Summary

Mangrove forests in Panama account for approximately 5.6 % of the natural forest cover, i.e. some 170,000 hectares, the majority o f which are located along the Pacific Coast. These mangrove forests are being subjected to constant pressures that lead to their degradation and destruction, mainly from aquaculture, agriculture and cattle raising as well as forest product harvesting. The proposal builds on the results of the project PD 128/91 Rev.2 (F) “Management, Conservation and Development of the Mangrove Forests in Panama”.

The project aims to ensure the collective conservation and sustainable management of 4,000 hectares of mangrove forests along the Panamanian Pacific Coast and to implement rehabilitation activities on 1,250 hectares of degraded lands to maintain the contribution of this ecosystem to the welfare of the Panamanian society, particularly the communities that directly depend on these natural resources.

The expected outputs may be described as follows:

· 4000 hectares of mangrove forests under sustainable management including a harvesting system based on a management plan;
· Mangrove-dependent communities trained and using sustainable management and harvesting techniques for mangroves;
· 1,300,000 seedlings of mangrove and other multiple-use forest species produced by community nurseries;
· 600 hectares of mangrove forests rehabilitated through enrichment planting and reforestation with mangrove species; and
· 650 hectares of degraded forestlands allocated to agroforestry and reforestation with multiple-use forest species.

Summary

This project proposal is a follow up to the recommendations of the ITTO Technical Mission to Indonesia regarding rehabilitation of watersheds in Indonesia and the study by JICA on the development of Lake Toba catchment area. The project aims at contributing to the improvement and sustainability of ecosystem functions of the Lake Toba Catchment Area (LTCA) through prevention of continued forest clearing and promotion of rehabilitation programs on degraded forest and land in the area. Its specific objectives are to: i) reduce the rate of forest clearing for agricultural uses through community development; and ii) improve accomplishment of forest and land rehabilitation programs surrounding the LTCA through capacity strengthening of the local institutions.

The expected main outputs of the project include:

· Land productivity surrounding the catchment area increased;
· Options for household sources of income available;
· Forest and land rehabilitation models with forest prevention techniques established;
· Models of land tenure conflict resolution established and adopted by target groups;
· Local community awareness of ecosystem functions improved;
· Appropriate technologies for forest and land rehabilitation in the TLCA identified;
· Community groups trained on appropriate technologies for forest and land rehabilitation; and
· Coordination among local stakeholders strengthened in implementing forest and land rehabilitation programs.

Summary

Mangrove and other coastal forests provide livelihood for human communities living in and around the forests and protect coastal areas against tsunamis and other natural hazards including cyclones, typhoons, floods and abrasion. However, no manuals or guidelines are available to date for the restoration of mangroves and other coastal vegetation damaged by tsunamis and other natural hazards.

This pre-project aims to contribute to the safety of lives of people living in coastal areas of the Asia-Pacific region against natural hazards through rehabilitation and sustainable management of mangroves and other coastal forests. Its specific objective is to re-evaluate the role and functions of mangroves and coastal forests in mitigating natural hazards in the Asia-Pacific region and to assist countries in the region to facilitate rehabilitation efforts aimed at reducing future hazard damages.

The expected main outputs of the pre-project are:

· Scientific report of Regional Meeting compiled and published;
· Comprehensive manual with practical guidelines on the restoration of mangroves and other coastal forests in the Asia-Pacific region compiled and published; and
· New project proposal for the rehabilitation and sustainable management of mangroves and other coastal forests damaged by natural hazards in the Asia-Pacific region prepared.

Summary

The Chinese Central as well as Local Governments in the tropical regions of China have devoted great efforts on improving tropical forest management and resulted in increased forest cover. However, forest degradation, fragmentation and modification continue taking place for various reasons including the lack of understanding on the tropical forest landscapes by stakeholders, lack of mechanism for stakeholders to participate in forest management decision making, poverty, lack of appropriate approaches and demonstrations, lack of financial incentives for forest landscape restoration and weak national policy.

This project aims to promote landscape restoration, sustainable management of tropical forests and sustainable development in the tropical region of China. Its specific objectives are to: i) train and apply the ITTO Manual on Restoring Forest Landscapes in tropical China; and ii) to demonstrate and extend the application of the ITTO Manual on Restoring Forest Landscapes in the tropical region of China.

The expected main outputs of the project include:

· Training on the ITTO Manual on restoring forest landscapes conducted;
· Application of the ITTO Manual in the Lingshui County of Hainan monitored and reported;
· Forest Landscapes Restoration (FLR) Plan for Lingshui County developed;
· Three demonstration plots for FLR in Lingshui County established and operational;
· Application of the ITTO Manual trained and extended; and
· Project Technical Reports published and disseminated.

Summary

This project was formulated pursuant to ITTC Decision 4(XXIX) in order to develop a framework of cooperation between ITTO and ATO for the promotion and application of ATO/ITTO principles, criteria and indicators (PCI) for the sustainable management of African forests, which could eventually lead to credible assessment and certification systems. The specific objectives of the project are to establish key elements of adequate capacity:

(i) to implement ATO/ITTO PCI at national level in the African Member countries of ITTO.
(ii) for effective regional-level cooperation through the ATO to support individual Member countries to implement the ATO/ITTO PCI.

Under Phase I of the project, the draft ATO/ITTO PCI were drafted for endorsement by both organizations and some 160 relevant forestry staff in 7 countries were trained in their implementation. An auditing framework for African forests was also developed. More than 100 trainers were trained to conduct audits based on the ATO/ITTO PCI at the forest management unit level. National PCI/certification standards were developed in 5 countries, collection of data on PCI was undertaken in 9 countries, improvement of national monitoring/auditing frameworks commenced in all 10 African producer countries, and ATO’s advisory and dissemination capacity in relation to PCI was enhanced.

Phase II Stage 1 is now on-going and will continue efforts to extend all of these activities to all ITTO producer members in Africa. Phase II Stage 2 and Phase III, if funded and implemented, will result in all 10 countries having nationally agreed and internationally accepted C&I/auditing frameworks which will serve as the basis for independent certification for countries desiring or requiring this.

Summary

While the extent of illegal logging in Guyana may not be as high as reported in some other countries, it does have a significant impact on Guyana’s relatively small and developing economy as well as having environmental and socio-cultural consequences.

Two of the main reasons for the sub-optimal detection of illegal logging and other activities are a) the extensive and largely inaccessible forest estate which is difficult to effectively monitor and b) a manual log-tracking system that has tendencies for errors and does not facilitate rapid transfer of information and data.

The project proposed will address these two issues by a) developing an integrated and dynamic GIS that will incorporate satellite image analysis, illegality indicators and a legality database and b) by establishing a bar-code log-tracking system that will feed into a central database linked to a national wide-area network. This will allow for near real-time transfer of data and the availability of tracking information for the regulatory agency and operators in the private sector.

The outcome of the project will be an environment where detection of illegal logging and other non?compliant activities will be dramatically improved in the forest, in transit and at point of sale. This scenario will see improved detection of illegal activities acting as an effective deterrent resulting in a marked reduction in the incidence of illegal activities. The beneficial knock-on effects of this will be registered in the national economy, local communities and the forest environment.

Summary

This project is an output of the pre-project PPD 93/04 (M) “Analysis of the Current Status and Development of a Project Proposal for the Strengthening of the Forest Statistical Information Centre in Honduras”.

The project is aimed at strengthening the FOREST STATISTICS AND INFORMATION CENTRE – CIEF of the National Forest Administration – Honduran Forest Development Corporation (AFE-COHDEFOR), through the establishment of an integrated forest statistics and information system that will increase the contribution and relevance of the forest sub-sector to the country’s social, economic and environmental development, while at the same time strengthening local, regional and institutional capacities. The project will standardise and integrate methodologies, procedures and instruments for the collection, storage, analysis and dissemination of information in the following thematic areas: Economic Development, Protected Areas and Wildlife, Social Forestry System, Forest and Environmental Protection, Technical Auditing, and Management & Administration. An integrated system is expected to be developed based on a forest statistical and spatial database with Windows and Web interfaces. Training will be provided for the personnel in charge of the establishment and operation of the system and for system users, on the basis of partnerships to be established between public and private institutions and professional/trade organisations. A technological platform will be established to support the system in information technology and telecommunication aspects.

Summary

This 3-year project will follow-up and build on the results of project PD 52/99 Rev. 2 (I) “Development and Extension of Preservation Technology of Tropical Plantation Timber”, which contributed to the establishment of a preliminary foundation in terms of knowledge and technology for the development of an environmentally sound wood preservation industry in South China. The importance of an appropriate wood preservation industry has been recognized by key stakeholders in South China since wood treated with preservatives can increase the service life of wood products.

The project aims to develop environmentally sound timber preservative technologies and establish a treated timber products monitoring system in South China to ensure the efficient use of plantation timbers. It also focuses on the establishment of a demonstration plant for treated timbers with preservatives in South China to increase safety and quality control of wood preservatives. At the end of the project, it is expected that a treated timber products monitoring system is established and in functioning and that the Guangdong Forest Research Institute can service the wood industry in South China as a leading regional technical center.

Summary

The objective of the project is to organize an international Conference with the view to assessing the current state of research and development, innovation and other technological developments in the global forest and wood product industries, and determine policies and strategies to further increase innovation and its uptake to continually improve the sustainability and competitiveness of the forest and wood products industries. The Conference will also provide opportunity for building on existing collaborative and strategic alliances as well as developing new ones to assist the transfer of technology, skill and knowledge. The Conference will include a special Session on tropical timbers. Two major outputs are expected from the project:

· The Conference proceedings describing the current state of innovation in the global industry, as well as new developments in knowledge, products and processes;
· The development of new alliances/partnerships, which could assist on-going innovation, its adoption and transfer among the global industry.

Summary

The pre-project aims to determine the training needs of the builders’ woodworks industry in the Philippines. Specifically, it shall determine the current level of skills in the builders’ woodworks industry and compare it against standards required for each job/position. Target beneficiaries of the project are builders’ woodworks associations and micro- and small enterprises engaged in the manufacture of builders’ woodworks who are not affiliated with any industry association. Industry associations and government agencies engaged in manpower development shall be tapped to provide inputs in the formulation of standards and identification of training needs.

Summary

This project proposal is the outcome of Pre-project PPD 30/01 Rev.1 (F): "The Study and Demonstration of the Management of Secondary Forests in Tropical Regions for the Purpose of Enhancing Economic and Ecological Benefits".

Pre-project PPD 30/01 Rev.1 (F) documented the decade-long neglect of Chinese tropical secondary forests (TSF), which was due to the perceived low economic and ecological value. This project is aimed at accelerating sustainable forest management by better management of the secondary tropical forests in China. Its specific objectives are: a) to establish demonstration forests in two selected provinces for the study and demonstration of management of TSF including planted trees and non-timber forest products and b) to train forestry staff and villagers in TSF rehabilitation techniques and to publish and disseminate the project results.

The expected outputs of the project are:

· Fifty superior timber, rattan and medicinal plant species selected and trial planted;
· Nurseries established and operational;
· TSF management models and demonstration plots of plantation established on 4,263 Ha. of land area in two provinces;
· One hundred government staff and villagers trained in TSF rehabilitation techniques; and
· TSF management techniques published and disseminated

Summary

This project proposal is a follow-up to project PD 10/97 Rev.1(F) "A Sustainable Management Model in the Iwokrama Rain Forest", which was completed in April 2004. Two important outputs of this project were the management level forest inventory and the marketing and utilization study. Based on this information, the project was able to complete the technical-economical feasibility study and the draft sustainable forest management plan.

