Agenda 21 and the "Forest Principles" adopted by UNCED in 1992 emphasized the need to protect the environment and for people's participation to achieve sustainable development in the long run, in addition to maintaining the contribution of forests to economic development. With this shift in emphasis in forest development has come a need for new approaches and processes for forestry planning.
The Planning and Statistics Branch of the Policy and Planning Division of the Forestry Department of FAO, under the supervision of Yves C. Dubé, Forestry Officer (Planning), with the support of an interdisciplinary group from various Divisions in FAO, has issued in September 1996, a Working Paper titled "Planning for Forest Use and Conservation: Guidelines for Improvement". Dr. Jan G. Laarman from the Forestry Department of the North Carolina State University drafted the original version.
This Agenda for Training Workshop corresponds to a revised version of the September 1996 Working Paper, following the recommendations of an expert meeting organized in Accra, Ghana, in January 1997, by the FAO Regional Office for Africa in collaboration with the National Forestry Programme Coordinating Unit and the Forestry Policy and Planning Division of the FAO Forestry Department.
It is hoped that this publication will be an important reference framework for senior managers, planning leaders and trainers in government ministries and agencies as they review their planning systems for forest use and conservation and that the approaches recommended will be widely tested and adopted and thus contribute to the enhancement of capacities called for by UNCED's Agenda 21.
Lennart Ljungman
Director
Policy and Planning Division
Forestry Department
