Evolution of forests and forestry in Europe since the Second World War
Domestication of wildlife species for food security: the paca
A practical approach to plant germplasm collection
The search for comprehensive information on private forestry research
Evolution of forests and forestry in Europe since the Second World War
This volume provides a detailed country-by-country account of the increase in forest resources in Europe over the past 40 years. This expansion in standing volume and, to a lesser extent, in area is a continuation of a trend that began during the nineteenth century.
The study is divided into four main parts: Introduction, Wood resources and harvests by country groups, Country statistics and Conclusions on the ecological and economic basis of forestry in Europe. The statistical data is based on five decennial assessments of European forest resources, undertaken by the Timber Section of the Joint ECE/FAO Agricultural and Timber Division. The assessments are based on the information provided by the countries and form an indispensable information basis for forestry development in all its forms and for forest industries in Europe.
After presenting the historical developments, the author discusses the implications, should this trend be allowed to continue, for the future health and vitality of the forests, for forest policy management and silviculture and for the economic viability and environmental sustainability of the resource. An increase in thinnings and regeneration cuttings is advocated, replacing current unstable tree species by true climatic climax species, as is a shortening of the current excessively long rotation periods. The author concludes that preserving the sustainability and biological diversity of Europe's forest ecosystems can be achieved by maintaining the genetic diversity, density, age and health stability of forests; protecting biotopes of endangered species; and establishing cultural biotopes and strictly protected natural reserves.
This study is the first issue of the European Forest Institute Research Report Series. An independent, non-governmental research organization, the European Forest Institute conducts problem-oriented and multidisciplinary forest research at the European level to serve the needs of policy-making and decision-making bodies in Europe.
Domestication of wildlife species for food security: the paca
In line with FAO's mandate to assist countries in achieving food security, in which forest resources play a significant role, the Forestry Department is working to document and spread technical expertise on the domestication of wildlife species which can have a real impact on improving food availability to rural dwellers throughout the world.
An excellent candidate for such domestication is the paca (Agouti paca), which is native to Latin American lowland forests from southern Mexico to southern Brazil. Because of the highly preferred meat of the paca, local people in many countries of Latin America have attempted for many years to raise it in captivity, but this has not proved to be practical because pacas normally live only in pairs, are naturally aggressively territorial and extremely socially intolerant. Moreover, they have a low reproductive rate so, with the need for a separate cage for each reproductive female, there has been little hope that, even though they will breed in captivity, the endeavour will be economically feasible.
An experimental programme to domesticate pacas was carried out at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama between 1983 and 1990. By taking advantage of a critical-period learning phenomenon (similar to "imprinting") that occurs in infant pacas, it has been possible to alter their socialization process completely so that they are changed in one generation into social, easily handled, "domesticated" animals. The young born in groups of experimentally socialized pacas learn the behaviour of their parents and do not revert to that of their wild antecedents. Their reproductive potential is still low but, because they can be kept in mixed sex groups, the economy of paca raising has been greatly improved.
This document presents information in a step-by-step format that will allow easy replication of the domestication process that was successful in the Smithsonian programme. In this respect, it will be of primary value to resource managers in Latin America; however, it could also be of value to technicians in Africa where the grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) occupies a similar ecological and nutritional niche to the paca in Latin America.
A practical approach to plant germplasm collection
The case for conserving biological diversity is well established on economic as well as scientific grounds. Biological diversity is essential for sustainable development, adaptation to a changing environment and the continued functioning of the biosphere - indeed, to human survival itself. Plant breeders are dependent on the availability of a large pool of diverse genetic material represented by local races and wild relatives, since in themselves modern crop varieties provide too restricted a gene pool for further breeding. Without the ability to draw from a diverse genetic reservoir, further improvement may not be possible. It is therefore essential for guidance to be available on collecting plant germplasm.
In recent years it has become evident that there is no single publication that provides the prospective collector of plant germplasm with generic as well as specific and theoretical as well as practical information. It was to fill this gap that the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, together with FAO, IUCN and UNEP, cooperated to produce this book. The volume is a comprehensive reference work and is aimed at both new and experienced collectors as well as those with a general interest in plant genetics, breeding and biological diversity.
Foresters will find two sections of the book of particular relevance and interest: Chapter 23, Collecting woody perennials, prepared by the FAO Forest Resources Division; and Chapter 31, a case-study on Surveying Mangifera sp. (mango) in the tropical rain forests of Southeast Asia, by J.M. Bompard.
The search for comprehensive information on private forestry research
This document comprises three case-studies describing the relationship between the private and public sectors and forestry research in Europe, North America and Australia and New Zealand. In these three groups of countries, forestry and forest products research is conducted by both public and private organizations whose number and influence continue to grow. Overall, the public sector is still the dominant source of investments in forestry research. However, there are significant regional differences. In Europe, private organizations account for 9 percent of forestry research. Of research papers sampled in New Zealand and Australia from 1988 to 1993, 12 percent originated in the private sector. In the United States, on the other hand, at least two-thirds of the total annual investment in forestry and forest products research originates from the private sector.
Private sector forestry research tends to focus on problems of a biological or physical nature. Very little private research is focused on problems involving economics, assessment or forestry programme design.
The main conclusions that can be drawn from the three case-studies are as follows:
The unique organizational qualities that might enable the private (or public) sector to address a particular forestry issue more effectively are not well understood.