The development objective of the new project is to address the lack of knowledge and general misunderstanding about the sustainable nature of forest activities and the profitability of forest utilization in the Iwokrama Forest. The Project is one of the main components of a strategic action plan developed by the Iwokrama International Center with a view to sustainable forest development.

Specifically, the project aims to a) manage the area in order to maximize net revenue from the sustainable production of forest goods and services, while developing local employment and training opportunities and providing capacity building and technology transfer programmes for the Amerindian communities; and b) demonstrate, through effective monitoring, how the approach is delivering lasting ecological, economic and social benefits to local, national and international communities.

Major outputs upon project completion include:

· Training and technology transfer for the implementation of the forest management plan and silvicultural programmes; and
· The implementation of monitoring programmes so as to assess the social, economic, and environmental impacts of sustainable forest management activities on the local Amerindian communities.

Summary

Coastal flood forests and mangrove forests in Mexico have traditionally been subject to inadequate management. The Gulf of Mexico region is not an exception to this rule, mainly due to the lack of knowledge on these ecosystems, particularly with regard to their management, restoration, structure and functioning, as well as the economic/ecological and social benefits that can be derived from them and associated mechanisms such as payment for environmental services.

Thus, the overall objective of this project proposal is to contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of mangrove forests and coastal flood forests in the Gulf of Mexico. More specifically, it intends to develop criteria with the participation of local communities for the management of mangrove forests and flood forests in the central coastal plains of Veracruz, Mexico.

Major outputs include:

· An environmental and socioeconomic diagnosis and valuation of environmental services provided by mangrove forests, flood forests in the central coastal plains of Veracruz;
· A compatibility analysis between the current use of mangrove forests and flood forests and their natural potential for production activities, as the basis for management policy allocations; and
· Pilot production projects for the sustainable use of mangrove forests and coastal flood forests.

Summary

The accelerated deforestation process in the Mexican tropics has prompted forest authorities to promote reforestation and commercial plantation establishment activities, mainly through two ambitious programs involving local communities, PRONARE and PRODEPLAN, with a view to increasing forest cover, reducing pressure on natural forests and ensuring the supply of the forest industry. The main species used in these programs are red cedar (Cedrela odorata) and mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), which, unfortunately, are heavily attacked by Meliaceae borers, jeopardizing the success of the programs and discouraging local communities involved in these programs.

The overall objective of this project proposal is to achieve the sustainable production of tropical timber in Mexico through the development, implementation of an integrated system for the management of pests that are currently limiting the establishment of cedar and mahogany plantations in the Mexican tropics. More specifically, the proposal envisages developing and promoting an integrated shoot-borer management system for young Meliaceae plantations, including silvicultural management, to enable forest producers in the Yucatan Peninsula and Veracruz to successfully establish plantations for the sustainable production of tropical timber, and further designing an operational model for the development and adoption of technologies for the management of community Meliaceae plantations with the direct participation of producers and technicians in the establishment of 12 demonstration plantations in the Yucatan Peninsula and Veracruz.

Major outputs include:

· A better understanding by producers of the Meliaceae plantation systems and the management of phyto-sanitary problems;
· The validation and transfer of direct control methods for H. grandella and C. yucatanensis, assessing their cost-effectiveness and performance;
· Monitoring of damage and pests to collect information on the biology of Meliaceae borers in the study area (population fluctuations and environmental factors regulating Hypsipyla grandella and Chrysobothris yucatanensis life cycles);
· The validation and transfer of silvicultural and agroforestry practices to minimise the damage caused by Meliaceae borers;
· Identification and propagation of Meliaceae borer-resistant genotypes;
· 12 demonstration plantations established in an equal number of rural communities and under various environmental conditions in the states of Yucatan, Campeche, Quintana Roo and Veracruz, showcasing the silvicultural practices required for the sound management of Meliaceae plantations, using producers' plantations and the most direct and cost-effective technology transfer approach; and
· 120 producers and 24 forest technicians trained annually on plantation establishment, silvicultural management and integrated management of Meliaceae borers.

Summary

The Republic of Congo presently lacks a transparent system for monitoring forest management and harvest at the national and Forest Management Unit (FMU) level. The proposed project will complement project PD 176/02 Rev.1 (F), implemented by GFW/WRI and CNIAF to use GIS and remote sensing techniques to support uniform enforcement of forestry legislation throughout the country, by creating a system of high resolution, aerial digital imagery for forest management, planning and audit and by providing greatly improved data on a region in the southwest of the country where continuous cloud cover prevents effective remote sensing via satellite. Furthermore, the proposed project will build on an ITTO-funded project PD 272/04 Rev.2 (F) in which the Direction Générale de l'Economie Forestière is developing national criteria and indicators for the sustainable management of Congo forests based on ITTO criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management. The high-resolution imagery that will result from this project can be combined with criteria and indicators derived through the DGEF effort to create a system for cost-effective monitoring and evaluation of sustainable forest management in the country.

The project aims at contributing that the Congolese export timber resources provide sustainable income through improved access to markets concerned with raw material originating from sustainable forest management. Specifically, it intends to make available a transparent forest monitoring system for the sustainable management of Congo forests at the national and Forest Management Unit levels.

Main expected outputs are:

· High-resolution aerial digital imagery over south-western Congo forests and concessions captured;
· Digital images for tactical planning in forest management planning, comparison of planned and actual harvest rates and forest charges valuation processed and interpreted;
· Methodology for use by stakeholders in biodiversity monitoring and habitat assessment developed and evaluated;
· Timber volumes using digital 3D imagery to monitor legal logging volumes, detect illegal logging and providing a transparent basis for revenue assessment measured;
· Biomass and carbon stocks in a pilot area using digital 3D imagery determined by the Project Steering Committee measured; and
· Training in all aspects of image capture, processing and interpretation is provided to national authorities.

Summary

Forest sector institutions in Guatemala, both at the government (regulation, control and incentives) and private (industrialisation and marketing) levels have to date made individual efforts to generate reliable information. Even though these efforts have been very significant, these are not consistent with a comprehensive policy that could provide statistical information at the national level. Thus, these individual efforts can resolve temporary internal problems within the respective institutions but are not based on a long-term vision and often produce conflictive information by applying different methods of data evaluation.

Against this backdrop, this project seeks to become a binding agent, identifying primary information-generating institutions in the country. The project will introduce state-of-the-art information technologies so that the regional units of the institutions in charge of forest control may have monitoring tools and adequate communications infrastructure available. These units report directly to their headquarters in the Capital of the Republic and currently rely, in many aspects, on the information generated by these central offices. Under this new scheme, the responsibility for forest management monitoring and control will be decentralised to these units, thus ensuring an expeditious information gathering process and appropriate processing of the information collected, as the situation varies from one region to the other. As a complement to data collection activities, statistical analysis tools will be developed to study the performance of forest activities through the harvesting, industrialization and marketing stages, making use of the quality information generated by the system. These tools will help improve the basis for decision and policy making in the forest sector. Furthermore, the data generation procedures of private agencies will be strengthened through their managing bodies so that these can actively participate in the production of reliable statistics at the national level.

This will ensure the achievement of the development objective i.e. "To contribute to the social and economic development of the country by providing timely, easy-to-access and reliable information on forest activities as the basis for the development of policies to promote national and foreign investments in the sector".

Summary

The benefits of Tree Resources outside Forest (TROF) are not sustainable in Thailand due to several causes including unknown quantity and dynamics of TROF, increasing and uncontrolled harvesting of TROF, encroachment, illegal logging and uncontrolled harvesting of non-timber forest products in the natural forests. If these issues are not addressed, the TROF cover and diversity and forest cover in forest lands will continue to decline and reduce benefits of TROF and natural resources which eventually may result in overall decline in the timber economy and livelihoods of the rural people.

This project aims at contributing to the sustainable development of TROF to provide maximum socio-economic and cultural benefits to the rural people of Thailand. Its specific objective is to develop and promote procedures to establish current and easily accessible baseline inventory and monitoring information on TROF cover, diversity and abundance, to support national policy decisions on TROF sustainable management and land use and economic development planning at the sub-district level.

The expected main outputs of the project are:

· TROF uses and formation defined;
· TROF inventory and monitoring information system developed; and
· TROF inventory and monitoring information and sustainable management promoted.

Summary

This project proposal was built on the findings of ITTO Project PD 42/00 Rev.1 (F) "Training of Trainers for the Application of the ITTO and the National Criteria and Indicators of Sustainable Forest Management at Forest Management Unit Level" that was completed in 2004. Project PD 42/00 concluded that the absence of performance monitoring system at forest management unit level is one of the major causes of the slow progress in the achievement of sustainable forest management in Indonesia. The internal monitoring of SFM performance system produced by Project PD 42/00 will enhance the effectiveness of the control of the government over the forest concessions if it is adopted by the forest management units.

This proposed project is aimed at accelerating the implementation of SFM practices by member companies of the Association of Indonesian Forest Concession Holders (APHI). Its specific objectives are: i) to improve the capability of human resources in the application of the SFM Performance Internal Monitoring System developed under Project PD 42/00 Rev.1 (F), and ii) to promote government policy on the application by FMUs of Internal Monitoring Performance System (IMPS).

The expected main outputs of the project are:

· Design of human resource training formulated and implemented;
· FMUs and government officers trained in the use of IMPS and its Guidelines;
· The IMPS and Guidelines disseminated and implemented; and
· Government policy on IMPS application formulated and effected.

Summary

This pre-project proposal arises from the recommendations of the Thirtieth Expert Panel on the project proposal PD 378/05 (F) "Controlling the Dieback and Decay Phenomenon in Plantation Species". Teak and tree species of the Terminalia genus (Fraké and Framiré) make up the bulk of the timber potentials present in forest plantations established by SODEFOR since 1966. These species account for around 60% of plantation areas and generate over 70% of SODEFOR's revenue. Unfortunately, these species have been affected for a few years by a dieback phenomenon whose causes and control treatment have not yet been fully grasped.

The pre-project aims at providing support to conservation and sustainable management policies for the plantation forests of Côte d'Ivoire through the integrated pathogens control of the dieback and decay phenomenon in reforestation species. The specific objective of the Pre-project is to develop a baseline study of the dieback phenomenon for Teak and Terminalia spp in Côte d'Ivoire.

Expected outputs are: (1) a baseline study report outlining research approaches to solutions available; and (2) a project proposal for the integrated control of dieback and decay phenomena for Teak and Terminalia spp formulated.

Summary

The Forest Management Bureau (FMB), a staff bureau of the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), is mandated to provide support for the effective protection, development, occupancy management, and conservation of forest resources and forestlands. In view of this mandate, the FMB provides technical support and assists in the monitoring of all forestry-related projects, programs and activities that the DENR is presently pursuing.

As a critical factor in the efforts of the FMB to support all of these activities, there is a need to provide all the necessary information to all the different actors for the effective implementation of these projects. There is a need to manage the tremendous quantity of data that is generated from all of these activities and to transform the data into meaningful information that will provide support for the effective supervision and monitoring of all projects and planning of future interventions.

