Committee on Forest Development in the Tropics
The tenth session of the Committee on Forest Development in the Tropics was held at FAO headquarters in Rome, 10-13 December 1991. The session was chaired by Mr W. King of Guyana and attended by delegations from 43 members (42 countries and the European Economic Community) plus representatives or observers from 24 other countries and ten intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The main topics covered included a review of international cooperation in the field of tropical forestry, including the Tropical Forests Action Programme (TFAP), sustainable management of tropical forests and the processing of forest products in tropical countries.
Review of international cooperation in tropical forestry and implementation of the TFAP
As in previous sessions the Committee considered a statistical review of official development aid (ODA) to forestry. Total ODA from donor countries, banks and United Nations organizations amounted to US$ 1 353.5 million in 1990, an increase of 24 percent over 1988. Technical assistance accounted for approximately 70 percent of ODA, and investment for 30 percent.
Forestry in land use (35 percent), forest-based industrial development (28 percent) and the strengthening of institutions (19 percent) continued to be the main areas of expenditure in 1990, although there was an increase in the percentage of funds devoted to forestry in land use and a decrease in those for institutional strengthening. Compared with 1988, there was a clear reduction in the proportion of funds dedicated to fuelwood - related activities; it appeared that these funds had been shifted to forestry in land use. It was not clear whether this was an indication of a more integrated approach to fuelwood projects, an actual decrease in attention to this sector, a shift in donor classification or a combination of these factors.
In terms of geographic distribution, Asia (44 percent) and Africa (33 percent) remained the main recipients of ODA in 1990. Latin America received some 18 percent and the Near East 5 percent.
The review also considered the contribution of a number of large, international NGOs (CARE Canada, CARE USA, the World Conservation Union [IUCN], the World Resources Institute [WRI] and the World Wildlife Fund [WWF]) to forestry activities in the developing countries. Of the reported total of US$ 32.3 million in 1990, 56 percent was devoted to forestry in land use and 33 percent to conservation. Geographically, Africa received 49 percent of total funds; Latin America 34 percent; Asia 16 percent; and the Near East less than 1 percent.
TFAP
During the discussions on the TFAP, the chairman of the FAO Council's ad hoc group on the TFAP and the chairman of the TFAP Forestry Advisers' Group provided information on current talks concerning the establishment of a consultative forum for government representatives, including observers from concerned IGOs and NGOs. The forum would serve as an international framework for consultations on the TFAP and as a means to increase the flow of financial resources. In this regard, the Committee recommended that the methodology used to detail ODA for forestry be modified to permit precise identification of funds earmarked for the TFAP.
The Committee recommended that FAO develop a programme for improving communication and the wider dissemination of information on positive achievements and accomplishments of the TFAP, aimed particularly at interested parties outside the traditional forestry sector.
The recent regional gathering of TFAP coordinators in Latin America was seen to have been a particularly worthwhile initiative and the Committee recommended that similar meetings be held in the other regions.
Sustainable management of tropical forests
Sustainable forest management was seen as being central to forestry and a cornerstone in sustainable development in general. Delegates stressed the need to bring the vast area of currently unmanaged forests under sustainable management based on sound land-use plans. The discussion on this topic highlighted the important role of local people and underlined the need to ensure that they were involved in both the planning and implementation of forestry activities. The Committee recommended that NGOs be provided with more information and more opportunities to participate in the planning and implementation of sustainable forest management. The need to strengthen the dialogue between governments and the private sector was also stressed.
Sustainable management of tropical forests
Another area the participants felt required more attention was ergonomics and the safety and health of forest workers, and they asked FAO to increase its support to member countries in these disciplines.
Processing of forest products in tropical countries
The Committee noted that the efficient processing and use of forest products was a necessary element in an integrated approach to conservation and sustainable management of forest resources. Delegates highlighted the need to improve processing at ail technology levels and, particularly, the need to encourage participation of local people in efficient low and intermediate-tech no logy operations. The importance and future potential of non-wood forest products was noted and the Committee recommended that FAO continue to develop its activities in this field. FAO was also encouraged to carry out studies on improved technologies for the use of wood for energy both at household and industrial levels.
Copies of the report of the tenth session of the Committee on Forest Development in the Tropics may be obtained from the Meetings Officer, Forestry Department, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.
United States pharmaceutical firm to farm tropical forests
The world's largest pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. recently announced that it will pay the National Institute of Biodiversity, a Costa Rican non-profit scientific organization, US$ 1 million for the right to screen plants, microbes and insects gathered from the forests for their possible use as drugs.
