It is extremely difficult to summarise the major themes and policy issues from the collection of comprehensive and thought-provoking papers presented to this Regional Expert Consultation. I will not attempt to make detailed comments on each Country Paper individually, but have attempted to find general themes that recur throughout all the Asia-Pacific papers (though to differing degrees). The intention is to facilitate discussion and the constructive exchange of views and experiences between participants at the workshop.
Given the great diversity between countries in their background situations and policy directions for the future, obviously not all comments apply to all countries. Even within regional groupings like ASEAN, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the South Pacific Forum, member countries have different pasts, presents and future prospects. Thus, it would be absurd to expect to see uniform policies or problems, and it should be no surprise that policy directions seem to be going in opposite directions in some countries. We will attempt to understand why this is so, and what can be learnt from each other's experience.
As an outsider (but a very interested observer over the past 20 years) perhaps I can present a slightly different view of the processes and results, that might be useful to those directly and intimately involved in policy formulation and implementation.
Anyone writing on the subject of policy reveals something about himself - the questions one considers important, the priorities, whether we focus on Institutions, laws, processes or people. I have tried to focus on economic behaviour of people, industry and government, rather than on legal or technical/silvicultural issues. This is not to imply those are unimportant - I merely reflect my own interests.
Whether or not an agenda for policy reform or policy research emerges from this meeting, and if so, what it is, depends on those attending this Workshop and their national politicians. I would not dare comment on what is "wrong" with any country's existing policies or means of implementation, but do suggest we could all benefit from impartial critical evaluation, even if that means questioning some of our fundamental beliefs and presumptions about Forestry.
This paper is primarily based on the Country Papers presented to the Consultation. An edited collection of these papers is expected to be published by mid-1993 as an FAO Forestry Paper.
