Committee on forestry
Near east commission
The tenth session of the Committee on Forestry of the FAO Council (COFO) was held at FAO headquarters in Rome from 24 to 28 September 1990. The meeting was chaired by Ms I. Garcia of the Dominican Republic and was attended by delegates from 97 member countries, and representatives of numerous international governmental and non-governmental organizations.
The tone of the meeting was set by the opening address by the Director-General of the Organization, Mr E. Saouma. In describing the world forest situation, Mr Saouma noted that "the latest estimates indicate that the annual rate of tropical deforestation is about 80 percent higher now than it was ten years ago.... We are now talking about 17 million hectares per year, and not 10 or 11 as before.... It is blindingly obvious that the global scale and severity of these problems call for concerted international action."
The Director-General therefore put before the participants a proposal concerning the preparation of an International Convention on the Conservation and Development of Forests, designed to structure international and national efforts to maintain and reinforce forestry's contribution to environmental protection and sustainable socio-economic development (see Unasylva 164).
Referring to the independent review of the Tropical Forestry Action Plan (TFAP), Mr Saouma stressed the willingness of the Organization to accept constructive criticism but characterized some of the observations of the review team as excessive and unfair. The Director-General expressed particular dissatisfaction with the suggestion that the TFAP be separated from the Forestry Department, noting that this would result in duplication of effort and a requirement for additional administrative expenditure of some US$ 10 million a year, half of which would be the responsibility of FAO.
In conclusion, Mr Saouma noted that "a real forester is at the same time a humanist. He gauges the extent to which careful, respectful management of the natural environment can make our forest heritage a source of economic and social benefits, and a prodigious instrument to serve both people and the quality of life, today and tomorrow. May his voice be heard, while there is still time, by those responsible for our destiny."
Forestry and environment
The Committee supported the Director-General's proposal for development of an international instrument on the conservation and development of forests as a significant means to find solutions to current socioeconomic and environmental problems and to foster international cooperation. The Committee did not make recommendations regarding the form or modalities of the proposed instrument; however, the development of a framework convention covering basic principles, objectives, institutional arrangements and financial mechanisms, supported by a series of protocols was extensively discussed.
The Committee felt strongly that given FAO's unique mandate embracing all aspects of forest conservation and development, the Organization would naturally play a leading role in the preparation of proposals for the envisaged instrument. However, the Committee also urged that FAO's involvement should not result in the diversion of resources from other priority programmes, particularly the TFAP.
Tropical Forestry Action Plan
After a debate that took up the major part of the five-day meeting, the governments represented at COFO reaffirmed the TFAP as a unique framework for promoting and achieving the conservation and sustainable use of tropical forest resources for the developing countries concerned and for global environmental stability.
The Committee endorsed FAO's mandate as international coordinator of the TFAP and considered that the coordination should remain within the FAO Forestry Department, while calling for an increased and more effective financial support to the participating developing countries for the implementation of their national tropical forestry action plans.
The meeting endorsed the proposals to strengthen the forest policy-making planning capabilities of the tropical countries, in order to achieve a more decentralized, country-driven and process-oriented approach to the preparation and implementation of their national action plans.
Considering the concern voiced over the TFAP in certain quarters, particularly with regard to environmental issues, NGO participation and inter-agency cooperation, the delegates stressed that the TFAP should receive even more support to improve the effectiveness of its implementation. They recommended that the goals, objectives and strategies be clarified, in a joint effort by all parties concerned, and recognized the steps in this direction already taken by FAO.
In order to work out improved institutional arrangements, the Committee recommended the appointment of an ad hoc working group of experts from developing countries, donor agencies, developed countries and NGOs.
Forestry research
In the discussion on forestry research, the Committee welcomed the integration of forestry and agroforestry research into the mandate of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). However, it was stressed that this could only partially meet the wide range of forestry research needs in developing countries.
The work of the CGIAR will need to be complemented by a major effort to strengthen the capability of national forestry research institutions. FAO is currently implementing 39 projects which are concerned with forestry research or strengthening of research institutions (20 in Africa, 15 in Asia and the Pacific, and four in Latin America).
Within the FAO Forestry Department, a new Research, Education and Training Branch has been established within the Forest Resources Division. The mandate of the Branch includes:
· coordinating all departmental forestry research efforts;· strengthening of FAO assistance to national forestry research institutions;
· ensuring greater donor support to national forestry research efforts through the TFAP;
· ensuring complementarity of FAO's work with that of other international forestry research programmes, particularly that of the CGIAR and the IUFRO Special Programme for Developing Countries;
· maintenance of a computer data base on forestry research, resources and priorities.
Women and forestry
FAO has recently adopted a Plan of Action for the Integration of Women in Development, which calls for all technical departments to examine needs for action to enhance women's participation in four areas: civil, economic, social and decision-making. The Committee commended the Forestry Department for its efforts in this area and recommended continuing integration of women as equal partners in the design and implementation of forestry activities. It was recommended that the FAO Regional Forestry Commissions examine the issue of women in forestry development and that they prepare region-specific information and specific case-studies. The Committee also stressed the importance of gender-specific statistics in the reports of FAO field projects.
