ETFRN NEWS 27
European Tropical Forest Research Network ETFRN NEWS 27
ETFRN-News is a quarterly publication of the European Tropical Forest Research Network: Editor: Willemine Brinkman About ETFRN Editorial assistance:Evelyn Whyte National Focal Points Jelle Maas Directory ETFRN Newsletter ETFRN Coordination Unit ETFRN Workshops c/o The Tropenbos Foundation ETFRN Publications P.O. Box 232 6700 AE Wageningen/ The Netherlands Q & A Service Tel.:+31-317-41 30 33 Add links Fax:+31-317-41 20 99 E-mail: [email protected] Topics Regions CONTENTS EU Commission Editorial Vacancies ETFRN and European Commission News Funding / Grants Training Courses Organisations, Institutions and Projects Conference calendar Non-timber forest plant resource assessment in North West Amazonia Palm heart harvesting in Guyana's North-West District Search Mesoscale landscape patterns and biodiversity recovery Site map Restoration of tropical dry andean forest by accelerating natural successioni Home Optimal management of agroforestry systems E-mail us Stand dynamics and management of fast growing tree species in central america Research Cooperation Sought Internet Features Other news Publications
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European Tropical Forest Research Network Newsletter 27
Editorial
About ETFRN Dear readers, National Focal Points Directory ETFRN Newsletter For millenia, forests have been an important resource for the peoples of Latin America, and they still ETFRN Workshops are. The region's forests are also important for the rest of the world. Their effect on global climate is ETFRN Publications still poorly understood, and this is the subject of at least one large international research programme. The forests of Latin America are also the home of many well-known, and economically important Q & A Service plant species, such as rubber, cocoa, avocado, mahogany, to name a few. Leucaena leucocephala , Add links one of the most famous, or infamous multi-purpose tree species, also originates in this region. Biodiversity is very rich in forests in the Amazon basin, but also in the Costa Rican cloud forests for Topics example, and 'new' species are still regularly discovered. The research project on non-timber forest Regions plant resource assessment is involved in the documentation of some of this diversity, and aims to EU Commission formulate recommendations to promote sustainable development of these resources. The report on palm heart harvesting in Guyana's North-West district provides several clear research-based Vacancies recommendations for the sustainable exploitation of this forest product, which provides income for Funding / Grants many local people. Training Courses Conference calendar This issue of the ETFRN News can only highlight a small sample of all the forest research projects in Search Latin America, but I hope it will give you a taste for more, or inspire you to write a contribution on the Site map fascinating research project you are involved in yourself. Please note the themes for future issues on Home the backpage, and do not hesitate to write. E-mail us Best regards,
Willemine Brinkman
ETFRN News is a quarterly publication of the European Tropical Forest Research Network and has a ciruculationof 3,600 copies. Texts may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes citing the source.
ETFRN Coordination Unit c/o The Tropenbos Foundation PO Box 232, 6700 AE Wageningen The Netherlands Tel: +31 317 413033 Fax: +31 317 412099 E-mail: [email protected] Http://www.etfrn.org/etfrn/
Editor: Willemine Brinkman Editorial assistance: Evelyn Whyte & Jelle Maas
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European Tropical Forest Research Network Newsletter 27
ETFRN and EC News
About ETFRN MESSAGE FROM MADAME CHAIRMAN National Focal Points 1. Directory 2. EC NEWS ETFRN Newsletter 3. ETFRN NEWS ETFRN Workshops ETFRN Publications MESSAGE FROM MADAME CHAIRMAN
Q & A Service by Jane Thornback Add links
Topics Electronic methods of communication increasingly enable ETFRN to fulfil its goal of linking together Regions tropical forest researchers within Europe, and European researchers with their colleagues in tropical EU Commission countries. The ETFRN Newsletter is already widely distributed, but e-mail communication and development of the ETFRN website are opening up opportunities for a better and faster service to Vacancies researchers within the Network and to those wishing to access the European research capability. Funding / Grants Training Courses The ETFRN main website will continue to evolve in the coming months to create a seamless web Conference calendar linking national focal point sites. The result will be easy access to European tropical forest research capability, providing information on research organisations, researchers, research collaboration needs, Search training courses, funding sources, job opportunities and much more. Site map Home A new edition of the ETFRN Directory of European organisations involved in research in tropical and E-mail us subtropical forest research will be published later in the year. This information is already available as an on-line searchable database on the ETFRN website. The next stage is to expand this database to include not only organisations but also individual researchers, with information on their interests and contact details. An online template will allow for faster input of new and updated information. Individual researchers linked by e-mail will enable research collaboration requests and the ETFRN Question and Answer service to be better targeted and to be sent around the Network more speedily.
ETFRN will work towards providing a gateway for researchers to feed into EU policy issues, and to be more aware of research opportunities, and links to development and conservation projects. Of
relevance at present, is the new Fifth Framework Research Programme of the European Union which
was launched in late February. The call for proposals for research projects in the international cooperation subprogramme (INCO Programme) is due any time now. The ETFRN CU will place relevant information on the ETFRN website as soon as it is available, and will e-mail the information to those organisations listed in the ETFRN directory.
European activities impact tremendously on the tropical forest resource, both positively and negatively. As a Network, ETFRN will seek to help researchers better understand the leverage they can apply to ensure the forests' future.
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EC NEWS
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DGXII: Fifth Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities
The first calls for proposals under the fifth framework programme have now been published. Full details of the calls and supporting documents, including evaluation information are available for downloading from the CORDIS server at:
http://www.cordis.lu/fp5/src/calls.htm.
Further material will be provided at the same site as it becomes available. Any information of particular relevance will be posted on the ETFRN website
The Fifth Framework Programme provides opportunities for two forms of international cooperation in Research and Technological Development:
* through specific programmes (e.g. quality of life and management of living resources; energy, environment and sustainable development)
* through the INCO programme; this includes the INCO-DEV programme, which is specifically focussed on research cooperation with institutions in developing countries.
Institutions from so-called 'third countries', i.e. countries which are not a member of the European Union, may participate in project proposals submitted under specific programmes under the following conditions:
* their participation is in European Community interest and adds value;
* in principle the 'third country' participants use own funds, but EC funding is possible if their participation is essential for achieving the objectives of the action.
For tropical and subtropical forest research, opportunities in the first call for proposals under the INCO-DEV programme will be rather limited. However, it is expected that future calls under INCO- DEV will focus more on tropical forest- related issues.
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The INCO-DEV programme
Publication of the first call for proposals under the INCO-DEV programme is planned for 27 March 1999. The deadline for submission of proposals is 16 June 1999 and 15 September 1999 depending on subject As the call is not yet published, no details can be given on the content. General information on the INCO-DEV programme follows below:
The main objectives of the programme are:
* to address challenges faced by developing countries;
* to mobilize EU teams jointly with Developing Country teams; and
* to support EU development policy.
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Its main features are:
* a science funding approach, i.e. competitive, peer review, shared costs;
* cooperative research with an emphasis on region to region cooperation
* bottom up, i.e. scientists formulate proposals; the Commission does not request for specific research to be done, but it does provide a framework;
* cross-sectoral
The programme will be implemented through:
* joint research projects, with a minimum of two European partners from two different European countries, and two partners from different developing countries
* concerted actions / thematic networks, with a minimum of three participants from three different European countries and three participants from three different developing countries
* bursaries, i.e. funding for students from developing countries, to spend a maximum of six months with a European research institution in the framework of a research project accepted under the any of the fifth framework programmes.
* accompanying measures.
Thematic content of the programme will focus on three levels (please note that not all points below will be reflected equally in the forthcoming call for proposals):
1) Policy research on the conditions for sustainable development
i) making the most of research; research and technological development in the global information society
ii) meeting basic needs: food, water, sanitation and health care
iii) Natural resource use and economic production: adapting to globalisation and ensuring harmony with the environment
iv) promotion of sustainable settlement patterns through favourable rural-urban interactions
2) Systems research on natural capital, the human environment and health
i) Strategies for rural productivity: ecosystem management for sustainability
ii) Managing the rural-urban interface: health systems, water management and land use
3) Tools for sustainable development
i) Tools for health improvement: attacking major health problems
ii) technologies for sustainable plant and animal production: building blocks for improvement
iii) Market-oriented products and services in agro-food: adding value and meeting consumer demand
iv) Safe and efficient water management: environmental technologies for use, decontamination and recycling.
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The JRC TREES programme has published a 1:5.000.000 vegetation map of tropical South America. Further details on p. 23.
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ETFRN NEWS
The ETFRN Steering Committee met in Helsinki, Finland, last February 5 - 6. Items discussed included the future of ETFRN after the present funding phase ends on 31 December 1999, and the ETFRN evaluation, which is planned for April - May 1999. The Tropenbos Foundation was invited by the Steering Committee to submit a proposal to the European Commission's DGXII for a new phase of ETFRN and to continue hosting the Coordination Unit at the Tropenbos offices in Wageningen.
