existing information and data on wood fuels and related energy aspects from various sources at national and regional levels, including production, consumption and trade.
Wood energy on the web: http://www.fao.org/forestry/energy
