THE Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization, meeting at Geneva in 1947 for its third annual session, passed a resolution calling for a forestry conference in Latin America. The Government of the United States of Brazil offered to act as host, and accordingly the International Forestry and Forest Products Conference for Latin America will be held from 19 to 30 April 1948 at Teresopolis, near Rio de Janeiro.
The Constitution of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has laid down the great objective and the final aim to which all its work must tend - to better the standard of living of the world's peoples. It is in this light that all developments in the domain of forestry and forest products must ultimately be considered.
The purpose of the forthcoming Conference will be to lay the groundwork for the development of Latin America's forest resources so as to benefit her countries and thereby contribute to the betterment of the standard of living of her peoples. In the process of this development, it is likely that a timber surplus will accrue. This surplus might become available to the world's markets, in particular to those areas now suffering from timber shortages. It must be well understood, however, that this can be only a secondary objective and subservient to the first.
The world is facing a serious timber crisis just at a time when technical progress is opening vast fields for the use of wood. Latin America probably has larger undeveloped forest resources than any other continent and their potential significance for the industrial development of this continent has been well understood by a number of Latin-American governments. Indeed, far-reaching programs for the establishment of modern forest industries have been initiated in a number of countries and are being considered in many others.
Today, circumstances for proceeding from plans to action are particularly favorable: the whole world is suffering from a shortage of forest products. Newly established forest industries, therefore, have a good outlook for finding. in addition to the domestic market, substantial outlets abroad at remunerative prices. Since some of the equipment needed for these industries will have to be imported from abroad, exportation of forest products should provide the means to pay off installation costs, even in foreign currencies, over a relatively short period of time: this assurance in turn should make it easier to secure investments and credits where they are needed.
The establishment of modern forest industries would in itself become an important factor in the progressive industrialization of this continent and in a gradual raising of living standards involving an ever larger domestic consumption of forest products. Even if the import requirements of other continents should fall off in time, it is more than probable that the output of Latin America's new forest industries would be absorbed by the growing needs of her peoples.
THIS ISSUE OF UNASYLVA is meant to give some background information concerning the problems and facts the Conference will have to face. In some ways, therefore, it will be a special issue although the accepted pattern of the magazine and its division into four parts has been retained and only the first two parts are devoted exclusively to questions related to the Latin-American Conference.
It endeavors to present two main aspects of Latin America's forest resources: their stupendous wealth On the one hand, best exemplified by the limitless expanse of tropical forest of the Amazon basin, and, on the other hand, the difficulties of their rational management and the disastrous effects, such as soil erosion, which swiftly follow their destruction.
Because all thinking about Latin-American forestry must preserve this balance between riches and limitations, the wealth has been dealt with in two articles and the difficulties and dangers in two articles: first the riches are considered as part of the world-wide problem of tropical forestry, then in detail, and from the specifically Latin-American point of view. The limitations are then discussed: first as physical problems arising from deforestation as they have become apparent through soil erosion and deterioration of water supply in certain countries, then as an economic problem of steadily increasing populations with growing forest products requirements which will grow still larger with further progress.
The first article in this issue, "Outline of a General Forest Policy for the Tropics," places one of the major problems of the utilization of Latin-American forest resources in its-proper perspective against a world-wide background. Because conditions are fundamentally similar for all tropical forest regions, these problems must be considered as being of global extent. Experience gained in the past and in other areas can be of benefit to all, if steps are taken to make it accessible and if the requisite machinery is set up to divide the burden of research and to ensure the comparability of results.
The second article in this issue, "Latin-American Forestry Problems," outlines the great possibilities of the continent and the steps taken to translate them into reality. It is a summary of the travel impressions and of the information acquired by two officers of the Division of Forestry and Forest Products during a preparatory visit to Latin America in 1947.
The forest resources of Latin America, rich though they may be, must not be thought of as an inexhaustible treasure-house from which a whole world can enrich itself: it is only by prudent management that they will remain a lasting asset; forests are always an inheritance that is held in trust by one generation for the next. This is the main theme of the third article, "Latin-American Timber, Ltd.," which points out that Latin America has its own grave problems of soil erosion and water supply. Utilization must be linked with conservation; otherwise, the development of forest resources may well entail irreparable damage.
The purpose of the fourth article, "Consumption and Production of Paper and Paperboard in the Twenty Latin-American Republics, 1935-1946," is to show, by dealing with one specific category of forest products, the possibilities of future development of internal consumption. Foresters deal in a commodity that takes so long to reach maturity that they must think in terms of both the present and future generations. When planning development of the forests of Latin America as a source of increased supplies for domestic and world markets, their vision must embrace not only the present population of the Latin-American countries and their needs but also the increased populations and the greater needs of the future.
In Part II, which bears the title "National Situations," it was thought worth while to compile a summary of available data relating to each country. The information listed by countries is the best available to FAO at the time of writing.
The articles contained in Parts I and II may be considered as basic material for the coming conference. It was thought, however, that they were of sufficient interest to warrant presentation to a wider public. Part III - "The Work of FAO," and Part IV - "News of the World," continue the usual pattern of our review and cover matters of general interest.
A wish has been expressed by many readers for some form of bibliographical service. To undertake this task would not only overtax; the present capacity of FAO's Division of Forestry and Forest Product's but would also duplicate work already being done. A compromise solution has, therefore, been sought. The U. S. Department of Agriculture has generously made available to FAO, for incorporation as a loose insert in this issue, those chapters of its bibliography which deal with forestry and forest products. FAO gratefully acknowledges this co-operation and, if our readers approve, we shall continue, and expand this or similar arrangements in subsequent issues.