Raul d'Albuquerque Sardinha of Portugal handed over the Chair to Jane Thornback (United Kingdom). Prof. Sardinha has agreed to remain a member of the Executive Committee for this year. Olavi Luukkanen (Finland) was unanimously elected as the new Vice-Chairman. Jochen Heuveldop, national focal point for Germany, was nominated as fourth member of the Executive Committee. Support for his nomination was unanimous.
The next Steering Committee meeting will be held in Hamburg, 1-2 October 1999.
The ETFRN focal point for France has moved to ECOFOR. After an interim situation of one year, during which Annie Mauchamp of CIRAD-Forêt did an excellent job in keeping ETFRN running in France, we are now happy to welcome Dr Bernard Riera and Mme Marguerite Reder, both based at Silvolab in French Guiana.
The ETFRN website has been restyled. It was launched during the Steering Committee meeting in Helsinki. Further improvements and updates are ongoing. Presently, the 'Forestry Links' section is undergoing a very thorough revision. As always, your comments, additions and suggestions for improvement are very welcome!
Please note that the URLs of several pages on the website have changed. The main address is http://www.etfrn.org/etfrn/.
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European Tropical Forest Research Network Newsletter 27
Organisations - Institutions - Programmes About ETFRN National Focal Points NON-TIMBER FOREST PLANT RESOURCE ASSESSMENT IN NORTH WEST AMAZONIA Directory PALM HEART HARVESTING IN GUYANA'S NORTH-WEST DISTRICT ETFRN Newsletter THE GUIANA SHIELD INITIATIVE ETFRN Workshops MESOSCALE LANDSCAPE PATTERNS AND BIODIVERSITY RECOVERY ETFRN Publications RESTORATION OF TROPICAL DRY ANDEAN FOREST BY ACCELERATING NATURAL Q & A Service SUCCESSION Add links OPTIMAL MANAGEMENT OF AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS STAND DYNAMICS AND MANAGEMENT OF FAST GROWING TREE SPECIES IN Topics CENTRAL AMERICA Regions EU Commission
Vacancies Funding / Grants NON-TIMBER FOREST PLANT RESOURCE ASSESSMENT IN NORTH WEST AMAZONIA Training Courses Conference calendar by Joost F Duivenvoorden Search Site map Home A joint research effort of institutes from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Denmark, Finland, and The Netherlands, funded by the European Commission (INCO-DC, DG 12 - IC18 CT960038) E-mail us
Presentation
In early 1997 an EC-INCO-DC funded project was initiated in order to obtain an improved appraisal of the non-timber forest plant resource availability in North West Amazonia by means of research on Non Timber Forest Plant Products (NTFPP) trade patterns and market values, and potential NTFPP supply from mature forests in three pilot areas. Partners involved are universities in Bogotá (Colombia), Quito (Ecuador), Iquitos (Peru), Aarhus (Denmark), Turku (Finland), and Amsterdam (The Netherlands; coordination).
Specific objectives of the project are:
1) to carry out a market survey of NTFPP in North West Amazonia, with emphasis on the situation in Colombia. This should help provide a qualitative update of the current situation of NTFPP commercialization (market analysis) in North West Amazonia; and
2) to carry out a comparative assessment of NTFPP resource availability in different forest types in three pilot areas in North West Amazonia. Pilot areas have been selected in the Yasuni National Park and Waorani reserve in Ecuador, the Ampiyacu River basin in Peru, and the Caquetá River area east of Araracuara in Colombia. Recent quantitative ethnobotanic valuation techniques of NTFPP resource availability are applied. Usefulness of trees and under storey plants in different forest types, identified on recent aerial photographs and satellite imagery, are compared. This allows for more http://www.etfrn.org/etfrn/newsletter/frames/nl27.html[22-10-2012 11:56:00] ETFRN NEWS 27
precise recommendations concerning potential development and conservation of North West Amazonian rain forests. In early 1999 the project entered its final year of a three year funding period. All fieldwork has been carried out successfully, and the project is now in the analysis and reporting phase. The first preliminary scientific results are not expected before spring 1999.
Two approaches
The project addresses the issue of NTFPP resource availability through two interrelated approaches. The first approach is in the field of socio-economics and economic botany. It includes research on the commercial demand, trade patterns, and market value of NTFPP. This project line will encompass a market survey, with emphasis on the situation in Colombia.
The second approach is of an ethno-botanical and forest ecological nature. It is directed at obtaining improved quantitative estimates of potential supply of NTFPP from pilot areas, one in each of the three participating developing countries by applying complementary forest sampling procedures (plots and transects).
Together these two approaches will provide an insight into the interrelationship between potential supply and NTFPP commercialisation in North West Amazonia, which can be used for local, regional, or national development initiatives.
Expected benefits
The three North West Amazonian lowland areas which are the subject of the present project form a geographical and ecological entity, characterised by humid climatic conditions, by comparable complex geological and geomorphological structures, by a still dominant cover of extremely species rich virgin rain forests, and by a poor infrastructure, poor living standards and skewed settlement patterns of the indian, mestizo and colonist populations. Information from one country may greatly contribute to the understanding of otherwise little known properties in another country, eg. certain adaptations of local communities to specific market situations, specific kinds of (economic) use of NTFPP, but also comparable patterns of geology, plant distribution, and vegetation types. Recognition of this fact has led to the initiative to share the Amazon expertise of each of the participating European institutes and to carry out a joint research effort with the developing country partners on the use and distribution of NTFPP in the area.
At least two points distinguish this region of North West Amazonia from other Amazonian lowland areas:
1) It is covered by forests with extremely high biodiversity levels, as exemplified by the world's highest levels of tree species richness.
2) It has a substantial population of indigenous tribes, many of which still have a traditional way of life and a profound knowledge of use of forest products.
In addition, North West Amazonia is still largely covered by virgin forests. Degraded systems are only found at the margin of the basin near the Andes and around large interAmazonian cities (e.g. Iquitos), usually where substantial populations of settlers (including mestizos) are found. In view of these overall regional properties, development of sustainable natural forest use by NTFPP extraction is one of the more promising alternative forest land use options. It may either provide income to the forest dwelling indigenous people, or present less destructive ways of forest land use to settlers with other cultural backgrounds.
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In fact, North West Amazonia has a long tradition of commercial NTFPP extraction. Production, however, was usually not on a sustained basis, and net local revenues were very low.
The current project contributes to understanding how these revenues may increase. It also addresses the issue of how to evaluate the high biodiversity levels of North West Amazonian forests in view of production systems compatible with conservation objectives.
Because it operates at various levels, the project may benefit different actors simultaneously. On a regional and national planning and decision-making level, the project will lead to an increased consciousness of the importance of non-timber products for local communities. The project will stimulate regional and national institutions of planning and development to consider extraction and use of NTFPP as a viable alternative for Amazonian resource management and protection. At national levels the proposal seeks compatibility and complementarity with existing territorial planning programmes of national and regional institutions. The maps will provide essential information for the development and application of GIS in this context.
The project aims at being consistent with the complex social and economic problems of North West Amazonia, and with current strategies to resolve them. It will also contribute to a strengthening of the research capacity of the Amazonian countries involved, in particular by giving opportunities for fieldwork experience in remote areas to young scientists in the field of Amazonian socio-economics, ethnobotany, ecology, vegetation survey, and economic botany.
At the level of the local communities, the project will also have several benefits. The project will yield estimates of the potential use value of forest types in the area and also yield quantitative estimates of the abundance of selected useful species. The market survey will enable this information to be put into a local and regional perspective for commercial extraction potentials. Communities may take advantage of the field activities to train their youth about forest uses. Finally, community members obtain cash-income (paid for by national currencies) in exchange for their services. It is outside the scope of the project to expect direct and immediate improvement of living conditions on the basis of the scientific information gathered. This was put forward explicitly when the project was presented to the local communities. Instead, however, the project seeks to present results in such a way that they can be adopted and used by the communities or all those interested in specific extension activities or more detailed research in the field of sustainable NTFPP extraction.
A substantial amount of the budget is spent on salaries and travel expenses for a total of 7 scientists (excluding student activities) from the participating developing countries. The project provides them with the opportunity to improve their field knowledge in North West Amazonia and to travel abroad. The project can therefore been seen as an important investment in the scientific communities of each developing country.
For further information, please contact:
Joost F Duivenvoorden Hugo de Vries Laboratory University of Amsterdam Kruislaan 318 1098 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands Email: [email protected]
For more information on the project, see:
http://www.frw.uva.nl/icg/NTFP/flyereng.html
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PALM HEART HARVESTING IN GUYANA'S NORTH-WEST DISTRICT
by T R van Andel , P E Huyskens and K C A. Bröker.
