There were 44 participants in the fifth session of the North American Forestry Commission (NAFC) which groups Canada, Mexico and the United States of America. The meeting was held in Ottawa from ] 5 to 20 September 1969 and was chaired by A.W.H. Needler, Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Forestry for Canada.
Vice-chairman was Edward P. Cliff, Chief of the United States Forest Service; E.N. Doyle of the Canadian Forestry Service served as rapporteur and G.H. Behrendt (FAO) as secretary.
Conveying the greetings of FAO'S Director-General to the delegates and observers, B.K. Greenberg, Director of the FAO Forestry and Forest Industries Division, gave clear recognition to the importance and significance to FAO of the North American Forestry Commission, whose member countries had already resolved many problems which the developing countries were still facing. At an official dinner during the proceedings, Canada's Minister of Fisheries and Forestry, Jack Davis, impressively expanded on this theme and outlined the future developments which Canada was looking toward over the next decade in forest management and in forest industries. This challenge of the future gave point to the need for closer cooperation and exchange of information between members of the North American Forestry Commission and, in fact, between the members of all the six FAO Regional Forestry Commissions.
At the session, statements were made by the heads of the delegations of the United States of America (Edward P. Cliff), Mexico (Jose M. de la Puente, Director-General of the National Forest Inventory) and Canada (M.L. Prebble, Assistant Deputy Minister, Forestry) on their current problems and the progress in national forest policy and practice in their countries during the past two years since the commission last met. The general tenor of these statements is dealt with in the editorial in this issue of Unasylva. Following discussion on the three country statements, provincial representatives from Canada commented and answered questions on forestry highlight statements provided by their departments. Special interest was shown regarding experience with the Close Utilization Policy practiced in the Province of British Columbia since 1966. This calls for intensive utilization of all trees having a diameter of 7.1 inches (18 centimetres) dbh with utilization down to a 6-inch (15-centimetre) top diameter and a maximum stump height of 12 inches (30 centimetres). Before operations are approved a licensee must first establish his ability to utilize the smaller wood so generated either by owning barking and chipping facilities or by agreeing to process round log production through a plant which has such equipment.
The commission also reviewed FAO'S intended programme of work for the next years and agreed with the priorities proposed. Prime need was accorded to work on forestry education and training, both professional and technical. Concern was expressed that industrial research on tropical woods was not adequate to establish the information needed for orderly development of the utilization and management of tropical forests. The commission was interested in Canada's intention to become more closely concerned with tropical forestry in the future, and this led. into discussions on external aid in the field. of forestry, and FAO field programmes and bilateral technical assistance programmes. The commission noted that increased efforts would be made to assist developing countries in identifying and formulating suitable new projects.
As a result of its review of the considerable achievements reported by its subsidiary bodies, the commision considered that there was no warrant for changing the status of the existing working parties into informal study groups. In view of the elimination of the forestry post of Liaison Officer for North America it did ask the Director-General of FAO to delegate to the Chairman of NAFC the responsibility for convening future sessions of the working parties. The commission decided to maintain the status of the Study Group on Forest Engineering (chairman: W.K. Nelson, chief, Branch of Forest Engineering Research, United States Forest Service) which has developed an interesting programme of work that Member Governments should fully support.
One of the interesting recommendations of the Working Party on Wildlife and Outdoor Recreation (chairman: W.S. Hopkins, Branch of Forest Recreation Research, United States Forest Service) was that both the Canadian and United States governments should be complimented for their present efforts to devise new policies and adequate constraints on technological and economic development of fragile arctic lands so that they can be managed according to the most carefully defined public interest. By so doing the new economic thrust into the Arctic may serve as a prototype of rational land use in the face of conflicting interests.
The Working Party on Forest Insects and Diseases (chairman: V.J. Nordin, Programme Coordinator, Pathology, Canadian Forestry Service) reported on the cooperative work between Canada and Mexico in studies of the taxonomy, ecology and control of Mexican pine sawflies. It requested the continued assistance of Canada and the United States on studies of other destructive insects and diseases in Mexico. FAO was asked to ensure the proper exchange between all Regional Forestry Commissions of findings, conclusions and recommendations on plant quarantine matters.
The Working Party on Forest Fire Control (chairman: J.C. Macleod, Programme Coordinator, Fire, Canadian Forestry Service) reported on the training courses in fire control organized by the United States Forest Service for participants from Mexico and Canada. An international forest fire prevention poster contest had been organized, each country submitting posters in three categories which were judged by an outside panel. Awards in the form of certificates were presented during the NAFC session. The working party again recommended to FAO that an appropriate fire science and technology unit be set up within the Organization: there was no provision for this in the proposed 1970-71 budget.
The commission noted with satisfaction the arrangements made for mutual assistance in forest fire control along the Mexico-United States border.
The report of the Working Party on Forest Tree Improvement (chairman: Roberto Villaseñor, Director General of the National Institute of Forest Research, Mexico) was considered and there was mention also of the second FAO/IUFRO World Consultation on Forest Tree Breeding held at Washington in August 1969. Among other recommendations, the working party asked FAO to establish a six-year programme to conserve endangered germ plasm of North American forest trees.
The commission finally reviewed some selected technical items. Papers on forest inventory practices from the three member countries were discussed and reference to satellites and remote sensing in the United States was of particular interest. A special satellite for forestry and agricultural purposes will be flown in 1972. It was pointed out that most of the current research on remote sensing related to forestry is unclassified, and arrangements can be made for officers of the member countries to attend training courses.
A paper on the multiple use of forest land was presented by Canada. There was considerable discussion about the pressures being exerted by the public in the three member countries for use of the forest other than for timber production. The United States delegate considered the problem of maintaining the commodity use of the forest in its proper perspective as one of the most important challenges in the United States, and expressed the hope that Mexico and Canada would benefit from United States experience.
Hope was expressed that FAO would exert a leading influence on the United Nations Conference on Man and His Environment planned for 1972.
The chairman of the FAO Advisory Committee on Forestry Education, J.W.B. Sisam (Canada), presented a document on forestry education for the consideration of the commission. Reference was made to the changes forestry had undergone as a result of the impact of modern science and technology. Forestry therefore faced the necessity of a critical review of its scope and organization in connexion with its education programme.
The commission welcomed the proposed FAO World Consultation on Forestry Education, but concern was expressed regarding the problem of selection of participants. It was considered desirable that participants should be limited to a maximum of three from each country, taking into account the country's interest in education and training and its ability to communicate. This was agreed to, and the commission further:
(a) reconfirmed strong support for the proposed world consultation on forestry education;(b) recognized the purpose and agreed to the value of broadening the scope and changing the name to World Consultation on Education for Forestry and Forest Industries;
(c) recommended to FAO that:
(i) the Society of American Foresters and the Canadian Institute of Forestry and other associations appropriately interested in the consultation be asked to prepare jointly a paper on forestry education covering these two countries for submission to the consultation;(ii) the professional forestry association in Mexico be similarly asked to prepare a paper on the particular aspects of forestry education in that country.
The commission agreed that, in addition to the above, attention should be paid to education in wood science and forest products in the consultation.
The commission decided that items for special discussion at the Sixth Session of NAFC would be based on the recommendations of the Committee of Alternates. However, new items suggested for consideration were as follows:
1. Developments in remote sensing and its application to forestry.
2. Current multiple-use problems and trends.
3. Forestry and forest industries practices in relation to environmental pollution.