This project is a major output of the pilot project on the "Development and Implementation of the Pilot Project of the Forestry Statistics Information System" [PD 41/99 Rev.1 (M)]. The information system modules have already been developed and implemented in the Central Office and the two Pilot Regional Offices. Unfortunately, the outputs of the two pilot regions do not reflect the forest situation in the entire Philippines. Therefore, the rest of the DENR Forest Management Services in the regional, provincial and community offices of the DENR must adopt and implement the Forestry Information System (FIS) to produce countrywide statistical and geographic information on the forest situation.

Summary

Of all the tropical hardwood species, teak (Tectona grandis) is probably one of the most well-known and high-value timbers with its extremely good dimensional stability and aesthetic qualities. Teak occurs naturally in India, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand but it has been established in plantations throughout tropical Asia, as well as in tropical Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. The current project proposal was prepared based on the recommendations of the International Conference on "Quality Timber Products of Teak from Sustainable Forest Management" held at Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, Kerala, India, 2-5 December 2003.

This 12-month project aims to organize a regional workshop in 2007 for critical appraisal of the problems of processing, marketing and trade of quality products of teak from plantations with the participation of major Asian teak producer countries, viz. India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand as well as the importing countries. The regional workshop is expected to: (i) provide a clear understanding of country situation among the project partners; (ii) identify the lead countries in areas of research and training as well as networking to cater to the needs of international stakeholders; and (iii) establish working relationships among the project partners in Asian Region.

Summary

This pre-project builds on PPD 19/01 Rev.1 (I) "Sustainable Management of Non-Timber Forest Products in Congo’s Forest Under Sustainable Management". The study should investigate the potential and socio-economic benefits that could accrue from sustainable development of these resources in Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, and Central African Republic. The results of the study, which will be shared at a regional meeting, could lead to more sustainable use of resources of adding-value and more effective economic exploitation.

Besides timber products, the Congo Basin's forest ecosystems include an important volume of non-timber forest products (NTFPs). NTFPs are of considerable economic interest for Cameroon, Congo (Republic of), Gabon, and Central African Republic as a whole, and for the local population living in forest areas in particular, due to the fact that NTFPs contribute to the improvement of their living conditions. However, appropriate data or information on these products as a resource base are not available at present.

Summary

It is estimated that the total installed production capacity of the Indonesian wood-processing industry was around 30 million m³ in 2000, comprising 19 million m³ in sawmill and 11 million m³ in plywood industries. However, wood-processing efficiency levels are low compared to neighbouring countries. This 36-month project will increase the contribution of the wood-processing sector to the national economy through the application of appropriate processing technologies, based on the findings and recommendations derived from an ITTO pre-project (PPD 57/02 Rev. 1 (I)) and an ITTO technical mission in 2001.

Specifically, the project will improve national skills and capabilities in processing technologies and in product quality management and identify product standards, quality/grading requirements and technical regulations for sawnwood products in international markets. Twelve training courses in sawing and other basic woodprocessing techniques, product quality management, and industrial management will be organised for practitioners, managers and supervisors of woodworking factories. The project will also facilitate the establishment of small-scale training and testing facilities in existing wood-processing factories in Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and eastern provinces.

Summary

The first stage of Phase I of this project finalised the draft ATO/ITTO Principles, criteria and indicators for the sustainable management of natural tropical forests (PCI) for endorsement of both organisations, trained 60 relevant forestry staff in three countries in their implementation, and developed an auditing framework for African forests. Over 60 trainers able to conduct audits based on the ATO/ITTO PCI at the forest management unit level were also trained in the first stage. This second stage will include activities to strengthen country reporting using the PCI, further national training on the PCI and auditing framework, development of national PCI/certification standards in five countries, the collection of data on PCI in ten countries, improvement of national monitoring/auditing frameworks in ten countries, and enhancement of ATO's advisory and dissemination capacity in relation to PCI.

Summary

This pre-project will: evaluate the present situation regarding capacities, human and material, and data collection, processing and analysis methods; propose a strategy for the implementation of an operational system able to provide forestry statistics on a permanent basis; organise a workshop for the dissemination and validation of the strategy; and formulate a project proposal for the enhancement of the national forestry statistics system.

Summary

This project is designed to further develop the STATFOR computerised forest management/monitoring system developed in three earlier ITTO projects [PD 36/92 (M), PD 15/98 Rev.2 (M) and PD 56/00 Rev.3 (M)] and which is also being used in a large World Bank project currently under way in Gabon. The project will create a new module for STATFOR called TRANSFOR which will extend the bar-code monitoring system developed earlier for logs to processed products like sawnwood and veneer. This will assist the government in monitoring the movement of logs from felling to final product, thereby improving tax revenues and laying a foundation for the eventual certification of exported timber products.

Summary

The objective of this pre-project is to increase recognition of the economic worth of environmental goods and services, particularly those derived from natural and planted forests. This involves: the identification of forest services in Guatemala; the development of basic guidelines for the promotion and regulation of such services; the formulation of a proposal for the definition of the most suitable compensation mechanisms; and the strengthening of the Department of Forest Externalities (Departamento de Externalidades Forestales – DEXFO) of INAB to help create national technical capacity.

Summary

This 36-month project aims to increase the contribution of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to forest-sector earnings in East Kalimantan through the establishment of small-scale NTFP industries focusing on medicinal plants from the forests and a marketing system of NTFPs. Project activities will focus on the establishment of plantations for selected NTFPs on both state and private lands, as well as on the development of technical guidelines for the sustainable management of NTFP resources, the establishment of appropriate NTFP processing techniques and the development of small-scale NTFP industries and business plans.

Summary

The objectives of this project are to develop guidelines and standards for Ghanaian timber and wood products and to promote their application with a view to enhancing quality control and the efficient utilisation of wood products. The project will help initiate a wood-quality control process with the participation of all stakeholders for a number of identified wood products. The project will also strengthen the capability of the Ghana Forestry Commission to undertake such reforms and to ensure their efficient implementation and monitoring. The main project outputs will include: the review of policy and legislation for the standardisation of wood products; the identification of market requirements for standards and priority areas for grading rules; the development of standards for selected wood products; and the strengthening of institutional arrangements and governance for standards development.

Summary

This project is designed to produce technical data on the characteristics of selected plantation-grown timbers from Malaysia. Expected outputs include: harmonised procedures for the evaluation of basic properties of plantation species; technical information and data on anatomical, physical, chemical and mechanical properties of test timber species as well as their sawing, machining, veneering, drying and bonding properties; and the technical evaluation of value-added products such as doors, windows and solid flooring boards.

Summary

The objective of this twelve-month pre-project is to provide training and education at all levels of the forestry sector to effectively implement China's Code of Practice for Forest Harvesting. Activities include the launch of the Code; a review of existing training approaches and institutional frameworks for training through study tours to Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia; the organisation of a workshop to discuss and select training approaches; the development of training modules and manuals; and the development of strategies for expanding the training program.

Summary

This three-year project aims to promote the sustainable use and management of promising NTFPs in order to contribute to the social and economic development of the project sites in Fangcheng District, Shansi and Ninming counties, Guangxi region. The project will conduct field surveys of the three promising NTFPs to determine their distribution, production, processing and markets and establish three demonstration plots of 100 hectares each to enhance the participation of local communities in managing and utilising the selected NTFPs
on a sustainable basis. Training courses will be organised for key stakeholders involved in promoting NTFPs and the project will also establish three community-based cooperatives to
promote selected NTFPs at the project sites.

Summary

This 36-month project will promote the sustainable management of NTFP resources by improving social, economic and legal aspects of NTFP production and trade. Specifically, the project will: help strengthen the local management of NTFPs in four provinces (Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Thom, Mondulkiri and Rattanakiri) through the development of villagers' associations in collaboration with local communities and NGOs; and build local capacity to better integrate local villagers with NTFP markets by addressing socioeconomic and legal aspects of existing market channels.

Summary

The objective of this project is to organise an international conference with a view to assessing the current state of research and development, innovation and other technological developments in the global forest and wood product industries.

Summary

This project will assist the achievement of sustainable forest management through appropriate forest utilisation and the establishment of a collaborative forest management system. Its specific objectives are to: restore degraded primary forests, manage secondary forests and rehabilitate degraded forest lands in Dusun Aro, Jambi, following the ITTO guidelines; and establish a collaborative forest management system with the full participation of local stakeholders.

Summary

The development objective of this project is to encourage and support the large-scale planting of indigenous timber tree species. Its specific objectives are to establish seed orchards of selected indigenous tree species and promote the planting of such species.

Summary

Social conflicts between government and the communities living around the Eto-Lilicope gazetted forests have led to a series of problems affecting the forests including arson, encroachment, illegal logging and the illegal allotment of land for sale to third parties. This project will contribute to the sustainable and participatory management of the Eto-Lilicope gazetted forests with a view towards sustainable timber production. Specifically, it will create a framework of cooperation for the consensual and sustainable management of the gazetted forests.

Summary

This project will assess and promote sustainable forest management in Congolese forests. It will develop a set of national criteria and indicators (C&I) adapted to Congo's specific conditions based on ITTO's C&I in order to assess the progress towards SFM at both the national and forest management unit levels. It will also develop national expertise in SFM auditing procedures through training.

Summary

This project will produce a revised, updated and comprehensive world mangrove atlas that can also be used as a tool for decision-makers to improve mangrove conservation and development.

Summary

This project will contribute to the sustainability of forest management practices in the western Amazon and the achievement of ITTO's Objective 2000 through the establishment of a regional training centre for sustainable forest management in the State of Acre. This centre will take advantage of the existing facilities in the Antimary State Forest and will focus on improving the knowledge and capacities of forest operators and forest workers at the forest management unit level. It will also put in place several dissemination mechanisms oriented towards the promotion of sustainable forest management practices not only for the Brazilian states of Acre, Amazonas, Rondonia and Mato Grosso but also for the Bolivian departments of Pando and Beni and the Peruvian department of Madre de Dios.

Summary

This pre-project will: i) assess the current status of the implementation, operation and equipment of municipal forest units (MFUs) in the Chaco and Yungas regions (Andean and Bolivian-Tucuman regions) in order to establish and effectively operate these MFUs as required by the Forestry Law; and ii) develop a project proposal in accordance with the needs of the MFUs and forest stakeholders in these two eco-regions, prioritising activities and outputs and providing a methodology for the provision of technical support for forest management.

Summary

Fire arising from farming, hunting and other rural-based, income-generating activities is considered the single most important threat to the integrity of Ghanaian forests. The underlying causes are poverty, a lack of awareness related to forest-fire impacts and a lack of strong legislative measures to prevent burning. This project will promote the contribution of efficient community-based fire management to forest restoration and sustainable management in fire-prone areas in Ghana.

Summary

This project constitutes the second phase of PD 15/00 Rev.2 (F). It will continue efforts to conserve biodiversity in the Emerald Triangle Protected Forests Complex situated between Thailand, Cambodia and Lao PDR in the framework of a transboundary biodiversity conservation area. Its specific objectives are to: i) strengthen cooperation between Thailand, Cambodia and Laos for biodiversity conservation in the transboundary conservation area; ii) enhance protection measures and monitoring of the biological resources along the tri-national borders; and iii) strengthen the involvement of local communities and stakeholders to ensure the sustainable use and management of natural resources both in community enclaves within the conservation areas and in the buffer zones.

Summary

This pre-project collected supplementary and updated information on the dynamics of the forest sector in Peru with a view to formulating a project proposal to support the continued implementation of the country's National Forest Strategy for 2003–2021, which was previously developed on the basis of a participatory approach.