ABSTRACT
Palm heart from Euterpe oleracea Mart. supplies a canning industry worth US$ 2 million annually in export value, and is the most important Non-Timber Forest Product of Guyana's North-West District. The multi-stemmed palm species occurs in large quantities in brackish swamps along the coast. To assess the sustainability of current palm heart extraction by the French-Guyanese company AMCAR, a four-month pilot study was carried out. Vegetation structure, regeneration and mortality were compared between areas with high and low harvest intensity. A previously undisturbed area was taken as a control. In Euterpe populations that had been harvested for several years, stems were significantly smaller in size and diameter than in areas harvested only once or twice. Palm heart weight, potential and actual yields were much lower in high-pressure areas, whereas clump mortality was almost three times higher than in the control plot. In areas where people combined subsistence farming with palm heart harvesting, fallow periods tended to be longer and less damage was done to the vegetation. Neglect of traditional farming and dependency on the palm heart industry has led to overharvesting and socio-economic problems in several regions.
Maintaining a minimum diameter for palm heart appeared to be a powerful method to prevent extraction of immature stems, which has led to severe overharvesting in Brazil. A detailed management plan is needed to ensure the future supply of palm hearts, since sustainable harvest of this resource is of vital importance to the country's wellbeing. A large-scale rotation system that allows vulnerable areas to regenerate, while intensifying extraction in undisturbed palm stands, will be used by the company in the near future. However, community-based rotation systems combined with stimulation programs for subsistence agriculture, should also be encouraged, The abundance and rapid growth of Euterpe oleracea offers good opportunities for sustainable extraction. Since the potential for conflicting land uses (commercial agriculture, mining or logging) is minimal, extraction of NTFP seems to be the most viable form of land use in the coastal North-West District of Guyana.
Andel van, T.R., P.E. Huyskens and K.C.A. Bröker. 1998. Palm Heart Harvesting in Guyana's North- West District: Exploitation and Regeneration of Euterpe oleracea swamp forests. Tropenbos-Guyana Reports: 98-1. Tropenbos-Guyana Programme / Herbarium Utrecht University.
To receive a copy of this interim report, please contact: Tinde van Andel Herbarium Utrecht University PO Box 80102 3508 TC Utrecht The Netherlands Email: [email protected]
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THE GUIANA SHIELD INITIATIVE
by Wouter Veening, Vasco van Roosmalen and Amy MacKinven.
The objective of the Guiana Shield Initiative (GSI) is to promote effective and practical cooperation among all relevant actors to conserve the unique ecological and socio-cultural values of the Guiana Shield region. The initiative was the result of the Roundtable on European-Amazonian relations held in the European Parliament in November 1993. The Roundtable was organized by the European
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Working Group on Amazonia (EWGA) of which the chairmanship and secretariat lies with the Netherlands Committee for IUCN. It was chaired by Hemmo Muntingh, then Member of the European Parliament and as such promoter of several key resolutions and budgetlines on international conservation.
The forests, savannas, rivers and coastal zones of the Guiana Shield Region constitute a largely intact and uninterrupted ecological complex - the Shield is one of the oldest geological formations on earth - and the forests are designated by the World Resources Institute as the most important Frontier Forest in the world. Strong traditional cultures still abound in the region. Their knowledge and skills are vital to the objective of the Guiana ShieId Initiative. It is the position of the Initiative that international treaties like the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Framework Convention on Climate Change, international customary law and other international legal arrangements prescribe the conservation of the ecological values of the region under full recognition of the traditional indigenous rights. Considering the global significance of the ecological and socio-cultural values of the Guiana Shield, the international community should compensate the region for delivering the services derived from these values: the preservation of biological diversity on all levels, the storage and absorption of carbon in view of the global greenhouse effect, the maintenance of hydrological cycles, and last but not least, the preservation of a unique knowledge and ethics system in relation to man and nature.
Challenges in the region abound. While still largely intact, it is increasingly faced with unsustainable logging, socially and ecologically disruptive mining, the building of roads, transmission lines, large- scale tourist infrastructure, poaching, conversion of primary forests into plantations, migration into vulnerable areas and other forces with negative impacts, such as cultivation of illegal crops with all the associated destabilizing effects.
Irreparable loss of nature goes hand in hand with irreparable loss of culture as younger indigenous generations tend to drift away from their traditional backgrounds into 'western' life-styles.
The challenge is to counter the negative factors by providing attractive alternatives in an effective manner building upon and complementing existing positive developments, such as the recuperation of mercury used in small-scale mining.
The end product of the Initiative would be a set of (formalized) agreements on intraregional cooperation and on international cooperation with the region. One of the links between the international and regional agreements would be a financial mechanism specifying the international payments for the ecological services delivered by the region and the receivers of these payments in the region: who pays whom for what. Also envisioned is the formation of a Guiana Shield Sustainable Development Corporation, which would provide a link to the private and commercial actors in the region by promoting sustainable practices and products.
The Initiative will also include a programme to promote commercial activities by identifying goods and services which can be produced sustainably, i.e. without compromising the ecological and socio- cultural values of the region, identifying markets for these products and assisting producers with technical advice.
Coupled with this will be a monitoring system to check delivery of the services. This would take place against an agreed base-line situation, laid down in a database and presented in the form of maps.
The reaching and maintaining of agreements will be supported and accompanied by an information and education programme, including a website, the reproduction of videos and other materials and the development of local capacity to educate the policy makers, the general public and schools, both inside and outside the region about the importance of the Guiana Shield.
The secretariat of the Initiative will be located at the Netherlands Committee for IUCN in Amsterdam, which apart from managing the discussion forum, for those actors interested in the region, would prepare drafts for agreements, including the financial mechanism, and would maintain dialogue with the relevant political actors for concluding and implementing the agreements.
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For further information, please contact:
W Veening/V van Roosmalen/A MacKinven NC-IUCN Plantage Middenlaan 2B 1018 DD Amsterdam, The Netherlands Tel: +31 20 6261732, Fax: +3120 6279349 Email: [email protected]
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MESOSCALE LANDSCAPE PATTERNS AND BIODIVERSITY RECOVERY
Increasing human pressure has caused a decline in tropical montane forest cover in Central America. Human activities have led to a mosaic wise distribution of various types of secondary vegetation patches surrounded by remnant primary forest. The recovery of the forest cover could be dependent on landscape patterns and land use history of secondary vegetation patches and the surrounding matrix.
A project has recently begun which focuses on biodiversity recovery in a disturbed Costa Rican montane region. This project is funded by the Netherlands Organization for the Scientific Research (NWO). It is carried out by the University of Amsterdam (UvA) in cooperation with the International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences (ITC) and the Costa Rican National Institute for Biodiversity (INBio). The project will focus at spatio-temporal factors influencing the return of vascular plant species diversity following different levels of human disturbance. The relationship between static and dynamic landscape patterns and plant diversity will be studied and used to develop a GIS-based predictive model of plant diversity recovery in secondary vegetation patches. With this model different scenario's will be created of biodiversity recovery related to relevant management options, supporting the conservation and sustainable development purposes as formulated by the Costa Rican Ministry of Environment.
Exchange of information on this issue is very welcome. Please contact:
Liz van Omme Institute for Systematics and Ecology University of Amsterdam Kruislaan 318 1098 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands Tel: +31 20 525 7193 Email: [email protected]
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RESTORATION OF TROPICAL DRY ANDEAN FOREST BY ACCELERATING NATURAL SUCCESSION
Reforestation with native species is still a very underdeveloped practice in the Andes. Natural and economic values of native natural forests are receiving increasing attention. However, current knowledge on the restoration ecology of native Andean dry forests, directed at the restoration of the entire forest ecosystem is very limited.
It is the aim of the project to contribute to specific methodologies to improve rapid restoration of native Andean dry forests. The proposal addresses the following principal hypothesis: strategic
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insertion of plant species from more advanced successional stages into less advanced successional stages accelerates succession which eventually leads to a faster recovery of the climax vegetation. In the watershed area of the Río Checua, a dry part of the high plain of Bogotá, vegetation succession will be analyzed in order to select successional vegetation types for planting experiments with early and late successional species, already propagated in nurseries. Experiments will include planting in existing plantation forests (Acacia, Pinus), and special treatments to protect plantlets against harsh environmental conditions. Restoration results will be deduced from survival and growth rate of planted species and from vegetation cover, species composition and diversity (including mosses and lichens) in experimental plots.
The project outlined above has recently been approved for funding by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO-WOTRO) and will be carried out by the Hugo de Vries Laboratory of the University of Amsterdam in close collaboration with the Corporación Autónoma Regional de Cundinamarca in Colombia, during a five year period between period October 1999-October 2003.
For further information, please contact Antoine Cleef ([email protected]) or
Joost F Duivenvoorden Hugo de Vries Laboratory University of Amsterdam Kruislaan 319 1098 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands Tel: + 31 20 525 7812, Fax: + 31 20 525 7840 Email: [email protected]
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OPTIMAL MANAGEMENT OF AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS
Agroforestry is a form of multiple cropping which combines perennial woody plants with crop or forage species. In many tropical agroforestry systems, nitrogen fixing leguminous tree species are used for the assumed benefit of biological N2 fixation for the whole production system. The nitrogen fixing trees (NFT) are often managed by periodic pruning for harvesting fuelwood or forage, or to improve the micro environment of the crop by increasing nutrient cycling and transmission of solar radiation. Different management objectives of tropical agroforestry systems call for different pruning intervals, eg short for forage production and long for fuelwood harvesting. The main constraints for the periodic prunings are the resprouting and renodulation capacity of nitrogen fixing trees. The resprouting capacity depends on the non-structural carbohydrate pool in the remaining tree compartments. Pruning causes complete turnover of N2 fixing nodules, and the symbiosis between the tree and N2 fixing bacteria recovers slowly.
