The workshop was organized jointly by FAO, the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at University of Stellenbosch (US), and Department Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF). The arrangements in Stellenbosch, including the field trip were made by US under a Letter of Agreement with FAO. DWAF coordinated inputs from participating countries and also provided substantial technical inputs from South Africa. FAO funded the workshop out of a Swedish trust fund project for forest resources assessment and country capacity building. FAO also administrated travel arrangements for the participants.
Invitations were sent by FAO to 11 countries (Appendix 1). All countries were able to send participants, except Tanzania. In total, 29 participants attended the workshop (Appendix 2).
The workshop was opened by the head of the Forestry Department of Stellenbosch, Professor Gerrit van Wyk, who introduced Dr. Fred Kruger to facilitate the workshop. The workshop was also attended by the Dean of the Faculty of Forestry and Agricultural Sciences, Professor Leopoldt van Huyssteen The agenda was adopted, with adjustments made after the first half of the workshop to accommodate for changed needs (Appendix 3). The process of the workshop followed the three identified subjects (FRA 2000, FRIS and GFS). A field trip was made on Wednesday to forests near Cape Town, where assessment of and management for Non-wood forest products and forest services were studied. The workshop was closed officially on Friday evening by Professor Brian Bredenkamp of the Forestry Department at Stellenbosch University.
