The work of FAO

Forestry education
FAO advisory committee on pulp and paper

Forestry education

A report from the FAO Advisory Panel on Forestry Education, forwarded by the chairman, Dean Hardy L 'Shirley of the Syracuse University School of Forestry' summarizes the world's needs for foresters as follows.

It is estimated that today there are about 70,000 foresters, perhaps 75,000, and some 4,405 million hectares of forest land in the world. If this were to be managed at the level currently being practiced in the United States, and this level generally is still far below that of many European countries, some 300,000 foresters would be required, or about four times the number now employed. If such a goal were to be achieved by the year 1980, some 11,250 foresters beyond those required for replacement would be needed annually. The existing forestry schools of the world, including those in the U.S.S.R., are currently equipped and staffed to graduate about 8,000 men annually, of which about 3,000 are needed for replacement. The deficit between possible supply and possible need is therefore some 6,250 men.

The above estimates are crude but may be helpful in visualizing the magnitude of need on a world-wide basis.

The actual situation, however, is far more complex. Several countries are now capable of educating more foresters than their own forest services need. This is true for instance in Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom. These now accept a certain number of men from outside their country. The need for new forest officers, on the other hand, is mostly in the newly developing countries of Africa, Latin America and, to a lesser extent, Asia. All countries wish to employ their own nationals as forest officers and prefer to educate them at home or in a nearby country having similar forest and economic conditions. The need, therefore, is for teachers who can help establish new schools and for means to educate increasing numbers of foresters abroad. Considerable progress is being made. Even so, some developing countries have established schools but find no jobs for their graduates in their own country, while many others need men but have no schools.

For the immediate future sufficient schools are available in North America, Europe, and in many parts of Asia. These schools can furnish qualified teachers on loan to help other countries to establish schools. Such short-term employment is not easy to arrange because of the need for continuing retirement and other benefits provided by the parent institution and because replacements, if drawn from a distance, usually require funds for moving and other costs. Sponsoring agencies as well as schools, however, should view such assignment and replacement needs as opportunities for broadening the experience of faculty members and for bringing in specialists from outside for short-term assignments. In this way instruction in several schools may benefit from foreign assignments of teachers.

The need for teachers and for forest economists who can work with planning officers is great in the developing countries and is likely to remain so for some time.

FAO advisory committee on pulp and paper

The second meeting of the FAO Advisory Committee on Pulp and Paper was held from 12 to 14 January 1961 at FAO Headquarters in Rome. R. M. Fowler, the chairman of the committee, presided and the following members and alternates participated: V. Amici (Italy), J. Frézal (France), Sir Herbert Hutchinson (United Kingdom), H. Kamel (United Arab Republic), E. Landberg (Sweden), J. P. Uvy (France), H. Niethammer (Western Germany), R. E. O'Connor (United States of America), C. Quintana (Mexico), L. Sjunnesson (Sweden), J. O. Soderhjelm (Finland).

The committee heard an account of the organization and work program of the Forestry and Forest Products Division, and discussed the part played in this program by activities relating to pulp and paper, especially the steps taken or contemplated to give effect to the recommendation of the pulp and paper consultation held in Rome in 1959, subsequently endorsed by the Conference of FAO, to give greater prominence to work in this field (see Unasylva, Volume 14, Number 1).

Note was taken of the assistance rendered to the Government of Chile in formulating and implementing a comprehensive program of forestry and forest industry (including pulp and paper) development, and of the services provided to date to Latin-American governments by the FAO/ECLA Latin-American Advisory Group. It expressed particular satisfaction with the organization and results of the 1960 conference in Tokyo (see Unasylva Volume 15, Number 1) and endorsed the recommendations of that conference, laying particular emphasis on the need to revise and reissue the document, Raw materials for more paper. The committee noted that Asian governments would, in seeking to give effect to the Tokyo recommendations, look for increasing assistance from FAO.

From its review of the work so far carried out and the program provisionally planned for the future, the committee concluded that:

(a) past effort had been well deployed and had led to solid achievements of value to all member countries, including a series of publications of outstanding merit;

(b) that the program, past and planned, was well-balanced, in view of the fact that the small forces available compelled concentration on particular topics or regions at particular times;

(c) that the resources available, even given the expected expansion, would not permit a program adequate to implement all the recommendations of the 1959 consultation in Rome and the 1960 conference in Tokyo.