The principal objective of the research is to develop the management of N2 fixing leguminous trees in tropical agroforestry systems for high and sustainable production of the whole system within the limits set by the resprouting and renodulation ability of the trees. The research is carried out jointly with the Centro de Investigaciones en Protección de Cultivos of the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR). We also cooperate with the Unité Agropédoclimatique de la Zone Caraïbe of the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique of France (INRA-APC), situated in Guadeloupe, French Antilles.
The research focuses on two tropical agroforestry systems with different pruning intensities:
(i) cut-and-carry forage production of nitrogen fixing trees and perennial tropical grass on the same plot in Guadeloupe, and
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(ii) nitrogen fixing trees as living supports for vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) in Costa Rica.
The research focuses on two leguminous Nitrogen fixing trees species common in tropical agroforestry systems: neotropical Erythrina lanceolata and pantropical Gliricidia sepium which exhibit contrasting characteristics with respect to dynamics of resprouting and N2 fixation.
Systems analysis and structural-functional tree modelling are used to study the Nitrogen fixing trees as functional entities. Thus, management improvements can be formulated on the basis of the overall behaviour of Nitrogen fixing trees. Previously, the management recommendations of Nitrogen fixing trees have generally been based on the amount of desired tree harvest. Experimental work is being carried out on the following key issues under different pruning regimes:
(i) dynamics of non-structural carbohydrate reserves;
(ii) biomass allocation patterns following the pruning;
(iii) the mechanisms affecting the biological N2 fixation and renodulation following the pruning, and
(iv) the development of tree canopy.
The experimental results will be synthesized by means of modelling. Modification of the LIGNUM simulation model for agroforestry applications is underway, which takes into account both tree structure and functioning. The simulation model will be applied to evaluate the effect of different pruning regimes on the productivity and long-term sustainability of Nitrogen fixing trees, as well as on the nitrogen supply to soil and shading of associated crop. The flexible structure of LIGNUM makes it readily applicable to the modelling of shoot structure, solar radiation transmission and gas exchange characteristics of tropical Nitrogen fixing trees. The special developments of LIGNUM within this project include modelling of biological N2 fixation and dynamics of non-structural carbohydrate reserves. Further, special attention is paid to modelling of root architecture and functioning.
The expected output of the research is improved understanding on the functioning of Nitrogen fixing trees in tropical agroforestry systems, which will be applied in formulating practical recommendations for sustainable tree management for different production objectives.
For further information, please contact:
Dr Pekka Nygren Tropical Silviculture PO Box 28 00014 University of Helsinki Fax +358 9 70858646 [email protected]
Prof Carlos Ramirez Escuela de Fitotecnia Universidad de Costa Rica San Pedro Costa Rica [email protected]
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STAND DYNAMICS AND MANAGEMENT OF FAST GROWING TREE SPECIES IN CENTRAL AMERICA
The overall objective of the project is to improve the management of fast growing forest plantations in Central America through development, testing and validation of appropriate silvicultural techniques in plantation management.
The specific objectives of this research work are:
To identify the principal factors influencing growth of key, selected species grown in plantations in Central America;
2. To seek a better understanding of the physiological basis of stand dynamics in the tropics;
3. To quantify the relationships between the principal factors mentioned above with individual tree and stand development;
To model the interaction between management interventions and the ability to generate desired forest products;
5. To validate on-site the applicability of the models and silvicultural recommendations in terms of their technical and financial feasibility.
In Central America, the average annual rate of deforestation during the last decade was 1.5% of the forest area, i.e. about twice the global average. Many countries in Central America have started large scale plantation programs, widely supported by the international donor community. The establishment of plantations of fast growing tree species has increased dramatically in Central America in the last 10 years.
Unfortunately, because the incentives for plantation programs have mainly been used for plantation establishment, and on the other hand, because the foresters in the Region lack experience in plantation silviculture, most stands established are not given proper silvicultural treatment. This neglect rapidly undermines a stand's potential to produce valuable, large diameter trees or other desired products.
Appropriate silvicultural strategies for different species vary. Key variables are crown morphology and site. A clear, objective understanding of stand growth processes is lacking under tropical conditions and are needed for demonstrating the critical importance of timely intermediate operations. This work would have global applicability in tropical and sub-tropical regions where plantations are being established.
The proposed research project consists of three phases:
1) system identification and description;
2) system behaviour;
3) validation and transfer.
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The basic data has been collected by CATIE's researchers during the last 15 years in a network of experimental areas in six countries of the Central American Region (Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala). The modelling of stand dynamics and financial analysis of plantations is based on methodologies, models and techniques developed by the University of Helsinki team.
For more information, please contact:
Dr Markku Kanninen CATIE, Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza 7170 Turrialba, Costa Rica Tel: +506 556 1754; +506 556 6431 Fax: +506 556 6255; +506 556 1533 Email: [email protected]
Dr Frank Berninger Tropical Silviculture PO BOX 28 00014 University of Helsinki Finland Fax: +358 9 708 58646 Email [email protected]
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European Tropical Forest Research Network Newsletter 27
Research Cooperation Sought About ETFRN National Focal Points WORLDWIDE SEARCH FOR NODULATION IN LEGUMES Directory VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION ETFRN Newsletter CALL FOR ABSTRACTS ETFRN Workshops SILVICULTURAL INFORMATION AND SEED PROCUREMENT ASSISTANCE SOUGHT FOR ETFRN Publications SPECIES SELECTION PROGRAMME IN HAWAII Q & A Service SEARCH FOR NATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF FOREST OR FOREST LAND, TREE, Add links AFFORESTATION, DEFORESTATION AND REFORESTATION
Topics WORLDWIDE SEARCH FOR NODULATION IN LEGUMES Regions EU Commission About 40% of all legume genera (and more than half of all species) have never been examined for Vacancies the ability to nodulate and fix nitrogen. Many of these are trees and most of these are in the tropics. Funding / Grants They include important timber species such as Haplormosia monophylla, one of many included in the Training Courses IUCN's list of threatened trees. I am currently seeking collaborators to help fill in the gaps. The areas Conference calendar with the most undescribed genera are Africa (especially tropical humid regions), China, SE Asia (Indomalaysia in particular), South and Central America (especially Argentina, Chile, Peru and Cuba) Search and mountainous central Asia (Iran, Turkestan Nepal). Site map Home I can supply lists of genera, by Email or hard copy, for any area and also explain what is necessary E-mail us to recognise and authenticate nodules. My aim in this work is to prepare a monograph 'Nodulation in Legumes' using the most recent taxonomy for both legumes and the rhizobia nodulating them. This monograph will be published by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew with a launch date of June 2001 (but the manuscript must be submitted by March 2000). Any collaboration will be fully acknowledged and, in addition, should lead to a series of publications for particular regions, with collaborators as major authors. I believe that, for proper plant and soil conservation and for exploitation of genetic resources of legumes, it is essential to know which can nodulate. Please help!
Although I still have my laboratory in the University of Dundee, I am writing this monograph from my home base, details as given below.
For further information, please contact:
Janet I Sprent, 32 Birkhill Avenue, Wormit, Fife, DD6 8PW, Scotland, UK. Tel +44 1382 541706 Fax: +44 1382 542989 Email [email protected]
VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION
R Bellefontaine, of CIRAD Forêt, is interested in the bibliographical references of all theses, papers,
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articles dealing with root suckering and vegetative propagation, mainly in dry tropical forest. Information on this topic concerning temperate countries is also welcome.
He would also welcome hearing from anyone who knows of a student submitting a degree on the West African palm tree Borassus aethiopum.
Please contact:
R Bellefontaine Email: [email protected] Fax: : + 33 467 59 37 33
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CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
World Forests, Society and Environment Research Program invites you to submit an abstract of 400- 600 words for a 10-20 page research-based article. The book will be both multidisciplinary with a broad range of coverage but it incorporates also more focused in-depth analyses of a particular field in forest science. Globalization processes and comparative analyses of regions and countries are among themes to be covered. The underlying theme of the new book will be "Markets and Policies". The articles should in all cases have global relevance.
General topics may include but are not limited to: forests and water, as well as biodiversity, carbon sequestration, sustainable forest management and recreation. We are also especially interested in development analyses with particular emphasis on countries with the largest forest cover, i.e. F7 countries (Russia, Brazil, Canada, the United States, China, Indonesia and Democratic Republic of Congo).
In preparing your abstract you might find useful to know that structurally the book has the following parts: Society and Environment, Importance of Forests, Global Forum and Regional Forum.
The abstract should be written in English and should clearly indicate the following aspects:
- Title of paper and author(s)
- Purpose of the paper
- Methodological aspects and empirical data
- Statement on expected results
- Keywords
- Tentative disposition of the article
The abstract should be sent to us either through mail, fax or email. The deadline for these abstracts is the end of April 1999. If you have any additional questions about this call for abstracts, please, do not hesitate to contact us.