Summary

There has been strong interest in afforestation and reforestation (AR) projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol since this treaty took effect on 16 February 2005. This project will promote AR-CDM project activities through public-private partnerships, linking host developing countries with industrialised investor countries.

Summary

This project, which awaits a small amount of funding, will develop a transparent forest monitoring system for the sustainable management of Congolese forests at the national and forest management unit levels. Outputs will include: high-resolution aerial digital imagery over southwestern Congo forests and concessions; digital images for tactical planning in forest management planning; a comparison of planned and actual harvest rates and forest charges valuation; a methodology for use by stakeholders in biodiversity monitoring and habitat assessment; the use of digital 3D imagery to monitor legal logging volumes, detect illegal logging and provide a transparent basis for revenue assessment; and training in all aspects of image capture, processing and interpretation.

Summary

This pre-project will a) collect and analyse the information necessary to evaluate the underlying causes of forest degradation in West Kalimantan; and b) define an overall strategy based on the ITTO Guidelines for the restoration, management and rehabilitation of degraded and secondary tropical forests for a community-based pilot project for the ecological rehabilitation and socioeconomic management of degraded forests in West Kalimantan.

Summary

This pre-project will promote the sustainable development of mangrove resources. Specifically it will: 1) select integrated management models suitable for increasing income and improving living standards of farmers so as to promote socioeconomic and environmental development and protect mangrove resources; and 2) formulate a project proposal for the full development of integrated models of sustainable mangrove forest management in China.

Summary

Guatemala has made great strides towards sustainable forest management in recent years. To strengthen and complement this process, a marketing strategy is needed to encourage the use of lesser-known timber species and timber products. This project will help in this by, among other things, strengthening local capacity to create and maintain support mechanisms for marketing, communities and industries.

Summary

This project will propose an optimal marketing model for environmental services of tropical and other forests in China and start the marketing process of China's forest environmental services. Specifically it will produce: 1) a background report on the marketing of environmental tropical forest services in China; 2) a website presenting up-to-date information on the project and relevant topics; 3) the first (experimental) agency of market trading of forest environmental services in China; and 4) two real examples of environmental services' trade.

Summary

This project will promote the participation of Gabonese nationals in the sustainable management of forest concessions and the further processing of timber at the domestic level. It will identify and initiate a mechanism to promote and finance forest logging and timber-processing activities by Gabonese-owned small- and medium-sized forest industries. At project completion, conditions will have been created to promote the emergence of national operators fully involved in the sustainable management of forests and industrial timber-processing.

Summary

As part of a program to document the 7,000 useful plants of tropical Africa arranged into 16 commodity groups, PROTA will make a synthesis of all existing but dispersed knowledge on the estimated 900 timbers of tropical Africa ('commodity group 7') in two parts. The first part will deal with the 350 'timbers of tropical Africa' from the more important timber-producing taxonomic families.

Summary

This 36-month project will collect and make available comprehensive information on the structure and composition of small-diameter logs (SDL), which genetically and environmentally never exceed 50 cm in diameter but may account for as much as 56% of forest structure, and their potential use in biocomposite products. The research will be carried out on a plot of 300 hectares of lowland tropical rainforest to be established at PT Alas Kusuma Forest Concession Holder, West Kalimantan. The research will focus on the physical, mechanical and chemical properties of SDL, with sample collection and wood identification.

Summary

This pre-project will formulate a project proposal for the development of forest industrialisation centres according to zoning priorities, production lines and financial needs for implementation, and review the national legal and financial framework that would provide the necessary supporting mechanisms for the development of such centres.

Summary

This project will help improve the quality of plantation teak through the initiation of a tree improvement program. Its specific objectives are to: 1) establish seed production areas and seed orchards for the production of high-quality seed; and 2) strengthen the tissue culture laboratory and produce high-quality clonal plantlets through tissue culture and shoot-cutting from hedge gardens.

Summary

This project aims to optimise the contribution of the forest resources of Trinidad and Tobago to national economic development through consensus-based sustainable forest management, as recommended by an ITTO diagnostic mission in 2002. Specifically, the project will focus on the revision of the current forestry sector framework and strategy with a view to enhancing human resource skills and the knowledge base in order to provide adequate national expertise for a multipleuse, multi-stakeholder-managed forest resource base.

Summary

This project will promote sustainable forest management on degraded forest lands through the involvement of local communities in rehabilitation activities to generate social, economic and ecological benefits. Its specific objectives are to: 1) rehabilitate degraded forest lands through participation of local communities following the ITTO Guidelines for the restoration, rehabilitation and management of degraded and secondary tropical forests; and 2) strengthen the local institutional capacity to rehabilitate degraded forest lands.

Summary

This project constitutes the fourth phase of an ITTO project that commenced in 1993. Its specific objectives are to: 1) strengthen sustainable management capacity of the Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary and Batang Anai National Park at the government and local community levels; and 2) enhance conservation and research, including through the strengthening of the transboundary initiative with Indonesia.

Summary

This is the second phase of an ITTO project that commenced in 2000. It will concentrate on the adaptive implementation and monitoring of the wildlife, socioeconomic and reduced-impact-logging components of the forest concession management plan. It will extend wildlife conservation and integrated management to cover 21,000 km² of the Ndoki-Likouala landscape in the Republic of Congo.

Summary

This project will promote African participation in the CDM by convening an international workshop designed to improve the understanding of CDM mechanisms and identify opportunities, constraints and challenges for African timber-producing countries. The workshop will particularly involve key stakeholders in the CDM, international institutions involved in forestry activities in Africa, energy companies, the private sector, government policymakers and NGOs, and scientific institutions in Ghana.

Summary

The 'modular management system in the Brazilian Amazon region' is part of an IMAZON program for supporting the adoption of forest management in the region and is embedded in a wider initiative in partnership with Friends of the Earth to expand the supply of legally obtained timber in the Amazon region. The overall objective of this project is to increase the area under sustainable forest management in the Brazilian Amazon region through the adoption of the modular system of implementation and verification by 20 small- and medium-sized timber companies.

Summary

The tropical forests and forest genetic resources (FGR) in the Asia Pacific region are threatened by deforestation, forest fragmentation and habitat degradation as a result of unsuitable harvesting of forest products and the conversion of forests for agriculture and urban development. Although the importance of FGR conservation is recognized in many countries of the Asia Pacific region, the establishment of national FGR programmes has been hampered by a lack of commitment by policy-makers and limited national capacity to conserve and manage FGR.

The project aims to develop national and regional capacity to conserve and sustainably use FGR and share information among the countries of tropical Asia through the following specific objectives:

a) To develop a regional programme to coordinate national activities and support selected countries in their efforts to implement conservation of FGR for sustainable use; and

b) To develop a regional mechanism and capacity for sharing information on and use of FGR in seven selected Asian member countries of ITTO.

Expected outputs of the project include:

 Regional Programme for FGR conservation and sustainable use developed;
 Support provided to countries to implement FGR conservation programmes;
 Status and information of FGR conservation and use documented in the countries;
 Regional mechanism for FGR information sharing established;
 Capacity building needs for FGR conservation developed; and
 Human resources and institutional strengthening increased.

Summary

Panama has approximately 3,364,591 hectares of natural forests, of which about 350,000 hectares can be considered to be production forests. However, the high deforestation rate and the use of ineficient forest harvesting techniques are threatening to deplete the forest resources in the country.

The objective of this pre-project is to formulate a project proposal aimed at capacity strengthening with a view to promoting the sustainable management of Panama's forests so as to ensure, in the medium and long terms, the national supply of Panamanian forest products to meet the requirements of the international tropical timber market and thus provide the possibility of increasing exports and of generating foreign exchange earnings, while promoting the conservation of natural forests.

Summary

Available forest fire statistics indicate that annually, more than 3000 forest fires occur in the tropical regions of China damaging more than 10,000 hectares of forest areas. The high forest fire occurrence can be attributed to the insufficient fire prevention capability, which in turn is due to the lack of adequate mechanisms for fire detection and monitoring as well as for forest fire data collection, management and information dissemination.

The project is aimed at reducing the frequency of forest fires and forest losses from fire, strengthening forest protection and accelerating the sustainable development and utilization of tropical forests in China. Its specific objectives are: a) to improve forest fire monitoring and fire danger forecasting in the experimental and demonstration area in Guangdong Province; b) to promote forest fire management at the provincial, district and county levels through the establishment of TropFireMAS (Tropical Forest Fire Monitoring and Management System Based on Satellite Remote Sensing Data in China) and through demonstrations and technical training.

The main outputs of the project are:

· TropFire MAS is established and operational;
· Operation and application of TropFire MAS are demonstrated;
· Technical training is conducted;
· Public education and training on fire prevention are conducted;
· Technical Reports on TropFireMAS are published and disseminated.

Summary

The Condor Range Region has unique features because of its biodiversity, endemism and conservation status. During the first Phase of the Project "Bi-national Conservation and Peace in the Condor Range Region, Ecuador – Peru" (PD 2/00 Rev.2 (F)), two Conservation Areas were officially established (the Condor Ecological Reserve and the Condor Shuar Territory), their management plans were designed and both areas were integrated into a framework of land use management and general master plans for conservation and sustainable development and municipal environmental management plans. Joint cooperation was strengthened between conservation stakeholders and institutions in charge of biodiversity conservation such as the Ministry for the Environment of Ecuador and INRENA of Peru.

This Second Phase envisions to continue contributing to the consolidation of the peace and integration process between Peru and Ecuador through the coordinated management of natural protected areas and promotion of the sustainable development of indigenous and rural communities in the Condor Range Region in accordance with environmental and sustainable development policies of Ecuador and the guidelines, criteria and indicators promoted by ITTO.

Specifically, it aims to ensure: a) the conservation of the National Protected Areas (NPAs) and the sustainable management of the natural resources in the Condor Region, with a view towards promoting the sustainable development of the Shuar communities, through the implementation of prioritized sub-programs contained in the management plans for the Condor Shuar Territory and the Condor Ecological Reserve; and b) the joint implementation of mechanisms and instruments for coordinated conservation management between Ecuador and Peru.

Major outputs include: i) the establishment of an institutional structure with technical and administrative capabilities in the Condor Range Shuar Territory to protect and biologically monitor the NPAs and implement the integrated management plan for the sustainable development areas; ii) a management system for timber harvesting, hunting and fishing in place for the Shuar Territory; iii) the joint implementation of mechanisms and instruments for coordinated conservation management between Ecuador and Peru; iv) the enhancement of community skills as regards land use and natural resource management practices; and v) a bi-national environmental services proposal for the Condor Range.

Summary

The ecosystems of the Condor Mountain Range and the traditional forest utilisation systems applied by indigenous communities in the buffer area are threatened by inappropriate uses of natural resources. The Peace Treaty signed between Ecuador and Peru led to the establishment of an ecological conservation area in the Condor Mountain Range Region in order to promote the integration of the peoples of these two countries and conserve their environment. The first phase of this Project (PD 3/00 Rev.2 (F)) was implemented within this framework and its major outputs were the establishment of a Sub-System of Natural Protected Areas in the Condor Range Region and the development of its corresponding master plans.

The second phase of the project envisions to continue contributing to the consolidation of the peace and integration process between Peru and Ecuador through the coordinated management of natural protected areas and promotion of the sustainable development of indigenous communities in the Condor Range Region in accordance with the National Strategy for Natural Protected Areas (NPAs) and with the Guidelines, Criteria and Indicators promoted by ITTO.