In particular, the committee regretted that the resources presently available to FAO were insufficient to permit the initiation of certain basic studies which the committee considered of considerable importance to the pulp and paper industries in both the advanced and less developed countries, studies which the committee believed should form part of FAO's regular program. In view of this, the committee approved in principle the establishment of a trust fund to finance the project for a special study of pulp and paper trends and development prospects in Europe. It made certain suggestion to the Secretariat on the organization and content of this study, expressed the view that the scope of the proposed study pointed to the desirability of its being carried out by FAO and observed that the project did not duplicate work being carried out in other organizations. The committee requested the Secretariat to take all possible steps to assure the collaboration of national industry groups and of regional organizations concerned with pulp and paper problems, in particular that of the Pulp and Paper Committee of the Organization for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) or any eventual successor.

It was reported by the chairman that sums had already been pledged sufficient to initiate the project. The committee suggested that the Secretariat afford the opportunity to national industry groups other than those which had so far made pledges, of contributing to the trust fund. The committee expressed its readiness to serve as trustees for the fund if required, suggesting that representatives of other contributors be invited to attend meetings of the Advisory Committee on occasions when the special study project was to be discussed.

The committee believed that this ad hoc study of fiber resources and development prospects in the European region could usefully be followed by similar studies of other regions.

Subsequent to the meeting of the committee, sufficient funds were speedily deposited to enable a start to be made with the special study under the direction of Arne Sundelin of FAO.

Committee members and alternates

Mr. R. M. Fowler, chairman of the FAO Advisory Committee on Pulp and Paper.

CHAIRMAN	Mr. R. M. Fowler
	President, Canadian Pulp and Paper Association
	Montreal
	Canada
Argentina	Mr. S. Gagliardi
	Vice-President
	Celulosa Argentina
	Buenos Aires
Australia	Mr. R. W. Henry
	General Manager
	Australian Newsprint Mills Ltd.
	Boyer, Tasmania
Brazil	Dr. Oscar Lorenzo-Femandez
	Rio do Janeiro
Chile	Mr. F. Leniz
	Gerente de Producción
	Cia. Manufacturera do Papeles y Cartones
	Santiago
Finland	Dr. J. O. Söderhjelm
	Central Association of Finnish
	Woodworking Industries
	Helsinki
France	Mr. J. P. Lévy
	Directeur des industries diverses et des textiles au Ministère de l'industrie et du commerce
	Paris
	M. P. Germain (Alternate)
	Président de la Fédération des syndicats de producteurs de pâtes pour papiers et do textiles artificiels
	Paris
	J. Frézal (Alternate)
	Syndicat des fabricants de papier journal
	Paris
Germany, Western	H. Niethammer
	Managing Director
	Aschaffenburger Zellstoffwerke
	Redenfelden/Obb.
India	V. Podder
	Works Director
	Rohtas Industries Ltd.
	Dalmianagar
Italy	Vincenzo Amici
	Capo del Servizio Tecnico
	Ente Nazionale Cellulosa e Carta
	Rome
Japan	M. Matsunaga
	Director-in-Chief
	Japan Pulp and Paper Association
	Chuo-Ku, Tokyo
Mexico	Carlos Quintana
	Industrial Programing Manager
	Nacional Financiers, S.A.
	México
Sweden	L. Sjunnesson
	Director
	Swedish Cellulose Association
	Stockholm
	E. Landberg (Alternate)
	Managing Director
	Svenska Papperabruksföreningen
	Stockholm
United Arab Republic	Hussein Kamel
	General Manager
	Société des sucreries et de distillerie d'Egypte, and Managing Director
	Al Nasr Company for Bagasse Pulp Industry
	Cairo
United Kingdom	Sir Herbert Hutchinson
	Lately Director-General
	British Paper and Board Makers
	Association
	London
United States	R. E. O'Connor
	Executive Secretary
	American Pulp and Paper Association
	New York
	J. L. Ritchie (Alternate)
	United States Pulp Producers, Association
	New York