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For more information, please contact:
WFSE Research Program c/o METLA Unioninkatu 40 A FIN-00170 Helsinki, Finland
Tel. +358 9 857 051 Fax: +358 9 8570 5717 Email: [email protected]
SILVICULTURAL INFORMATION AND SEED PROCUREMENT ASSISTANCE SOUGHT FOR SPECIES SELECTION PROGRAMME IN HAWAII
Expertise sought for Astrocaryum standleyanum, Berchemia zeyheri, Bulnesia arbora, Byra ebenus, Caesalpinia/Guilandina echinata, Chloroxylon swietiania, Corbetum imberbe, Cordia dodecandra, Dalbergia cearensis, Dalbergia melanoxylon, Dalbergia stevensonii, Dalbergia frutescens, Dalbergia nigra, Dalbergia cochinchinensis, Diospyros celebica, Diospyros ebenum, Diospyros crassiflora, Diospyros marmorata, Machaerium spp., Oleana africana, Piratineria/Brosimum guianensis, Santalum spp. and Swartzia tomentusa.
Silvicultural information required in species selection program for Hawaiian Islands sites, also assistance in quality seed procurement. Fees paid.
For more information, please contact:
Max Hensley PO Box 1576, Burlingame 94010 CA USA Email: [email protected].
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SEARCH FOR NATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF FOREST OR FOREST LAND, TREE, AFFORESTATION, DEFORESTATION AND REFORESTATION
Help, I am still in need of national definitions of forest or forest land, tree, afforestation, deforestation and reforestation. You may view what I have assembled thus far at http://home.att.net/~gklund/DEFpaper.html. Listed below are the countries for which I already have definitions.
I have national definitions of "Forest/Forest land" for: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA, Yemen
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I have national definitions of "tree" for: Argentina, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, South Africa, South Africa, Tanzania, UK, USA, Yemen
I have national definitions of "afforestation" for: Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, India, Italy, Latvia, Malaysia, Morocco, Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA, Yemen
I have national definitions of "deforestation" for: Austria, Canada, India, Italy, Malaysia, Morocco, Papua New Guinea, Yemen
I have national definitions of "afforestation" for: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Hungary, India, Italy, Latvia, Malaysia, Morocco, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Ukraine, USA, Yemen
I would appreciate it if you can supply the aforementioned definitions for any countries that are missing in the lists or pass this message on to someone who can. If you have the information, please pass it on to me. Do not assume someone else will respond. Thank you in advance for your kind assistance and to those that have already provided input, an additional thanks.
Please contact:
H. Gyde Lund North American Council Member, GAOF Forest Information Services 8221 Thornwood Ct. Manassas, VA 20110-4627 USA Tel: +1 703 368 7219 Fax: +1 703 257 1419 Email: [email protected] URL: http://home.att.net/~gklund GAOF Web site: http://www.foresters.org
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European Tropical Forest Research Network Newsletter 27
Internet Features About ETFRN National Focal Points FOCUS ON LATIN AMERICA Directory ETFRN Newsletter AMAZONIA ETFRN Workshops BOLIVIA ETFRN Publications BRAZIL COLOMBIA Q & A Service Add links COSTA RICA GUYANA Topics PERU Regions EU Commission by Jelle Maas
Vacancies Funding / Grants AMAZONIA Training Courses Conference calendar European Working Group on Amazonia (EWGA) Search Site map Netherlands Committee of IUCN (the World Conservation Union) has a new website at Home http://www.amazonia.net containing information on the activities of the European Working Group on Amazonia and its 250+ members. EWGA is mainly concerned with conservation of biodiversity and E-mail us natural resources of Amazonia and encourages information exchange on the pressing issues of land rights and demarcation, mining, logging, hydrocarbon exploration and production, and infrastructure development within the Amazon region.
EOS Amazon Project
This project is a NASA Earth Observation System (EOS) Interdisciplinary Investigation. The purpose of this research project is to understand the biogeochemistry, hydrology, and sedimentation of the Amazon River and its drainage basin (http://boto.ocean.
washington.edu/eos/index.html)
Amanaka'a Amazon Network
At http://www.amanakaa.org/ the Amanaka'a Amazon Network provides information on its activities and events. Amanaka'a Amazon Network is a non-profit environmental education organization with a mission: to support the peoples of the Amazon Rainforest in their efforts to live and work in harmony with their environment.
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BOLIVIA
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BOLFOR
At http://bolfor.chemonics.net/index.htm the Bolivia Sustainable Forest Management Project provides information on its activities, publications etc. The project includes three pilot research sites. Several permanent plots have been established to study forest growth. Forest ecology and impact of forest exploration are also monitored.
BRAZIL
EMBRAPA (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation)
Embrapa's mission is to generate, promote and transfer knowledge and technology for sustainable development of the agricultural, agribusiness and forestry sectors for the welfare of Brazilian society.
(http://www.sede.embrapa.br/english/).
INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE PESQUISAS DA AMAZONIA
http://www.cr-am.rnp.br/inpahome.html provides information in Portugese on the research activities of INPA in Manaus, Brazil. Some of the homepage is in English such as the SHIFT project (Studies in Human Impact on Forests and Floodplains in the Tropics). http://www.cr- am.rnp.br/shift/shifteng.htm
Base de Dados Tropical
The Base de Dados Tropical (Tropical Data Base - BDT) is a department within the Fundação Tropical de Pesquisas e Tecnologia "André Tosello", a private Brazilian non-profit foundation in São Paulo, Brazil, at: http://www.bdt.org.br/bdt/. This bioinformatics facilty provides access to their databases as well as many other sources.
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COLOMBIA
Tropenbos-Colombia Programme
The Tropenbos Foundation, in cooperation with the University of Amsterdam and the Alexander von Humboldt Institute at http://www.humboldt.org.co Projects and publications at http://www.tropenbos.nl/
tropenbos/colindex.html/
COSTA RICA
INBIO
The Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBio) in Costa Rica is a non-profit, socially oriented scientific institution. Their mission is to promote a new awareness of the value of biodiversity, and thereby achieve its conservation and use to improve the quality of life ( http://www.inbio.ac.cr/)
CATIE
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Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza is a scientific research station in Costa Rica with information in Spanish at: http://www.catie.ac.cr/catie/.
OTS
The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) is a non-profit consortium of 55 universities and research institutions in the United States and Latin America dedicated to providing leadership in education, research, and the wise use of natural resources in the tropics. To this end, OTS maintains three field sites in Costa Rica: La Selva Biological Station, Palo Verde Field Station, and Las Cruces Biological Station. More information on participating institutes and their activities, including research data at: http://www.ots.ac.cr/
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GUYANA
Tropenbos - Guyana Programme
The Tropenbos-Guyana Programme (http://www.tropenbos.nl/tropenbos/Guyindex) is a joint effort of Tropenbos, University of Utrecht, University of Guyana and other research institutes in both Guyana and the Netherlands.
Iwokrama
The Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation & Development is an autonomous international conservation, research and development organisation formed by agreement between the Government of Guyana and the Commonwealth Secretariat
http://www.sdnp.org.gy/iwokrama/.
PERU
APECA
APECA, Inc. (Association Promoting Education and Conservation of the Amazon) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of the Peruvian Amazon rain forest, its native peoples and their cultures. http://www.apeca.org/
Rainforest in Surinam
Excellent pages on the rainforest in Surinam can be seen at:http://www.euronet.nl/users/
mbleeker/index_e.html.
Flora Mesoamericana
The first major regional flora ever written in
Spanish, Flora Mesoamericana, is a collaborative effort of the Missouri Botanical Garden (http://www.mobot.org/) the Instituto de Biología (http://132.248.13.40/) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM, http://www.unam.mx/), the Natural History Museum, London (http://www.nhm.ac.uk/), and numerous specialists world-wide. The Flora describes, for the first time, all the vascular plants growing in the most southeastern states of Mexico (including the Yucatán
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Peninsula) and all the Central American republics. The results of the project are published at http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/fm/. The Internet version of Flora Mesoamericana (W3FM) is organized in a checklist format in which each botanical name has its own page that is linked to other pages.