Specifically, it aims to conserve the flora, fauna and landscapes of a representative sample of tropical mountain forests within the context of indigenous Awajun-Wampis cosmovision through the implementation of the master plan for the Condor Range National Park and, at the same time, enhance the capacity of indigenous communities for the sustainable management of the natural resources of the Condor Range Region.

Condor Range National Park protected and biologically monitored; ii) participatory management of the Condor Range National Park by native communities, local authorities and civil society; iii) joint implementation of transboundary ecosystem research programmes by Ecuador and Peru; iv) joint implementation of mechanisms and instruments for coordinated conservation management between Ecuador and Peru; and v) the re-establishment of cultural links between the Shuar (Ecuador) and Awajun-Wampis (Peru) indigenous communities and an improvement in their land use and natural resource management practices based on sustainability criteria.

Summary

Almost 90 percent of Papua New Guineans live in rural areas and rely directly on forest resources for their livelihoods. As the owners of forest resources, local communities are a critical element of any process that aims to address the management and sustainable use of forest resources and overall development within PNG. Therefore, there is a need to work directly with local forest owners throughout PNG to develop approaches to the conservation and sustainable management of their forests to meet the livelihood needs of current and future generations.

This project aims to assist local forest owners in the Adelbert Range and throughout PNG to conserve and sustainably manage their forests to meet the livelihood needs of current and future generations. Its specific objective is to assist local forest owners in the Adelbert Ranges to effectively use conservation agreements and management plans to conserve and sustainably manage their forests and meet their livelihood needs.

The main outputs of the project are:

· Six Almami clans are sustainably managing their forest resources in Adelbert Range according to agreed management plans, incorporating conservation priorities, with support from the local level government; and
· The demonstrated conservation and sustainable forest management approach implemented to assist local resource owners and partners.

Summary

The status of Mexico's rainforests is a reflexion of the imbalance between forest and agricultural and livestock development; the latter characterised by the accelerated rate of deforestation. Furthermore, there has been a lack of suitable silvicultural methods to manage these forests which, in general, have been treated inadequately.

This project proposal seeks to strengthen, encourage and evaluate sustainable tropical forest management in Mexico, with a view to achieving the ITTO's Objective 2000 and the Mexican Government's Forest Development Plan so that international trade may be based on raw materials originating from forests managed and certified according to criteria and indicators that strengthen the sustainability of this resource.

Overall, the proposal aims to develop management programmes for the sustainable conservation and utilisation of tropical forests in the southeast of Mexico (Los Tuxtlas, Chimalapas, Selva Lacandona, Centla, Calakmul, Tekax, and Sián Kaán). More specifically, it envisions transferring knowledge to the Ejido communities that own tropical forest resources in these regions in order to develop and implement specific local C&I to evaluate and monitor the progress towards sustainable forest management.

Major outputs include the following:

· Diagnosis of forest resources in the tropical forests of the South-eastern Coastal Plains;
· Forest management evaluation processes tailored to Mexico's tropical forest conditions (society, legislation, economy, and environment); and
· Validated local C&I with a holistic view of ecological, economic and social systems required to evaluate tropical forest management.

Summary

Brazilian environmental legislation stipulates that 80% of the rural Amazon, excluding conservation areas along the rivers and in water catchments, should remain under forest cover. However, this legislation is hardly applied and deforestation is spreading rapidly, in particular in what has now been called the arc of deforestation that extends from Maranhâo to Tocantins. The main causes are ranching, uncontrolled timber and NTFP harvesting, slash-and-burn agriculture and, more recently, mechanized agriculture. It has been reported that 200,000 km2 of forest have been deforested and degraded in the last ten years; a significant proportion of such degraded lands eventually support secondary (regrowth) forests.

The objective of this project is to contribute towards the recovery of degraded areas on family-owned lands in the eastern Amazon through capacity-building among farmers in the project area, networking of partnerships involving farmers, scholar students, research institutions, and producers’ associations interested in the rehabilitation of degraded forests. The project will also include the establishment and monitoring of demonstration areas using various schemes and a review of current legislation with a view to reducing deforestation and promoting the rehabilitation of degraded lands. The project plans to involve 150 farmer families and to establish 20 demonstration areas, of which nine will be monitored in order to collect and process biophysical and chemical information.

Summary

This project proposal is a continuation of Project PD 137/02 Rev.2 (F) “Demonstration Plantation of Xantoxyllum rhetsa, Manilkara kauki, Alstonia scholaris and Wrightia pubescens to Promote Sustainable Bali Natural Forest” planned to be completed in July 2005. The main outputs of the first project include i) techniques for seed collection, vegetative propagation, production of planting materials and the establishment of genetic trials, ii) mechanisms for community participation, and iii) agroforestry models. However, the vegetative propagation techniques identified are only rudimentary in nature and require further examination and development. Likewise, the mechanisms for community participation and the agroforestry model that have been introduced will need further refinement prior to their replication in other regions of Bali.

The project aims at supporting the tree planting program of the Bali Provincial Government as a means to empowering local economy and improving the environmental conditions in Bali. Its specific objectives are: i) to identify suitable technology for production of high quality planting materials of selected Bali indigenous tree species, and ii) to support the establishment of approximately 2,500 Ha of plantations of indigenous species on degraded lands with community participation.

The main outputs of the project include:

· Appropriate technologies for producing quality planting materials of selected tree species developed;
· Established seed orchard maintained, growth data collected and analyzed;
· Technical guidelines on the appropriate technologies developed and disseminated;
· Forest land use plan updated;
· Community leaders trained;
· Quality planting materials produced and distributed;
· Approximately 2,500 Ha of indigenous tree plantation established and maintained;
· Developed agroforestry model refined and disseminated; and
· Plantation monitoring system developed and applied.

Summary

In Thailand the 26 December 2004 tsunami caused a lot of destruction of human life, property and economic infrastructure and environmental assets in six southern provinces along the Andaman coastline. This project will initiate a process for medium and long-term rehabilitation of the damaged coastal forests in that zone.

The development objective is to contribute to the long-term rehabilitation of the coastal forest resources. The specific objectives are: (1) to initiate a process of developing a community-based coastal resource management to enhance the contribution of forests to ecological security and (2) to promote bamboo use in tsunami affected areas in order to meet medium and long term needs in rural house construction. Ultimately the project will contribute to promoting the utilization and trade of bamboo and other forest products from sustainable sources.

Among the project's most important outputs will be the rehabilitation of 1250 ha damaged by the tsunami, and the elaboration of plans for long term community-based coastal forest rehabilitation in pilot areas of the Provinces of Krabi and Pang Nga. Its design emphasizes the complementarity and synergies with a project to be funded in the same target area by Swiss Solidarity, which aims at providing support to the development of sustainable community livelihood.

Summary

In recent years, the pressures of a growing population, combined with increased agricultural, industrial and urban development in coastal areas have contributed to the degradation of the mangrove ecosystems of Ghana. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that there is insufficient data and information available on the status of the country’s mangroves.

The development objective of this pre-project is to ensure the sustainable management and utilization of Ghana’s forest resources. More specifically, the pre-project intends to identify opportunities and threats to sustainable management, utilization and conservation of mangroves by local communities.

Expected outputs are:

· Policy and legislative guidelines for community-based mangrove management formulated;
· Current state and economic importance of mangroves in Ghana assessed;
· Security of tenure, institutional arrangements and governance to empower local communities in mangrove management and decision-making strengthened; and
· Project proposal on sustainable management, conservation and utilization of mangroves by local communities in Ghana formulated and submitted.

Summary

The purpose of this 24-month project is to continue and expand vocational training in sustainable forest management and reduced-impact logging practices in Guyana. The project will build on the experience, successes, partnerships, and assets base of the Forestry Training Centre Incorporated (FTCI), which was established in May 2003 through ITTO Project PD 68/01 Rev.2 (I). The FTCI has prepared a training manual consisting of 17 modules that describe the process of reduced impact logging (RIL) step-by-step and has organized two training courses and one workshop to provide practical training in RIL for skill-levels from forest managers to field-based operators. In view of a further demand for SFM/RIL training and the existing capacity in terms of human resources and facilities to deliver such training, a continuation and broadening of this programme is proposed.

This project will assist human resource development and institutional strengthening in the forestry sector in Guyana. One of the main project activities is to continue the RIL training programme consisting of 27 practical training courses targeting 234 forestry professionals at all levels. The second component of the project activities aims to develop a RIL system and special training programme tailored to the needs of small-scale and community forest operators. 36 persons are expected to benefit from this programme. The third part of the project activities is to broaden the vocational sustainable forest management training programme beyond RIL practices by developing four additional training courses: forest management planning and code of practice standards, forest surveying and mapping, tree species identification, and auditing practices for Criteria and Indicators, from which courses 96 persons are expected to benefit.

Summary

This 48-month project is designed to promote the development of ASEAN’s rattan sector through demonstration and application of rattan management and utilization technologies in line with the recommendations of the Regional Conference on Sustainable Development of Rattan in Asia held in Manila, Philippines from 22 to 23 January 2004, which was organized under ITTO pre-project PPD 51/02 Rev.1 (I) "Application of Production and Utilization Technologies for Rattan Sustainable Development in the ASEAN Member Countries". The Regional Conference highlighted the need for ASEAN collaboration on rattan research and development in order to address the issue of the unsustained development of the rattan industry in the ASEAN region in particular with regard to the dwindling supply of commercially useful rattan.

The project intends to establish rattan demonstration plots of 20 hectares for each country of the ASEAN member countries through development of technical manuals on rattan management and training. Trainings on rattan utilization technologies are planned for the production of quality furniture, handicrafts and other products after research work on relevant technologies. Regional training courses and meetings are planned to enhance the skills and capacity of the ASEAN member countries in the fields of taxonomy, inventory, production and utilization technologies. The project work also includes the establishment of an ASEAN Rattan Centre as a network for discussion and policy sharing to support the implementation of rattan projects at the national level.

Summary

The project will establish a network to collect, process and disseminate data related to the forestry sector of India. The project will develop a set of formats in line with the formats of ITTO and other international agencies interested in the forestry operations of the world. A manual for implementation of the network will also be developed along with the required training courses for the field level investigators. The data processing and dissemination capabilities of ICFRE will be developed with an aim to minimize the response time to the demands of data by ITTO and other interested parties both at National and International level.

Summary

This pre-project will assist in the development of a management concept for the rehabilitation of mangrove areas with a view to increasing their productivity. Expected outputs include: information on ecological, socioeconomic and environmental aspects of the selected site; and a project proposal for mangrove rehabilitation and management for consideration by ITTO.

Summary

This pre-project aims to add transparency to the Democratic Republic of Congo's forest sector by developing an efficient forest statistics management system for data collection and processing. It will build on the outputs already achieved in this field with the support of the Central Africa Regional Program for Environment (CARPE) and USAID, undertaking activities such as an inventory of all data collection forms, liaison with and obtaining data from all other relevant organisations, analysis of these data, compilation of information on the statistical systems used by other countries and organizations, and preparation of a project proposal for the full-scale implementation of a forest statistics management system.

Summary

This project is developing a strategy for transboundary biodiversity conservation and preparing a management planning system for the Phatam Protected Forests Complex in northeastern Thailand.

Summary

This project developed a curriculum and training module for the education of concessionaire personnel in sustainable forest management based on the ITTO and national-level criteria and indicators. It trained 230 'trainers' within forest concession companies across five regions of Indonesia; these trainers now form the basis of a database of expertise at the national level maintained by APHI.