The integration of women as equal partners in forestry activities must continue
FAO medium-term perspectives and programme priorities in forestry
At its twenty-fifth session in November 1989, the FAO Conference decided on the introduction of a rolling medium-term plan covering a six-year period. The purpose of the plan is to provide the member countries with a dear indication of the Organization's strategic priorities and activities.
The medium-term plan differs from the medium- and long-term perspectives provided in past FAO Programmes of Work and Budget in that it has a well-defined time horizon (six years, rolled over every two years) and focuses more clearly on identification of priorities for action.
The Forestry Department is the first of the FAO technical departments to prepare and present such a medium-term plan. The Committee on Forestry, endorsed the proposed objectives and strategies in the plan and suggested that the plans and priorities could be even more specific in the future; however, this would need to be somewhat tempered by the need for flexibility.
The eleventh session of the Near East Forestry Commission was held in Ankara from 15 to 19 October 1990, at the invitation of the Government of the Republic of Turkey. The session was attended by delegates from Afghanistan, Cyprus, Egypt, Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, the Sudan, Tunisia and Turkey, by an observer from Italy, and by representatives of the United Nations Development Programme, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization. The session Was chaired by Mr Osman Celik of Turkey.
The agenda for this session focused on four substantive issues forestry policies in the region; strategic orientations for forest development in the region; wildlife and national parks management; and statistics for forestry development planning. As a result of their deliberations, on the occasion of World Food Day (16 October), the participants unanimously approved an "Ankara Declaration". The text of the declaration is reproduced below.
We, representatives of member countries of the Near East region, responsible for the forestry sector, declare as follows:
We reaffirm our determination to conserve and develop the forest resources of our region through appropriate forest management from the creation of new forest resources through maintenance and harvesting of woody vegetation crops, to the processing and marketing of forest products, taking into consideration the development needs of the people of our region.
We renew our commitment to have the forestry sector better contribute toward improving environment and microclimate and conserving soil and water resources on which food production depends.
We pledge ourselves to achieving, within the policies of our respective governments, greater food production through the introduction of forests in land use, the rational management of woody vegetation, and conservation of genetic resources and Improvement of microclimate, all leading to improved welfare of the rural populations..
We reaffirm our determination to give adequate attention to collecting, storing and disseminating information, research results and findings obtained by the forest institutions in our region, for the benefit of all local forest managers.
We appreciate the attention, support and assistance being given to our countries by FAO, through its multiple programmes at international, regional and country levels, to build self-reliance in forest resources conservation and utilization within the concern of sustainable development and forest security.
We also express our appreciation to the Director-General of FAO for meeting rapidly and efficiently our governments' requests for technical assistance and for providing resources from the FAO Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) to complement activities supported by extra-budgetary funds, providing critical bridging assistance, helping in emergencies and preparing investment projects. In particular, we appreciate the support given by the Director-General to the Turkish Government's firm commitment to develop a training programme for the Near East in selected fields in forestry and agriculture where the Turkish experience and expertise are appropriate to the needs in the region.
We welcome a regional forestry strategy within a Regional Forestry Action Plan similar to the Tropical Forestry Action Programme (TFAP), leading to the strengthening and harmonization of international cooperation in forestry development in several countries, as well as action programmes: at national level, to help our governments formulate and incorporate key action proposals for conservation and sustainable development of forest resources into national development plans; at regional level, to play a useful catalytic role in orientating technical assistance and investment toward the implementation of national plans through mobilizing regional solidarity, fostering technical cooperation among developing countries and securing the contribution of regional development aid agencies, using the Near East Forestry Commission and "Silva Mediterranea" as vehicles for promoting and monitoring such a programme.
We call on our respective governments to strengthen forest policies and legislation to achieve the above goals and to give consideration to national forestry policies recognizing the participation of people in forest development and conservation and placing more reliance on people's participation, including the adaptation of existing legislation to stimulate people's interest and involvement in forestry.
We pledge ourselves as foresters to respond, with a high degree of commitment to our profession, to the challenge presented by the enormous opportunities for the region's forestry to produce more food, higher incomes and greater employment opportunities, as well as improving environmental stability.
We welcome the convening of the Tenth World Forestry Congress to be held in France in 1991, which will constitute an excellent forum for the exchange of views and experiences and for discussions on matters concerning all aspects of forestry, which may lead to the formulation of recommendations applicable to our region.
We reaffirm our accord with the establishment of appropriate national polices, programmes and institutions which will address the problem of environment in a consistent, sustained and coordinated manner and, internationally, to devise and implement broad strategies and guidelines for sustainable development and environmental protection and to promote cooperation among nations and regions of the world in this regard.
We recognize that it is essential to integrate environmental concerns with agricultural and rural development from the planning to the implementation stages, as food security is inexorably linked to conservation of natural resources and to the increase in agricultural production, the quality of food produced and the alleviation of rural poverty.
We recommend to our governments of the region the adoption of national agricultural policies and programmes compatible with environmental concerns, and the creation of effective mechanisms to ensure that this occurs.
We welcome the FAO/Netherlands Conference on Agriculture and Environment to be held in the Netherlands in April 1991, in response to a joint invitation from FAO and the Netherlands Government to discuss environmental issues and their relationships with integrated agricultural development.