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European Tropical Forest Research Network Newsletter 27
Other news About ETFRN National Focal Points CORAF FOREST MEETING Directory NTFP-BIOCULTURAL-DIGEST ETFRN Newsletter SFCW - SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY & CERTIFICATION WATCH: AN INDEPENDENT ETFRN Workshops ORGANISATION TO MONITOR FOREST CERTIFICATION WORLDWIDE ETFRN Publications 12th COMMUNITY FORESTRY COURSE Q & A Service URBAN FORESTRY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES - TREE CITY PHOTO COMPETITION Add links CORAF FOREST MEETING Topics Regions EU Commission The second General Assembly of the Forest Research Network of CORAF (West and Central Africa) was held in Yaounde, Cameroon, from 14 -16 December 1998, and hosted by IRAD (Agricultural Vacancies Research and Development Institute of Cameroon). Funding / Grants Training Courses Conference calendar Eighteen CORAF member countries were represented, from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Cape Verde and Mauritania. Two members representing East and Southern African Forest Search Organizations, and representatives of other regional and international institutions attended the Site map meeting: FAO, ETFRN, CIRAD/FORET, FORAFRI, CIFOR, IUFRO/SPDC , AAS and ICRAF. Home
E-mail us The General Assembly made decisions which should improve the future efficiency of the CORAF forestry Network:
-organization into three ecological zones (Sahel, Humid West and Humid Central Africa)
-in each zone, 3 to 5 research projects/ themes were identified. Proposals will be prepared by working groups involving international partners. Some of the research project/thematic working groups are already well identified with suggested coordinators or leaders, the others should set up be soon
-preparation of proposals for identified research projects/themes will be the main activity during the next two years. Project working groups and coordinators/ leaders will have a high degree of autonomy. It was agreed that external support could be provided directly to specific activities of the Working Groups, such as national and regional review of research results and activities on relevant themes, proposal preparation, formulation workshops, etc. These new working arrangements should ensure the participation and "responsibilization" of a larger number of scientists than in the past. The Network Coordinator will continue to play a very important role as a facilitator and champion of the Network within and outside CORAF. Many of the tasks he was expected to fulfil are now delegated to thematic working groups and their coordinators/ leaders.
-activities at a general level include: improvement of information and communication: email access, databases (institutions, scientists, projects/activities).
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The General Assembly elected an Executive Committee (Comité Directeur) :
Antoine Mountanda (Congo): Coordinator of CORAF Forest Network
Sibiri Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso): Coordinator for Sahel ecological zone
Mathurin Tchatat (Cameroon) : Coordinator for ecological zone of Humid Central Africa
Aimé Kadio Adjoumane (Ivory Coast) : Coordinator for Humid West Africa ecological zone
Scientific Partners :
Henri Félix Maitre (CIRAD-Forêt) Abdousalam Ouedraogo (IPGRI/ SAFORGEN, Rome)
Other international Partners :
Oudara Souvannavong (FAO Rome) Yapi Atse (IUFRO/SPDC)
For more detailed information, please contact:
Antoine Mountanda Coordonnateur Reseau Forêt CORAF c/o SNR B.P. 839 Pointe-Noire/ Congo-Brazza Tel: +242 940279/ 0905 Fax: +242 940905 Email: [email protected]
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NTFP-BIOCULTURAL-DIGEST
The NTFP Biocultural Digest is an international Internet list on non-timber forest product (NTFP) topics. NTFPs include: ferns, mushrooms, maple syrup, palms, gums and latexes, edible nuts, fragrances, medicinals, and more. Some definitions may even include fauna. NTFPs are harvested commercially and non-commercially in all the world's forests but their significance is seldom understood or considered in policy and management.
The purpose of the list is to promote the advancement of knowledge about human dimensions of worldwide NTFP use. The list currently has over 600 members representing more than 25 countries and includes natural and social scientists, temperate and tropical interests, governmental and non- governmental organizations, commercial and non-commercial sectors, policy makers, managers, harvesters, labor groups, and many other NTFP interests. The list is used to share research materials, event announcements, announce funding, job and training opportunities, relevant newsletters, and be
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used for topical discussions on NTFPs. The list is free, moderated, issued as a single, indexed e- mail, generally comes out about once a week, and all postings are available to participants through the online archives.
To subscribe send an email to [email protected], leave the subject line blank, in the body of the message put: subscribe ntfp-biocultural-digest
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SFCW - SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY & CERTIFICATION WATCH: AN INDEPENDENT ORGANISATION TO MONITOR FOREST CERTIFICATION WORLDWIDE
Sustainable Forestry & Certification Watch has been established to monitor and report on forest certification worldwide.
SFCW is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental, international organisation. Its mission is:
- to enhance the understanding of forest certification and its implications, particularly for sustainable forest management, international forest policy, trade in forest products and consumer choice; and
- to encourage the responsible stewardship of global forest resources by facilitating the identification and adoption of effective approaches to forest resource management and policy.
Forest certification is becoming an increasingly complex topic because of the growing number of forest certification initiatives worldwide and the intricate interplay amongst international environmental groups, forest industries, traders and retailers of forest products, governmental agencies and international organisations.
A key activity of SFCW is to publish the newsletter "Forest Certification Watch" which monitors and reports on the development of the various forest certification schemes worldwide; the effectiveness of certification as an instrument to improve forest management; the information provided to the general public and consumers through forest certification claims; the costs and benefits of various forest certification options; the impact forest certification can have on public forest policy, both domestically and internationally; and the possible role of government in this voluntary, market-driven, initiative.
The newsletter is intended for forest owners, the forest product industry, traders and retailers in forest products, governments, environmental groups, indigenous groups, workers unions, consumer associations and any other parties interested in staying abreast of forest certification developments world-wide.
In addition to publishing its newsletter, SFCW conducts studies, surveys and information sessions.
For further information, please contact:
Sustainable Forestry & Certification Watch PO Box 48122, Montreal H2V 4S8, Qc, Canada Tel: +1 514 273 5777, Fax: +1 514 277 4448
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Email: [email protected], Http://www.sfcw.org
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12th COMMUNITY FORESTRY COURSE
The Community Forestry Course held at the International Agricultural Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands, will take place this year from 19 September - 10 December (see International Calendar). Last year's new course programme was a great success.
The focus of the programme is on the policy and practice perspectives of community forestry. The programme looks into the reality of community forestry at the levels of policy and practice and at the interaction between the two, based on the evidence that one cannot work without the other. A central issue for discussion is how to make community forestry operational, taking into account policy formulation as well as planning and implementation practice.
The course continues to be named "International Course on Local Level Management of Trees and Forests for Sustainable Land Use", with decision making as the 1999 theme. In a context of diverse and conflicting interests of stakeholders, and of unequal power relations, decision-making is often the main stumbling block. This theme will be explored in the seminars during the first week and will receive special attention throughout the programme. Institutional and organisational change are important topics. Participants will prepare an action plan for their own work situation. Closing date for application is 1 June 1999.
For further information and a copy of the course brochure, please contact:
Reinout de Hoogh/Nan van Leeuwen International Agricultural Centre PO Box 88 6700 AB Wageningen, The Netherlands Tel: +31 317 490295/490661/490242 Fax: +31 317 418552 Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
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URBAN FORESTRY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES - TREE CITY PHOTO COMPETITION
$ 150 First Prize! $100 Second Prize! $50 Third Prize! All entries considered for publication in upcoming textbook on urban forestry in developing countries.
DEADLINE: 1 August 1999, Prizes Awarded: 1 October 1999
Themes:
1. Decline of Urban Forests, Trees and Related Vegetation
Example of decline and causes, eg, overharvesting for fuelwood, expending of land for housing and farming, pollution stress. Major challenges to maintain urban forests (eg vandalism, etc).
2. Benefits of Urban Forests, Trees and Related Vegetation
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Meeting direct basic needs, like food, fuel, fodder, and timber or environmental services like climate and air quality improvement, energy savings, reduction of global warming and carbon dioxide, noise abatement, water use, reuse and conservation, soil conservation, solid waste and land reclamation, and nature conservation wildlife habitat and biodiversity; or social benefits related to health, employment, education, recreation, aesthetic and landscape benefits, and community strengthening. Multipurpose benefits comprising more than one benefit.
3. Urban Forestry Planning
Public participation; strategy development; action planning; implementation, monitoring & evaluation; applying planning techniques.
4. Urban Forestry Management
Management issues and options; examples of good urban forestry practice (windbreaks, hedges, parks and greenways, greenbelts, plantations, trees in farming) at neighborhood and city levels.