Summary

The first phase of this five-year project is developing a participatory quantitative and qualitative information model for the Santiago-Comaina Reserved Zone and surrounding areas on the border between Ecuador and Peru through the use of land-use maps, biological inventories and monitoring programs.

Summary

The peace treaty signed between Ecuador and Peru in 1999 led to the establishment of an ecological conservation area in the Condor Mountain Range region. This is designed as a mechanism to both settle the conflict and promote the development and integration of the peoples of these two neighbouring countries. This three-phase, five-year project is generating a participatory environmental management model for the region.

Summary

This project is planning and implementing participatory management of the buffer zone (1,385,800 hectares) adjacent to the Nouabale- Ndoki National Park (390,000 hectares) for sustainable timber production and biodiversity conservation.

Summary

This project is strengthening the institutional capabilities of ESFOR, an institution located in Cochabamba dedicated to the training of forestry technicians.

Summary

This project emphasised the collection and reporting of tropical forest products information separately in customs statistics and investigated the impact of the recently announced National Forest Protection Program on China’s demand for wood.

Summary

This project is establishing and managing 2,000 hectares of protection – production plantations on lands granted by the Colombian government to communities in the Domingodó-Truandó area.

Summary

The Chiquiaca and Orozas communities in Bolivia's Department of Tarija have developed community-based forest management plans. This three-year project is providing technical and financial support to the communities for the legal implementation of their plans, starting with activities in one of each community's micro-watershed areas.

Summary

This 24-month project is continuing the research and extension work on the promotion of non-timber production in the Amazon initiated under ITTO project PD 143/91 Rev.2 (I) 'Non-wood tropical forest products: processing, collection and trade'. It is collecting and making available comprehensive socioeconomic and technological information on non- timber production in the Amazon. It is also adding to a Portuguese-language database of Amazonian non-wood forest products.

Summary

This project studied and disseminated timber-processing and utilisation technologies for plantation timber to improve the efficiency of the wood-processing industry. Research work focused on the development of appropriate preservation standards and drying procedures for plantation timber such as Eucalyptus urophylla and Acacia mangium.

Summary

The specific objectives of the project are to study the technical and economic aspects of refining crude almaciga resin at a pilot scale and to develop industrial chemicals from refined resin. The project involves the promotion and transfer of improved tapping techniques for almaciga resin and development work for increased and further processing of the resin into higher value products in order to promote development opportunities and income in almaciga-producing forest communities.

Summary

This pre-project is assessing the current situation of production, utilisation and trade of tropical non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in Cambodia, with a view to formulating a project proposal for improving the sustainable management and utilisation of NTFPs.

Summary

This pre-project is compiling supplementary information regarding portable sawmills. This includes information on the institutional planning of forest areas allocated as long-term concessions and for small-scale timber extraction, associated land tenure issues for both categories of areas, experiences gained through the operation of portable sawmills,and the technical characteristics of portable sawmills and timber resources.

Summary

Togo's Yoto prefecture was in the past a timber-producing area. However, due to demographic pressure (98 people/km2) and intense deforestation for cotton farming coupled with frequent forest fires, the environment has been seriously degraded.This situation has led to climatic disturbances, shortages of timber, a reduction in agriculture yields, and an overall decline in the living standards of the local communities.This project aims to reverse these dramatic trends through a collaborative strategy involving the local communities.

Summary

This project is developing and disseminating knowledge and technologies to promote the sustainable management and efficient utilisation of sympodial bamboo. This kind of bamboo is distributed widely in southern China. The project is establishing a conservation garden of sympodial bamboo genetic diversity based on an analysis of the genetic resource and identifying two 1,000-hectare experimental and demonstration areas for the implementation of high-yield and sustainable management models.

Summary

This project is establishing a demonstration area of about 100,000 hectares with an operational forest concessionaire, where activities leading to sustainable forest management can be tested and demonstrated.This demonstration area is also providing training for national staff and generating additional information on sustainable forest management.

Summary

This 20-month project aims to establish a permanent structure for statistics research and collection on timber marketing in Cameroon. At its completion, a well-established and long-lasting structure will centralise the country’s statistical data on timber marketing.

Summary

This is the final stage of a five-year project to establish a forestry statistical information system in Peru. It is extending the system to all regional nodes throughout Peru (currently,three nodes are operational) and linking all regional forestry offices electronically with INRENA's headquarters in Lima. It is also providing training for users and operators of the system.

Summary

This project is focusing on the development and dissemination of knowledge to promote the efficient utilisation of bamboo, with a view to developing guidelines for improving the sustainable harvesting of bamboo and to the generation of income for rural communities.

Summary

This project is organising a regional training workshop on further processing of tropical timber in the Asia-Pacific region in Seoul, Korea, with a view to promoting value-added manufacturing opportunities for tropical timber.

Summary

This pre-project assessed the existing problems associated with the utilisation of plantation-grown tropical timber in the southern part of China and developed strategies for value-adding.

Summary

This pre-project is assessing the status of non-timber forest product management in three of Nepal's Terai districts (Banke, Parsa and Morang) by determining current use and identifying the potential and means for increasing production.

Summary

This project is investigating forest degradation and rehabilitation in the moist semi-deciduous and dry semi-deciduous forest ecological zones of Ghana. In collaboration with local communities it is promoting the rehabilitation of degraded forests through demonstration plantings and the training of local people.

Summary

This project is developing specific volume tables for natural forests and plantations in four of Côte d'Ivoire's biogeographical regions.

Summary

This project is investigating the processing and utilisation of the bark of Acacia mangium, Eucalyptus spp and Paraserianthes falcatria from industrial forest plantation areas in East Kalimantan to produce tannin, adhesive material, pelleted animal feed and fertiliser, which will in turn contribute to the development of local communities through the establishment of a village industry.

Summary

This is the third phase of a capacity-building project that started in 1993. The overall objective is to contribute to sustainable development in Indonesia through the improvement of policies and practices to enhance the economic efficiency of tropical forest resource management. In this phase, the project is addressing criteria and indicators, forest fire, institutional strengthening, and local participation in the management of the Bukit Baka/Bukit Raya National Park.

Summary

This pre-project is formulating a project proposal for a model forest management area in Papua New Guinea.

Summary

This project is implementing the strategy devised under an earlier project for the sustainable management of the Si-Kop Forest Area, which encompasses three elements: sustainable forest management activities in forest areas allocated for timber production; agriculture and agroforestry activities to increase and sustain agricultural production, with due attention given to the marketing of agricultural products; and tourism development.

Summary

This project aims to secure quality germoplasm from 40 tropical broad-leaved timber species and to consolidate and transfer technical, scientific and financial information on these 40 species at the nursery, phenological and plantation levels.

Summary

This project supported the establishment of the Latin American Forestry Congress as a permanent forum for forestry in the region, promoting broad-based discussions among Latin American ITTO member countries on matters relevant to sustainable tropical forest development and management.

Summary

The central aim of this two-phase project is to develop, test, evaluate and transfer a forest management system for use by timber enterprises working under typical production conditions found in terra firme forests of the Brazilian Amazon.

Summary

This project seeks to curb the degradation of natural resources in San Nicolas through the design of a financing model that combines the sustainable management of natural forests with alternative financing sources. It includes a participatory component to ensure the equitable distribution of benefits generated by the project.

Summary

This pre-project assisted member countries of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission in the implementation of a regional code of practice for forest harvesting. This included raising awareness of the issues and potential for improved forest harvesting practices, developing a practical and comprehensive training strategy with appropriate training guidelines and modules, and reviewing the experiences of alternative model forest management areas.

Summary

This pre-project is reviewing the factors that result in timber losses and environmental destruction during logging, and ways of improving local timber processing to achieve greater efficiency in timber use.

Summary

This pre-project is formulating a work plan for achieving worldwide understanding and collaboration for the preservation and sustainable use of mangroves.

Summary

This project is rehabilitating 200 hectares of mangrove forest through socially, economically and ecologically viable actions; developing appropriate practices for the sustainable management and monitoring of 1,000 hectares of mangrove resources as a strategic production and conservation alternative; and training 300 representatives of local communities in techniques and practices for the rehabilitation and sustainable management of mangrove ecosystems.

Summary

This pre-project is identifying and analysing the main constraints to the application of the ITTO criteria and indicators in Congo and formulating a project proposal for developing Congolese criteria and indicators at the national and local levels.

Summary

This project is building on the forest statistical information system developed under a previous ITTO project to improve the knowledge of forest products production and trade and assist efforts to increase the share of these products in the total exports of the country.

Summary

Ecuador has more than 2.5 million hectares of logged-over natural forests. This project has set out to establish and implement a pilot plan to facilitate the management and valuation of 10,000 hectares of secondary forests and to revert the process of forest degradation through sustainable resource management and community training. It is also providing the Ministry for the Environment with technological packages to ensure the sustainable management of secondary forests at the regional and national levels.

Summary

This project is working to improve the expertise and structures of the Mbalmayo School of Forestry. The specific objectives are to establish an appropriate framework for the development of skills of the personnel in charge of forest management and the forest industry by improving the training structures of the School of Forestry and to develop a training and retraining master plan for the school.

Summary

This project is training foresters, supervisors, managers and trainers from the Department of Forestry and Wildlife and the private sector, including concessionaires, in the practice of reduced impact logging, with a view to strengthening efforts towards sustainable forest management in the country. It is also establishing a demonstration area in the Kompong Thom forest in central Cambodia.

Summary

The System of State-Protected Natural Areas (SPNA) of Tambopata - Madidi comprises the Tambopata Candamo Reserved Zone and the Bahuaja Sonene National Park in Peru and the Madidi National Park in Bolivia. The first, 2-year phase of this project is collectimg environmental and socio-economic information on the SPNA and incorporating this into a geo-referenced database. This will form the basis of coordinated participatory processes between the two countries to ensure the planning and management of conservation areas and the development of sustainable economic alternatives such as ecotourism and, in buffer zones, the supply, processing and marketing of forest products.

Summary

The conservation values of the 1.4 million-hectare Kayan Mentarang National Park in East Kalimantan are threatened by cross-border illegal logging and hunting. This project established an operational management unit for the KMNP and initiated cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia in order to conserve the Park's biodiversity values. Project activities included the construction of a limited park infrastructure, a biodiversity expedition and a public and local communities' awareness program.

Summary

This project is supporting the implementation of a management plan covering the 0.5 million-hectare Rural Reserve Area of Guaviare. Specifically, it is: providing information and training to rural families on the establishment of successful forestry, agroforestry and sylvo-pastoral systems; implement demonstration plots to test forest production options for increasing the capacity of rural families to manage their natural resources; and zone areas for forest management, forest rehabilitation and protection, and agriculture.

Summary

This pre-project was implemented in the District of Banteay Meas and Angkorchey, Kampot Province, in an area of around 3,900 hectares that has been allocated to community forestry. The pre-project worked to increase awareness among communities, NGOs, field foresters, forest administrators, policy makers and other stakeholders of the importance of community participation in sustainable forest management.

Summary

This three-year project is developing and disseminating knowledge and technologies to promote the sustainable management and efficient utilisation of rattan, an important trade commodity for forest dwellers that is now in short supply due to over-exploitation. The project is establishing two demonstration plots: Sakon Nakhon province in the northern part of Thailand for the harvesting and utilization of rattan shoots; and Krabi province in the southern part of Thailand for the sustainable management of rattan shoots and canes.

