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International Tropical Timber Organization INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER ORGANIZATION ITTO PROJECT PROPOSAL TITLE: UPGRADING AND STRENGTHENING OF THE NATIONAL FOREST STATISTICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM IN VENEZUELA SERIAL NUMBER: PD 196/03 Rev.1 (M) COMMITTEE: ECONOMIC INFORMATION AND MARKET INTELLIGENCE SUBMITTED BY: GOVERNMENT OF VENEZUELA ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: SPANISH SUMMARY The National Forest Statistical Information System was launched in 1992, to plan, coordinate and supervise the statistical databank and develop automatic systems to process such data. Today the system is centralized in the General Directorate for Forest Resources of the Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources based in Caracas, since this is the regulating body for the country's forest activity. The system consists of four modules, i.e. National Production in Forest Reserves and Woodlots, National Production outside Forest Reserves and Woodlots, Forest Industries and International Trade. These are set up in a LAN (local area network) with four workstations. The General Directorate for Forest Resources uses the system as an operational, consultation and activity record tool. Although it has not been possible to coordinate and integrate information management with other government, non- government and private sector institutions handling statistics, and although it does not cover information collected from priority areas such as Barinas, Bolívar, Monagas and Delta Amacuro, which are the states with the largest forest cover and number of protected areas under the Forest Reserve, Woodlots and Protected Forest Areas classification, the system has been found to be beneficial and has gained increasing credibility from forest sector stakeholders in the country. Having recognized the weaknesses of the present national information system, it is necessary to take the maximum advantage of existing expertise in order to strengthen the system. This will begin with a diagnosis to identify the need for information, improving relationships with information-generating institutions to strengthen existing modules and develop new modules on Forest Plantations, Non-timber Forest Products, Forest Management, Forest Management Monitoring and Control, and Local Communities, as well as four regional nodes in the states of Bolívar, Barinas, Delta Amacuro and Monagas, with a view to decentralizing the gathering, processing and validation of forest statistical information in the relevant institutions in a timely manner. Therefore, this project proposal aims to strengthen the National Forest Information System with the various institutions generating information in the country, integrating forest information under the same statistical technical and technological criterion so that it may serve as support and measure of the contribution made by the forest sector to the social, economic and environmental development of the country. EXECUTING AGENCY: GENERAL DIRECTORATE FOR FOREST RESOURCES (DGRF) OF THE MINISTRY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES (MARN) DURATION: 24 MONTHS BUDGET AND POSSIBLE Source Contribution in US $ SOURCE OF FINANCE: ITTO 384,265 Government of Venezuela 154,737 TOTAL 539,002 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I. CONTEXT 1. Origin 2. Sectoral Policies 3. Programmes and operational activities PART II. THE PROJECT 1. Project objectives 1.1 Development Objective 1.2 Specific Objective(s) 2. Justification 2.1 Problems to be addressed 2.2 Intended situation after project completion 2.3 Project strategy 2.4 Target beneficiaries 2.5 Technical and scientific aspects 2.6 Economic aspects 2.7 Environmental aspects 2.8 Social aspects 2.9 Risks 3. Outputs Specific Objective 1 - Output 1 - Output 2 - Output 3 - Output 4 - Output 5 4. Activity 4.1 Output 1 Activity 1.1 Activity 1.2 Activity 1.3 Activity 1.4 Activity 1.5 Activity 1.6 4.2 Output 2 Activity 2.1 Activity 2.2 Activity 2.3 Activity 2.4 4.3 Output 3 Activity 3.1 Activity 3.2 Activity 3.3 Activity 3.4 Activity 3.5 Activity 3.6 Activity 3.7 Activity 3.8 4.4 Output 4 Activity 4.1 Activity 4.2 4.5 Output 5 Activity 5.1 Activity 5.2 Activity 5.3 Activity 5.4 -1- 5. Logical framework worksheets 17 6. Work plan 19 7. Inputs required by outputs/activities with estimated costs 20 7.1 Overall project budget by activities 24 7.2 Annual Budget by source – ITTO 25 7.3 Annual Budget by source – Executing Agency/Government 26 7.4 Consolidated Budget by source of finance 27 7.5 Consolidated and annual project budget 28 7.6 Project Personnel 29 PART III: OPERATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS 1. Management Structure 30 2. Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation Activities 30 3. Future Operation and Maintenance 31 PART IV: TROPICAL TIMBER FRAMEWORK 1. Compliance with ITTA 1994 Objectives 32 2. Compliance with ITTO Action Plan 32 ANNEXES A. Profile of the executing agency 33 B. Terms of reference of key staff 35 -2- PART I. CONTEXT 1. ORIGIN The National Forest Statistics Information System was launched in 1992 within the Forest Planning and Economics Directorate of the Venezuelan Forest Service with the aim of planning, coordinating and supervising the statistical databank and developing automatic systems to process such data. In recent years forest statistics have shown a high dispersion and duplication of human effort, out of date and insufficient statistical information systems, lack of relevant and timely information required for decision-making purposes and to serve as the basis for the design and implementation of economic policies, programs and strategies aiming at the social welfare of the population. Despite the above limitations, forest sector statistics have been prepared on the basis of a centralized National Information System, based at the General Directorate for Forest Resources headquartered in Caracas. The information gathering mechanisms of the Directorate are subjected to validation, upgrading and extension, and also publish information every year as follows: Forest Statistics Yearbook, Forest Statistics Newsletter and Directory of National Forest Industries. Although other systems are under development in other similar entities, these have not been incorporated into the National Forest Statistics Information System, which offers not only the possibility of recording, manipulating and presenting information of statistical interest, but also data and information inherent to the various roles and competences of the Ministry for the Environment regional bodies. It must be stressed that in preparing this project proposal, due consideration was given to the last Training Seminar on Tropical Forest Statistics and Tropical Timber Production and Trade (PD 25/95 Rev.1 (M)), which allowed the exchange of expertise and knowledge on other forest information systems (FIS), financed by ITTO. Account was also taken of Decision 8 (XXI) of ITTO, which, among others, ratifies the guidelines for FIS development and for the preparation of projects related to these systems, Project PD 34/00 Rev.2 (M) Extension and Strengthening of the National Forest Statistics Information System of the Government of Bolivia and finally, Project PD 73/89 (M,F,I) Training Workshops for ITTO Project Design, which provided training on the format established by that Organization for Project and Pre-Project proposals. This proposal, therefore, is aimed at strengthening the National Forest Information System with the various institutions generating information in the country, integrating forest information under the same statistical technical and technological criterion so that it may serve as support and measure of the contribution made by the forest sector to the social, economic and environmental development of the country. 2. SECTORAL POLICIES The Venezuelan Forest Resource conservation policy is based on environmental policy principles as provided by the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Articles 127 to 129), whereby the attention of the State will be addressed to the defence and conservation of natural resources, guiding utilization and use mainly for the collective benefit of all Venezuelans. The National Plan for Territory Management regulates these aspects as a function of principles such as: forest ecosystems management and conservation, acknowledgement of the multiplicity of forest uses and functions, appreciation of the latter as an important element of the national economy, the need to launch rational activities to maintain and increase forest cover through reforestation and forestation of unproductive, deforested and degraded lands, employment and social welfare generation, harmonization of national and external demand with resource supply. -3- The Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), through the General Directorate for Forest Resources, which is the policy-making body for forest issues in Venezuela, is in charge of supervising, monitoring and implementing management plans developed in the forest areas of the country, and is also in charge of the national forest statistics information system. The Organic Law for Territory Management provides (article 15) a theoretical definition of areas subjected to a special management scheme in accordance with special laws. The Environment Organic Law (article 3, paragraph 3 and article 15), Central Administration Organic Law (article 36, paragraph 11), relating to the establishment, protection, conservation and improvement of Areas under Special Administration (ABRAE), with a view to ecological balance and collective welfare of the population. The Soils and Water Forest Law in force since 1966, states that forest resources
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