Procedure: Airmail your photographic prints to:
Dr Guido Kuchelmeister
Tree City - Urban Forestry & Arboricultural Program Graf-Kirchberg-Strasse 26 89257 Illertissen Germany Tel. +49 7303 43776 Fax: +49 7303 42114 Http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/G_Kuchelmeister
or scan your photos and Email them as a file attachment to:
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European Tropical Forest Research Network Newsletter 27
Publications About ETFRN National Focal Points CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS: COLLABORATIVE MANAGEMENT Directory OF THE MANKOTE MANGROVE, ST LUCIA ETFRN Newsletter SUSTAINING THE YIELD ETFRN Workshops THE SILVICULTURE OF MAHOGANY ETFRN Publications MORE TECHNICAL NOTES ON TREE SEEDS FROM PROSEFOR Q & A Service SOUTH AMERICA MAP Add links NEW CENTRAL AFRICA JERS RADAR MOSAIC GERMPLASM FOR MULTIPURPOSE TREES: ACCESS AND UTILITY IN SMALL-FARM Topics COMMUNITIES Regions LEUCAENA A GENETIC RESOURCES HANDBOOK, TROP. FORESTRY PAPER NO 37 EU Commission APPROACHES FOR SUCCESSFUL MERGING OF INDIGENOUS FOREST-RELATED KNOWLEDGE WITH FORMAL FOREST MANAGEMENT: HOW CAN MODERN SCIENCE Vacancies AND TRADITIONS JOIN HANDS FOR SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT? Funding / Grants Training Courses RESEARCHING TROPICAL FORESTS CONTRIBUTIONS FOR MANAGEMENT Conference calendar COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF REFORESTATION IN THAILAND AND THE PHILIPPINES TROPICAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PAPERS NO 21: MILLET GROWTH IN Search WINDBREAK-SHIELDED FIELDS IN THE SAHEL Site map ACACIAS FOR AMENITY PLANTING AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION Home FORESTRY IN NAMIBIA 1850-1990, SILVA CARELICA 20 E-mail us top of page
CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS: COLLABORATIVE MANAGEMENT OF THE MANKOTE MANGROVE, ST LUCIA
(1998)
This is the first publication in a new case study series on community participation in forest management in the Caribbean, which is being produced by the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI). This case study documents an unusual partnership between a group of charcoal producers, government and non-governmental organizations, to sustainably manage a small mangrove in St Lucia, West Indies. This successful experiment, begun more than fifteen years ago, yields valuable lessons in collaboration, sustainable resource use, and tropical forest conservation.
This case study and future additions to the series are designed to increase the body of knowledge on collaborative approaches to wetland and forest management, and to be used in the training and promotion of these approaches.
Orders: Caribbean Natural Resources Institute, 113 Strand Street, Christiansted, St Croix, US Virgin Islands 00820. Tel: +340 773 9854, Fax: +340 773 5770, Email: [email protected] Price:
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US$7.00/EC$18.00 (inc p&p). Prepayment with cheques in US or Eastern Caribbean currency, or an international money order.
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SUSTAINING THE YIELD
Improved Timber Harvesting Practices in Belize 1992-1998
N M Bird (1998)
Logging of tropical rain forest and the associated timber trade of high-value trees such as mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) are contentious issues for conservationists. Yet these activities remain widespread and for many countries in the tropics are significant sectors of the economy. Mahogany was first cut from the tropical rain forests of Belize 300 years ago and logging continued since that time subject to few controls. As a result, the available stock of mahogany is now a small fraction of its former amount. This publication describes the results of a 6-year programme aimed at introducing a forest management system for Belize to replace unsustainable practices. Key elements of this programme include:
-the establishment of permanent sample plots;
-investigating the impact of logging on the natural forest; and
-the evolution of sustained yield timber harvesting.
Sustaining the Yield is primarily aimed at forest managers - those people out in the woods who are working to change things for the better.
Orders: Write to: NRI Catalogue Services, CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8DE, United Kingdom. Quote ref. FY5. Price: £25.
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THE SILVICULTURE OF MAHOGANY
J Mayhew and A C Newton (1998)
Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) is one of the best-known and more valuable tropical timbers currently traded internationally. Concern has increased over the exploitation of mahogany, particularly as most timber is currently derived from natural forests which are not managed sustainably. Such concerns have resulted in an increased research effort focusing on the ecology of the species in natural forest. The potential of mahogany plantations as an alternative source of timber has received relatively little attention. However, evidence suggests mahogany may be a viable plantation species in many countries. The successful development of such plantations could make a major contribution towards meeting future demands for mahogany timber, and thereby help to reduce pressures on natural forest.
The main aim of this book is to produce a comprehensive account of mahogany silviculture, with a particular emphasis on plantations, by bringing together the findings of foresters and researchers from
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mahogany-growing countries around the world. There is a logical progression through the stages of seed collection, plantation establishment, maintenance, prediction of growth and yield, protection and management of both natural stands and plantations under suitable silvicultural systems. The book is an indispensable guide and reference for those involved in growing and managing mahogany and will also be valuable to ecologists and land managers as well as students of forestry.
Orders: CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8DE, United Kingdom Tel: +44 1491 832111, Fax: +44 1491 829292, Email: [email protected]. Price: £25 (US$45).
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MORE TECHNICAL NOTES ON TREE SEEDS FROM PROSEFOR
November 1998
PROSEFOR, financed by DANIDA, is the forest tree seeds project of CATIE, Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Enseñaza, in Costa Rica. The project publishes a series of technical notes, in Spanish, on forest tree seeds. The notes summarise information available on seed production and management for some of the most important species of Central America. Previous notes were announced in ETFRN News, 22, 23, 25 and 26.
No 46 Ochroma lagopus SW.
No 47 Cedrela tonduzii C.DC.
No 48 Rhizophora mangle C.DC.
No 49 Cordia dentata Poiret
No 50 Colubrina arborescens (Mill.) Sarg.
No 51 Caesalpinia velutina (Britton & Rose) Standley
No 52 Anacardium excelsum (Britton & Rose) Standley
No 53 Calycophyllum candidissimun (Vahl.) DC.
No 54 Magnolia Yoroconte Dandy
No 55 Abies guatemalensis Rehder
Orders: Proyecto Semillas Forestales del CATIE (PROSEFOR), CATIE 7170, Turrialba, Costa Rica. Tel: +506 556 1933, Fax: 506 556 7766
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SOUTH AMERICA MAP
The TREES project has completed the task of preparing a 1:5,000,000 scale vegetation map of tropical South America. The map is derived from coarse resolution (NOAA-AVHRR 1 km) satellite data acquired in 1992 and covers all the countries surrounding the Amazon basin. The objective of the map is to document the dense humid forest extent (both lowland and upland) at a continental
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scale. The satellite data was used to map three broad classes of vegetation dense humid forest, fragmented forest and non-forest. Ancillary topographic data was used to divide the dense humid forest class in to lowland, sub-montane and montane forests. The areas deemed as non-forest were given broad land-cover classes using the UNESCO (1981) vegetation map of South America. In an area of rapid change the TREES map gives a relatively up-to-date view of the forest cover, exhibiting a higher spatial accuracy and precision than conventional maps. The map demonstrates the major regions of forest change over period from the mid 1970's to the early 1990's. The paper version of the map is currently being printed. A digital version is available from the TREES web site (http://www.mtv.sai.jrc.it).
Reference of the map:
Eva H.D., Glinni A., Janvier, P. and Blair-Myers, C. , 1998, Vegetation Map of South America at 1:5000 000, TREES Publications Series D2, Luxembourg, European Commission, EUR 18658EN.
Orders: Hugh Eva, Joint Research Centre Email: [email protected],
Fax: +39 0332 789960
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NEW CENTRAL AFRICA JERS RADAR MOSAIC
The JRC-TREES project is a major partner of the Global Rain Forest Mapping Project of the Japanese Space Agency (NASDA). The goal of the project is to produce a blanket radar map of the tropical rain forest ecosystems worldwide using the JERS-1 L-band SAR. A CD-ROM with the Central Africa radar mosaics at 100m resolution will be compiled soon by JRC (with NASDA funding and NASA-JPL collaboration). Data were acquired at two periods: February 1996 and November 1996. It constitutes the first-ever high resolution multiseasonal coverage of the entire Congo river basin. TREES is looking at the use of the mosaic for: i) mapping of inundated forests and savannahs and ii) the use of rapid forest area estimates. A first version of the dataset is available at:
http://southport.jpl.nasa.gov/GRFM/cdrom/africa/AFR3/1stpage.htm
For more information contact:
Gian-Franco Degrandi
Joint Research Centre
Email: [email protected]
Fax: +39 0332 789073
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GERMPLASM FOR MULTIPURPOSE TREES: ACCESS AND UTILITY IN SMALL-FARM COMMUNITIES (ODI Research Study)
E Cromwell and A Brodie with A Southern (1996)
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Increasing resources are being devoted by international and national research institutes to collecting germplasm from multipurpose tree species (MPTs), and selecting from it to provide better MPT germplasm for developing countries. But to date little work has been done to find out what role small- farm communities - the ultimate end users of the research - want MPTs to play within the farming system, what attributes MPTs need to have in order to be useful to farmers, and how better MPT germplasm can best be disseminated to them.
In this book the authors report on the situation in communities in 3 different countries where MPTs are being actively promoted: Honduras, where many MPT species are within their native range; Malawi, where a number of exotic MPTs have been recently introduced; and Sri Lanka, where some exotic MPTs such as Gliricidia sepium have been in use for a long time.
The authors describe how 'improved' MPT germplasm is incorporated into existing farming systems, and the broad patterns of exchange and use of indigenous and new tree germplasm within the case study communities. A number of problems are highlighted; the aim is that these findings will provoke further research in this area so that the relevance of current MPT improvement work to small-farm communities can be further enhanced.
Orders: ODI, Publication Sales, Portland House, Stag Place, London SW1E 5DP, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 171 393 1600, Fax: +44 171 393 1699, Email: [email protected].
(93pp 1996 ISBN 0 85003 236 9 paper)
Price: £10.95. Also available in Spanish.