Summary

The Orinoco River Delta contains a variety of tropical tidal forests, particularly mangroves, but they are being depleted rapidly for building materials and fuel. This project is working to define conservation and management policies for the coastal mangrove forests of the region. It is also developing a management plan for bringing 30,000 hectares of mangrove forests under sustainable management for the benefit of local communities.

Summary

This three-year project aims to reduce the dependency of the local population on mangrove forests for fuelwood by assisting them to establish fast-growing tree plantations in buffer areas. It is also develop a zoning and land-use plan for the Gulf of Fonseca with a view to managing and conserving the mangrove resource.

Summary

This project is implementing a pilot reforestation program for both timber production and soil protection using native and exotic forest species on 570 hectares of degraded land in the Medium Doce River region. This land will serve as a demonstration area for uptake by rural communities and the project is providing training in seedling production along with education on the importance of forests for production and protection.

Summary

This pre-project conducted a survey and used other information sources to assess attitudes towards sustainable forest development. It determined the most appropriate means and activities for disseminating information on forests and forest management to the public and produced a project proposal to facilitate implementation of an education/communication strategy for Ecuador's forests.

Summary

The purpose of this project is to implement an appropriate set of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management in eight selected forest management units (forest divisions) in Madhya Pradesh. The objective is to create conditions for, and thus help achieve, sustainable forestry development in the state, which in turn will serve as a model to be replicated in the rest of the country.

Summary

This project aims to develop criteria and indicators for the sustainable management of natural forests in China based on ITTO's Criteria and indicators for sustainable management of natural tropical forests. It is analysing current initiatives in criteria and indicators and conducting comparative studies of the forest situation on Hainan Island and in Yunnan Province.

Summary

This pre-project developed a project proposal for the economic valuation of environmental goods and services derived from forest management and agroforestry systems in the Peruvian Amazon. It also convened a multi-institutional workshop on the subject with the participation of experts from the Amazon region.

Summary

The objective of the project is to investigate whether conventional timber industries in conjunction with the power generation industry can make sustainable forest industry a viable option in two major wood industry-centred cities in the western Amazon.

Summary

The pre-project studied the supply and demand status of the Indian timber market and the market opportunities in India for other ITTO members, producing a major report that can be downloaded from 'Publications'.

Summary

This pre-project is assessing the socioeconomic acceptability and financial and market feasibility of rattan production and utilisation technologies in Southeast Asia.

Summary

Through participatory rural appraisal, this project collected baseline data on local communities living in the area surrounding the Dusun Aro-Jambi natural forest to assist in the formulation of a model of sustainable community-based forest management (CBFM). A full project proposal to promote CBFM in the area was also developed.

Summary

This project is supporting the FMB in the collection, organisation and analysis of forestry data pertinent to the FMB's mandate. The main aims of the project are to ensure the timely flow of information within the organisation to support policy decision-makers, and to optimise the use of available people and technology within DENR.

Summary

This project is disseminating the results of twelve technical studies carried out by ANAM with the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Summary

This project is putting in place a collaborative management process for the gorilla sanctuary to ensure its protection and initiating a process of cooperation between Cameroon and Gabon for the joint management of the sanctuary. Activities include the collection of reliable data for sanctuary management, raising the awareness of local communities, and controlling poaching.

Summary

This pre-project examined the feasibility of a marketing campaign that aims to change perceptions about wood, encourage its use and foster good practice in the industry.

Summary

This pre-project assisted the establishment of a fast, accurate and practical integrated satellite remote-sensing system for early warning, monitoring and evaluation of forest fires in tropical China.

Summary

This pre-project allowed for the publication of a technical report on inefficiency problems, including discussions of workshops held in Jakarta on 9 September and in Surabaya on 14 October 2003. The pre-project also formulated the project proposal PD 286/04 Rev.1 (I) 'Strengthening the capacity to promote efficient wood processing technologies in Indonesia', which is designed to improve the national skills and capabilities in wood processing efficiency and in product quality management to ensure the efficient and diversified use of tropical timber in Indonesia.

Summary

Under this pre-project a study was conducted on the socioeconomic conditions of local communities engaged in the collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The pre-project also formulated a full project proposal to empower such communities to produce high-value NTFPs.

Summary

This pre-project is conducting co-generation studies at three sawmills and creating awareness among stakeholders about the economic and financial benefits of co-generation.

Summary

This pre-project is critically evaluating investments in the timber industry with a view to helping managers, decision-makers and policymakers formulate appropriate strategies to ensure the sustainable development of wood-based enterprises.

Summary

This project is assessing the feasibility of a rubberwood processing industry in Colombia and formulating and establishing a pilot study for the production of guidelines to assist investors and communities in developing such an industry.

Summary

This pre-project is investigating the level of appropriate technology needed to improve wood efficiencies in the Pacific, starting with Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Fiji, identify gaps in national policies, and provide direction and recommendations related to waste reduction and residue usage.

Summary

This pre-project examined the feasibility of producing high-quality sawnwood using appropriate technologies for the harvesting of timber from sustainably managed sources by groups of farmers in tropical moist forests.

Summary

This project is assisting the Government of Indonesia to ensure the sustainability of its wood-based industries through downsizing and restructuring.

Summary

This pre-project assessed the outlook for wooden furniture into the 21st century with the aim of providing a view of those products and markets where tropical timber producers are likely to be competitive.

Summary

This project is continuing studies on the silviculture of 29 native tropical broad-leaved timber species initiated under ITTO project PD 8/92 Rev.2 (F) and an additional eleven native species. It is also establishing a fully operational germplasm bank management and seed supply program for the 40 species; consolidating technical and scientific information at the phenological, nursery and plantation levels; and disseminating the information gathered.

Summary

This project is developing technologies for producing good-quality seedlings of suitable dipterocarp species in large quantities through the development of appropriate technologies for vegetative propagation. It is also evaluating the financial and economic efficiency of commercial forest plantations under the proposed development model.

Summary

This project is assisting the Government of Togo to develop a sustainable plantation estate by establishing a cuttings propagation unit for the production of samba and other local species.

Summary

This pre-project is surveying and classifying the types, distribution and management of China's tropical secondary forests; designing management models; selecting demonstration areas for management; and developing a full project proposal.

Summary

The project is a follow-up to ITTO project PD 16/96 Rev.4 (F). It is continuing work to broaden the genetic base for the breeding and genetic improvement of Shorea leprosula and will produce improved clones of Shorea leprosula and improved seeds of Lophopetalum multinervium using the genetic material available from natural populations. The project is also helping to create a centre of excellence for ex situ conservation.

Summary

This pre-project collected baseline data and information for the development of strategies and a project proposal to promote the Clean Development Mechanism in the framework of sustainable forest management involving local communities.

Summary

Under this project, an international forum for the critical appraisal of the role of teak plantations in tropical timber development programs and its market situation was convened in Kerala, India.

Summary

This project is establishing two demonstration plots covering ten selected bamboo species in 100 hectares for research and extension. Using the results of the research the project will provide technical support to key stakeholders, including minority groups and women, through training courses and the provision of technical manuals on bamboo plantation management, harvesting and processing. The project is also in the process of establishing two small bamboo cooperatives to generate income for local people.

Summary

This pre-project is investigating ways to increase the benefits accruing to local communities from forest operations through the collection and processing of logging residues. It is also formulating a project proposal to promote collaboration between forest industries and local communities in the collection and processing of logging residues.

Summary

This project is conducting research and development work on the properties of selected rattan species, appropriate rattan processing technologies (post-harvest, preservation, drying, bending, etc), a rattan grading system, rattan product development, and marketing, and establishing four demonstration plots in West Java. It is also establishing two small rattan industries in West Java for the extension of rattan processing technologies and conduct training to facilitate technology transfer.

Summary

This project is in the process of securing the remaining 465 hectares of Egyptian Red Sea mangrove ecosystem and ensuring their conservation and sustainable management.

Summary

This pre-project is analysing the situation for Congo's significant mangrove resources, studying the socio-economic aspects of their management, and formulating a project proposal for their sustainable management.

Summary

This project aims to secure the Bagre Highlands Biological Corridor as permanent forest estate. An integrated management unit is being established for the sustainable harvesting of timber and non-timber forest products and the protection of water, soil and biodiversity. A rehabilitation and restoration plan is being developed for degraded lands and buffer areas in the biological corridor.

Summary

This pre-project is evaluating the progress made on policy and legislative and National Forestry Plan issues related to forest conservation areas in Honduras and, on the basis of this evaluation, developing a project proposal for a participatory follow-up to these forestry-sector planning instruments.

Summary

This project is developing and implementing a program for the inventory, re-inventory and monitoring of the forest resource. It is also establishing a Forest Information and Evaluation Centre, the institution that will be responsible for forest resource monitoring.

Summary

This pre-project is assessing the present status of the management of NTFPs in selected areas of Maharastra State of India with the aim of providing information on the policy gaps that must be bridged as a pre-condition for their sustainable management.

Summary

This project, which follows earlier ITTO projects conducted in the same model forest, is training forestry workers in the planning and implementation of sustainable forest management, demonstrating new methodologies and techniques, preparing comprehensive management plans, and monitoring management performance in the model area.

Summary

The main aim of this pre-project was to recommend measures that could bring increased transparency to the international hardwood plywood trade and manage risks associated with market fluctuations. The draft report can be downloaded from 'Publications'.

Summary

This project is developing two computer modules to be integrated into Gabon's Forest Statistics Information & Management System (STATFOR).

Summary

This pre-project assisted the Philippines to promote the sustainable management of its forest resources in accordance with ITTO's Objective 2000 by formulating criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management and developing manuals and an action program for their field application.

Summary

This project is developing a national reduced impact logging (RIL) training program that includes demonstration models of good RIL practices, a training facility, the training of trainers and other personnel in RIL, and a long-term plan to sustain the program.

Summary

This project is establishing a community-based conservation and development program for maintaining the long-term integrity of the Betung Kerihun National Park. The aim is to create a respected, well-managed and well-functioning national park where local communities and other stakeholders actively participate in the management and receive fair benefits. Activities include the establishment of park boundaries and management zones, the installation of basic infrastructure, studies on traditional knowledge and other socio-economic aspects, design of a database and information system, and ecological studies.

Summary

Eco-floristics Area IV, located in the southern part of the Togo Mountains in the west of the country, is the main forest region in Togo and an important coffee- and cocoa-growing area. This pre-project developed an integrated regional master plan to help restore vegetation cover and thus contribute to meeting local, national and international needs for timber products while improving the living conditions of local communities.

Summary

One of the goals of the Brazilian National Forest Program is to expand the management of native forests in public areas to at least 10 million hectares through a regime of forest concessions. This project will conduct social and economic surveys, environmental studies and preliminary forest inventories in five Amazonian national forests to prepare them as future concession areas. Management plans for the sustainable production of timber from the five national forests will be developed, along with the rules and procedures to be followed by companies under the concession regime.

Summary

Iroko is a high-value timber species common throughout Central Africa. However, in plantations it is attacked by an insect (Phytolyma lata), which causes stunted growth and affects stem shape and size, seriously damaging the trees and reducing their commercial value. This project is a follow-up to ITTO project PD 3/95 Rev.2 (F), which focused on the genetic improvement of iroko species through the selection of resistant seeds and individuals. This project will broaden the genetic base of the available material for the collection of new provenances and establish experimental iroko plantations.