Under the agreement, local people living in or around Costa Rica's protected forest areas will be paid to gather plants and other materials, which will then be catalogued by the biodiversity institute. Promising organisms will subsequently be sent to Merck for screening. If a product becomes a marketable drug, the Costa Ricans will be given a share of the royalties, which are to be reinvested in conservation.
Merck scientists say they are sceptical that the forests will ever be the "cornucopia of drugs" that some environmentalists have suggested; however, they already market a number of drugs made from soil organisms. One product, for instance, derived from microbes in Spanish soils and used to control high cholesterol, made US$ 735 million for Merck & Co. in 1990.
Source: The Washington Post
Impact of climate change on semi-arid zones
An International Conference on Impacts of Climate Variations and Sustainable Development in Semi-Arid Regions (ICID) was held in Fortaleza, Brazil, from 27 January to 1 February 1992.
The conference was attended by more than 1200 people, representing national and state governments, international agencies, private consultants, educational institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Impact of climate change on semi-arid zones
Such a wide range of participants is evidence of the high level of interest in semi arid zones and climate-related matters.
The objective of ICID was to call attention to the sensitive ecological, social and economic conditions of the semi-arid regions of the world as well as their vulnerability to climatic variation, especially in view of the current tendency to adopt unsustainable land-use practices. The conference was organized into 19 technical sessions which addressed such topics as climate impacts, adaptation to climate variations, research needs, desertification control and regional case histories.
The fertilization effect of increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide on plants was discussed by several speakers. In at least two papers this phenomenon was fully integrated into climate change scenarios. Projections for semiarid regions indicate that, while there would be some benefit in terms of increased plant growth, it would not be sufficient to offset the projected negative impacts of reduced rainfall and soil moisture in these regions.
The conference also drafted the Fortaleza Declaration for presentation at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in June 1992, calling attention to the special need for technical and financial assistance to ensure the sustainability of the semi-arid regions of the world.
World Conference on Tropical Plywood
A World Conference on Tropical Plywood was organized by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) to consider the long-term outlook for the tropical plywood industry, bearing in mind the major forces and constraints shaping or changing our world and, consequently, the industry's prospects. Held in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 11 to 14 December 1991, the conference was attended by some 140 participants representing producers, the main consumers, manufacturers of equipment and machinery, as well as research and development organizations.
The conference was divided into three technical sessions, covering economics, resources and production and technology.
Economics
The session on economics centred on concerns that prevailing prices were insufficient to cover the high cost of repairs to the forest after extraction. It was emphasized that plywood industries play a prominent role in the economies of the producer developing countries by creating employment and yielding foreign exchange. Therefore, the need for improved production planning and quality control to ensure the achievement of higher quality and thus higher value added were stressed.
Another important obstacle to the achievement of fair pricing was the continued existence of protectionist and discriminatory trade practices and policies.
World Conference on Tropical Plywood
Finally, stress was laid on the need to devote priority attention to the provision of consistent and internationally reliable statistics on plywood production, consumption and trade. To ensure integrity and objectivity, responsibility for such statistics should be placed with an agency that is insulated from political pressures.
Resources and production
The session on resources and production included the presentation and discussion of papers reviewing the current situation and prospects for sustainable production in each of the developing regions. It was emphasized that, while Asia is currently the dominant force in tropical plywood, Africa and Latin America have resources that their plywood industries have not been able to utilize because of undercapitalization, an acute shortage of experienced management and trained human resources and because of insufficient appropriate infrastructure. It was noted, therefore, that Africa and Latin America might progressively increase their production and exports of tropical plywood.
Technology
The discussion on plywood technology brought out that, although equipment and techniques already exist for handling the very different resources on which the tropical plywood industry will be based in the future, there will be challenging problems in the effective transfer of this new technology to the existing producers in tropical countries. Plywood manufacturers in tropical countries will face a transition period in which the new equipment capable of peeling and processing small - diameter logs will run side by side with traditional equipment and methods.
The discussion evidenced the magnitude of capital investment and training requirements to achieve the necessary transition, which again led to talks on the need for an upward adjustment of tropical plywood prices.
Conclusions
Participants concluded that the World Conference on Tropical Plywood should be reconvened on a regular basis and that continued consideration be given to the creation of an international tropical plywood producers association. Both of these mechanisms were seen as having the potential to further development of a pricing system that would be more remunerative to the producer and viable for the consumer.
Participants recommended that the ITTO carry out a study to determine how international standards concerning tropical plywood could be harmonized. They also recommended that the ITTO strengthen its public information programme to stress the role of international tropical plywood trade in achieving sustainable management and utilization of the world's tropical forests.
Copies of the report and papers of the World Conference on Tropical Plywood may be obtained from ITTO, 5th Floor Pacifico Yokohama, 1-1 Minata - Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama 220, Japan.