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LEUCAENA A GENETIC RESOURCES HANDBOOK
TROPICAL FORESTRY PAPER NO 37
by Colin E Hughes
Most foresters and agronomists who work in the tropics will, at some point, have set eyes on a Leucaena tree. In the majority of cases they will have observed a tree of one of a handful of genetically uniform varieties of one species, Leucaena leucocephala. It is a ubiquitous, small, seedy tree that occurs in most tropical countries. Whether that tree is viewed as a valuable asset providing basis products to smallholder farmers, as a salvation for sloping lands, as the 'alfalfa of the tropics' to commercial beef producers, or cursed as an undesirable alien weed depends on the perspective of the observer. Leucaena means different things to foresters, agronomists, pasture production scientists, veterinarians, botanists, ecologists and conservation biologists. However, for almost all, Leucaena leucocephala. Apart from those who live in the native home of Leucaena in Mexico and Central America and a small number of specialists, few are fully aware of the diversity of species which exists within the genus. There are 22 recognised species. They span 40 degrees of latitude and 2500m in altitude and grow under varied climatic and soil conditions. They have diverse sizes, tree forms, growth rates, site adaptabilities, phenologies, wood and leaf qualities and weedy attributes. They are highly crossable and form hybrids with ease. Several show high levels of within species diversity. All this diversity has remained poorly known and, until recently, largely untapped. The aim of this Handbook is to document what is known about diversity within Leucaena and present is as a whole to a wider audience.
The Handbook includes chapters on systematics, species characteristics, ethnobotany and indigenous domestication, hybrids, germplasm collections, seed collection, processing, storage and pretreatment,
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conservation, domestication, identification and a series of species accounts which include more detailed information, along with full botanical drawings and distribution maps for all species in the genus. The Handbook is softbound, 280 pages in length, and includes 8 pages of colour plates and 68 figures.
Orders: Colin Hughes, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RB, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 1865 275000, Fax: +44 1865 275074, Email: [email protected]. TPF 37 is available in English and Spanish and a limited number of copies are available FREE to institutions in developing countries, as part of the DFID Forestry Research Programme's policy of disseminating research results as widely as possible. For institutions and individuals in developed countries, the price is £20 plus p&p, with a 50% discount for students.
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APPROACHES FOR SUCCESSFUL MERGING OF INDIGENOUS FOREST-RELATED KNOWLEDGE WITH FORMAL FOREST MANAGEMENT: HOW CAN MODERN SCIENCE AND TRADITIONS JOIN HANDS FOR SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT?
Louise van Leeuwen (1998)
This study was carried out by Louise van Leeuwen on a freelance basis in cooperation with the National Reference Centre for Nature Management of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries of the Netherlands.
The author identified a number of more or less successful interactions between formal and informal management systems. Analysis revealed that there is far wider potential for indigenous knowledge than is currently applied or integrated in projects and programmes. Methods and tools to improve such integration already exist but need to be developed beyond the stage of awareness-raising and problem identification. It is important to create a favourable institutional, legal and attitudinal environment
Note: This document is based on literature study and interviews, and should be seen as a basis for further work rather than as a final product. The author and the National Reference Centre for Nature Management of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries of the Netherlands would welcome receiving comments and additions.
Orders: Werkdocument IKC Natuurbeheer nr W-165 from IKC-N (Publications), PO Box 30, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Tel: +31 317 474801, Fax: +31 317 427561.
Price: Dfl 10; free of charge to requesters outside the Netherlands.
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RESEARCHING TROPICAL FORESTS : CONTRIBUTIONS FOR MANAGEMENT
(1998)
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This bilingual (French/English) brochure, published by the French Department of the Environment, the French Institute for Overseas Research (ORSTOM) and UNESCO/MAB French Committee, highlights valuable results from research projects launched from 1989 by the French Department of the Environment, within the SOFT programme (Soils and Tropical Forests). This programme aimed to address questions arising from the rapid deforestation and soil degradation taking place in tropical countries. Fundamental information is displayed, to understand the mechanisms implied in tropical ecosystem functioning, which is necessary to manage and preserve those endangered habitats. Special attention was given to long term consequences resulting from any political decision, as revealed by the overall fieldwork presentation.
Orders: Martine Atramentowicz, Ministere de l'Aménagement du Territoire et de l''Environnement, Direction Générale de l'Administration et du Developpement, 20 avenue de Sëgur, 75302 Paris 07 SP, France. Tel: +33 1 42 19 20 21, Fax: +33 1 42 19 17 71.
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COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF REFORESTATION IN THAILAND AND THE PHILIPPINES
A Niskanen (1998)
This PhD study was published by the University of Joensuu Faculty of Forestry. The thesis summary appears as Research Note No 71. The study applies a step-wise cost-benefit analysis in assessing the financial and economic profitability of reforestation in Thailand and the Philippines. The economic profitability analysis is based on the Little-Mirrlees-Squire van der Tak approach. Economic profitability estimates are compared with the monetary values of selected environmental impacts of reforestation: soil erosion, nutrient loss in harvesting, transpirational water consumption and carbon sequestration. Applied environmental valuation methods are based on assessments of the relationships between physical changes with and without reforestation and the shadow prices of the effected tradable commodities.
As a result of the study, carbon sequestration and transpirational water consumption are found to be the most important environmental economic impacts of reforestation. Even a relatively low shadow price for carbon sequestration, 25 USD per megagram, improved the economic profitability of reforestation by 2-60%. In Thailand, the economic profitability of industrial reforestation with eucalyptus decreased by approximately 30% after the valuation of the transpirational water consumption. The highest environmental values were observed when fast-growing species were used in reforestation.
The assessed economic profitability estimates and results obtained from the environmental impact valuation can be used as a basis for more specific economic analyses of reforestation, or as preliminary stand-alone results for aiding decision-making in planning the plantation forestry practices in the case-study countries. The results may have strong policy implications in favour of plantation forestry in land use planning in these countries for two reasons. Firstly, it seems that the economic profitability of reforestation is higher than the financial profitability, and secondly, environmental impact valuation may considerably improve the economic profitability of reforestation when the plantations are established on grasslands.
Keywords: financial, economic, profitability, environmental impact, valuation, grassland
Orders: Dr Anssi Niskanen, European Forest Institute, Torikatu 34, 80100, Joensuu, Finland Tel: +358 13 252 0235, Fax: +358 13 124 393, Email: [email protected]
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TROPICAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PAPERS NO 21 : MILLET GROWTH IN WINDBREAK- SHIELDED FIELDS IN THE SAHEL
Martina Mayus (1998)
In the Sahel, wind erosion contributes significantly to impoverishment of sandy soils and land degradation. A possible control measure is the implementation of windbreaks, that may additionally ameliorate crop microclimate. However, windbreaks also compete with crops for limited resources (water, nutrient and light). Assessment of competitive effects is complicated, due to difficulties in determining below-ground competition and interference with other tree-crop interactions. A model has been developed to investigate tree-crop interactions considering spatial and temporal heterogeneity. Field data collected in Niger and the model analysis showed that yields were reduced in the vicinity of the windbreak, due to competitive use of resources. Water competition between trees and crops is likely to occur early in the growing season, when available soil water is restricted to the upper horizons and transpiration of the windbreak is higher than that of the crop. Neither horizontal flow nor reduced evaporation could compensate for tree water use. Under moderate water stress, light reduction was of similar or major importance. The agroforestry experiment showed a slight increase in overall yields of the windbreak protected crop, probably due to protection against wind erosion, improved water availability and small microclimate modifications in the centre of the fields.
Orders: Wageningen University and Research Liaison Office, PO Box 9101, 6700 HB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Tel: +31 317 484293, Fax: +31 317 484292
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ACACIAS FOR AMENITY PLANTING AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
APAFRI (1998)
This first publication from APAFRI constitutes the proceedings of the Third Meeting of the Consultative Group for Research and Development of Acacias (COGREDA), held 28-29 June 1994 in Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Acacia is becoming a very important species in forestry plantation, agroforestry, amenity planning and environmental conservation.
During the meeting, the role of acacias for amenity plantings and environmental conservation was examined. Specifically, it reviewed the extent to which acacias are being used in the Asia-Pacific region for these purposes and identified relevant research needs.
Orders: APAFRI Secretariat, Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel: +6 03 9488318/9486101,
Fax: +6 03 9432509/9532514,
Email: [email protected]
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FORESTRY IN NAMIBIA 1850-1990
SILVA CARELICA 20
Antti Erkkilä & Harri Siiskonen (1992)
The physical and socioeconomic environment of Namibia is discussed with special reference to the northern parts of the country. The former forest policy and forestry activities as well as forest legislation, including protected tree species, are put into historical perspective. Major forest research publications are reviewed and analysed. The advancement of deforestation in Owambo was studied by using archival sources, carrying out field studies and analysing Landsat satellite images. The other trend, bush encroachment, is dealt with from the historical perspective. This study includes a comprehensive bibliography.
Orders: Exchange: Joensuu University Library, PO Box 111, SF-80101 Joensuu, Finland. Sale: Toivo & Toivo, Student Union Bookshop, University of Joensuu, Niskakatu 4, SF-80100 Joensuu, Finland.
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