Summary

This project is promoting the planting of indigenous tree species in Bali to rehabilitate about 32,000 hectares of degraded land and to ensure the continued supply of woody material for community-based, small-scale wood-carving industries.

Summary

This project is developing a harmonised set of criteria and indicators (C&I) for the sustainable management of Brazilian tropical forests, taking into consideration the ITTO C&I and the Tarapoto regional initiative. It is also developing and field-testing a manual for applying the Brazilian C&I and conducting training courses in its use.

Summary

This conference provided a regional forum for the exchange of ideas and building of consensus regarding trends in and perspectives of the Latin American forestry sector.

Summary

This project is establishing a network of 326 permanent monitoring plots to improve knowledge of the dynamics of typical natural forest stands in Côte d'Ivoire, with a view to establishing sustainable forest management practices adapted to the local socioeconomic context.

Summary

This project constitutes the second phase of ITTO project PD 12/97 Rev.1 (F). It is supporting the long-term goals of sustainable forestry in the Malinau District in East Kalimantan by improving the district-level (kabupaten) coordination of forest management in the model forest through improved stakeholder participation, conflict management, land-use planning and monitoring, and implementing sustainable forest management in the Inhutani II Malinau concession.

Summary

This project is applying an experimental model with a series of biological and socio-economic variables to give an economic value to Meliaceae and Anacardiaceae species.

Summary

This project aims to halt the decline and degradation of the forest resources in the Mefou and Afamba Valley by involving local communities in the rehabilitation of degraded lands and in the establishment and management of forest plantations. Specifically, the project is developing a strategy and organisational structures for participative management of the forested areas and establishing community forests and mechanisms for autonomous forest management by communities.

Summary

This project is implement a pilot study on ways to control illegal logging in production and protected areas in Riau and West Kalimantan. Outputs from the study will be used to develop guidelines for overcoming illegal logging nationwide.

Summary

This project is evaluating the strength and performance of export wood furniture such as chairs, tables, stools, cabinet doors and drawers by the application of loads or forces simulating normal functional use, as well as acceptable mis-use, according to a graded scale of severity following established standards. It is also identifying and will disseminate to manufacturers designs to improve the strength and stability of furniture.

Summary

This project is developing processing techniques for solid wood products such as joinery, furniture and building products from existing eucalypt and acacia plantations in southern China. It is also evaluating the suitability of newly planted eucalypt and acacia plantations for further processing and assisting in the transfer of technologies and the dissemination of the scientific knowledge obtained in the project to the relevant public.

Summary

This project aims to help the Thai furniture industry regain its competitive edge in world markets. Specifically, through a series of appropriate training seminars and the provision of suitable methodologies it is upgrading national skills and capabilities in rubberwood resource assessment, industrial management, processing technologies and the export marketing of furniture.

Summary

This pre-project designed and produced a project proposal, in coordination with the principal stakeholders (forest industries, NGOs, government and municipalities), related to the application of an environmental management system (EMS). The EMS addresses timber processing industrial issues such as water consumption, energy conservation, greenhouse gas emissions, and solid and liquid wastes. The ultimate aim is to increase the international trade of Ecuadorian timber on the basis of ISO 14000 certification and to assist the forest industry to comply with environmental regulation.

Summary

Suppliers and users of timber and timber products are often unaware of each other's needs. In some cases, timber producers complain of low demand for their products while at the same time users complain of a lack of raw material supply. This project is seeking solutions to the information gap by identifying bottlenecks and other problems in the flow of timber and timber products from their sources to end-users. The project is also developing a database of timber and timber products' suppliers and end-users that can be accessed on the internet. This will eventually lead to improved market intelligence in the timber sector and spur demand for products that are the outcome of sustainable forest management strategies.

Summary

The existing forest information systems in Guatemala are dispersed and poorly equipped to produce an integrated, complete and up-to-date database as required by the different sectoral and inter-sectoral stakeholders at the national and international levels.The objective of this pre-project is to formulate a project proposal for the articulation and implementation of a forest information system in Guatemala. The specific objectives are:

• to update the diagnosis of the first-level forest information systems already existing in Guatemala;
  
• to design the institutional integration module to generate forest information and forest statistics; and
  
• to develop a project proposal for a national forest information system.

Summary

This pre-project is facilitating the gathering of information to allow the formulation of a follow-up project proposal to promote the commercial development of certified timber, particularly that of secondary or lesser-used species. The pre-project is being implemented with the active participation of community groups and cooperatives and forest concessionholders. These groups are implementing forest management plans and need to develop industrially and commercially if they are to make a lasting contribution to sustainable development.

Summary

Ecuador's mangrove ecosystems are endangered by ongoing degradation caused by human interventions such as shrimp farming, infrastructure development, agriculture and timber extraction. This project is setting up demonstration sites for the sustainable, multipurpose management of mangrove ecosystems on the Ecuadorian coast. These sites are now starting to provide information on mangrove ecosystem recovery and management, from which technical guidelines and other extension materials are being developed to stimulate the wider uptake of sustainable use practices in mangrove-dependent communities.

Summary

The lack of qualified and trained forestry practitioners is a key problem impeding the adoption of good forest management in the Amazon. This recently initiated project, which follows ITTO project PD 45/97 Rev.1 (F): 'On-site training of tropical foresters and forestry trainers' implemented in Belem, Brazil, will increase the adoption of forest management and reduced impact logging (FM-RIL) practices by timber producers in Amazonian production forests through practical training, and promote and disseminate good forest management practices amongst stakeholders in the Brazilian Amazon through extension work. The project comprises a three-part strategy designed to develop human resources in the forest sector of Amazon Basin countries. The first consists of 38 practical training courses targeting 410 forestry professionals at all levels and tailored to their diverse needs and interests. The second component will promote interest in FM-RIL and raise awareness about its importance and benefits among the numerous forest stakeholders; at least 400 people are expected to participate in these events. The third component of the project strategy is to continue the successful FM-RIL training program developed under the previous project.

Summary

This project is building on the results of ITTO project PD 128/92 Rev.2 (F): 'Management, conservation and development of the mangrove forests in Panama'. Among other things it is providing training to mangrove-dependent communities in sustainable management and harvesting techniques for mangroves with the aim of conserving and sustainably using about 4,000 hectares of mangrove forests on the Panamanian Pacific Coast and rehabilitating about 1,250 hectares of degraded lands.

Summary

Afforestation, reforestation and forest rehabilitation programs in Guatemala currently do not utilise high-quality seedlings from certified seeds due to a lack of readily available and appropriate germplasm and it is therefore expected that many of these programs will not produce high-quality timber. Among other things, this pre-project is formulating a project proposal to be submitted to ITTO for the development and establishment of a forest genetic improvement program. This is expected to include the identification, selection, processing, marketing, establishment and management of genetic material, and a substantial component to build the capacity needed for the implementation of the program.

Summary

This pre-project is formulating a project proposal for strengthening institutional capacity for the prevention, mitigation and management of forest fires in the natural and planted forests of Panama. Stakeholders from civil society, other institutions and municipal authorities are participating actively in the proposal formulation process.

Summary

This pre-project will assess the feasibility of using rubberwood as a raw material for the wood-based industry in Indonesia and is a follow-up action to the recommendations of the ITTO Technical Mission to Indonesia in 2001. One of the issues for the present crisis in the Indonesian wood-based industry is the gap between wood supply and demand. This situation is likely to prevail in the future unless measures to secure the supply of logs from plantation timbers such as rubberwood are taken. At present, there are around 3.5 million hectares of rubber plantations in the country. However, while rubberwood furniture has contributed significantly to the economies of Malaysia, Thailand, India and China, in Indonesia the rubberwood resource has been used mainly as a source of energy. The main pre-project activities will include field surveys of rubber plantations in selected sites and the collection of relevant information on rubberwood processing techniques and markets. In addition, two national workshops on rubberwood processing techniques and markets will be organised with the participation of all stakeholders to assist in the formulation of national policies for the efficient utilisation of rubberwood and a full ITTO project proposal for the development of a sustainable rubberwood industry in Indonesia.

Summary

This project is developing a sustainable management plan and strategy for the use of secondary forests in the Central Forest Region of Peru for the benefit of local communities and the conservation of the region's natural resources. The project will use the ITTO Guidelines for the restoration, rehabilitation and management of degraded and secondary tropical forests as a starting point for the development of the management plan and strategy. Among other things it will produce: a map detailing the current status and evolution of secondary forests in the Central Forest Region over the last ten years; a methodological manual for the evaluation of secondary forests; a database and website on secondary forests; a proposal for an action plan and regional strategy; and an ecological-economic zoning proposal for the management of secondary forests.

Summary

This project is focusing on the training and education of Peruvian Amazon forest stakeholders in sustainable forest management techniques, including the ITTO criteria and indicators, to promote private investments in the forest sector and the use of appropriate technologies.

Summary

This project is establishing a sustainable forest management information system (SIMFOS) to provide information and specialised tools and to facilitate the exchange of experiences among key forest-sector stakeholders in the region. With the support of Amazonian universities and regional cooperation groups, the project is also providing training on sustainable forest management to 60 leaders.

Summary

This project is collecting accurate geographic data on forest companies and logging areas, using forest-related information and information management technologies to enhance forest law enforcement and establish reasonable and fair logging terms for logging companies. It is also providing training to local staff in the use of GIS-based law-enforcement monitoring tools.

Summary

This pre-project is compiling existing integrated forest management models in China based on an intensive survey and carrying out a diagnosis of local potentials and environmental constraints. Among the main outputs will be a report on the current status of the tropical forest zones in China and a project proposal.

Summary

This pre-project will support the development of innovative mechanisms for the expansion and security of the forest resource base, especially forest plantations, by: (a) providing updated baseline data, and (b) creating a forum for the critical appraisal of the role of forest plantations. Among the main outputs will be a project proposal for the development of forest plantations in a decentralised environment.

Summary

This pre-project is developing a draft strategy and management plan for the sustainable management of natural forests in the Adele region of Togo with the participation of local communities and based on the ITTO criteria and indicators. One output will be a project proposal to support the finalisation and implementation of the strategy and management plan.

Summary

This project will lead to the increased availability of certified timber from sustainably managed forests in Indonesia by improving public awareness of national and international sustainable forest management certification systems and establishing the national capacities needed to ensure implementation and monitoring of credible national and international sustainable forest management certification systems.

Summary

This project is developing and establishing a fully operational forestry and timber statistical data collection, processing and dissemination system, managed by local personnel and enabling the development of a permanent data bank, which will serve as an operational control panel for rational decision-making in sustainable forest management.

Summary

This project is helping to build capacity for sustainable rattan development in China by demonstrating rattan plantation management schemes in three different ecological zones and providing guidance and training on rattan plantation management to farmers and foresters in local communities in southern China.

Summary

This project is increasing the awareness of key forestry sector stakeholders—managers of forest industry groups, officers of government forestry agencies, NGOs, media and community leaders—about the requirements and benefits of improved logging planning and implementation, strengthening the capacity of forestry institutions to promote and facilitate the implementation of reduced impact logging, and establishing a corps of forest technicians, supervisors and forest workers trained in the practical techniques of reduced impact logging.

Summary

Under this project an international forum will be convened to identify the current trends and potential impacts of carbon forestry on the global forest sector, with an emphasis on the forest industry sector and rural livelihoods in tropical countries in the Asia-Pacific region.