CL 116/8-Sup.1

Council

Hundred and Sixteenth Session

Rome, 14 - 19 June 1999

VENUE OF THE XII WORLD FORESTRY CONGRESS

1. FAO has selected, since 1947, the host country for the World Forestry Congress and has co-sponsored and assisted in the organization of nine congresses. The last Congress was held in Antalya, Turkey, from 13 to 22 October 1997. The XII World Forestry Congress is scheduled to be held in 2003. The Director-General invited countries, through a Circular State Letter dated 14 January 1999, to submit offers to host and organize the Congress. The deadline for submissions was 28 February 1999. The following countries indicated their interest and have submitted their candidatures to host the Congress in 2003:

Guatemala by letter from the Embassy of Guatemala in Italy, dated 22 February 1999

Canada by letter from the Minister, Natural Resources Canada, dated 26 February 1999

2. The principles governing World Forestry Congresses and provisions to be included in the rules of procedure of World Forestry Congresses (which had been adopted by the Council at its Sixty-fourth Session in 1974) were updated by the Council at its Hundred and Fifteenth Session, when revised guidelines were adopted (CL 115/REP, paras. 98-102). These guidelines indicate the procedure for the selection of the host country. The Council’s policy guidelines have been supplemented by technical-operational guidelines prepared by the Forestry Department, which were made available to interested countries.

3. The Council is called upon to decide on the host country. The Council will take into consideration inter alia the desirability for a rotation among the various regions for the location of the Congress and the provisions proposed to ensure universal and broad participation in the preparation and conduct of the Congress. In this connection, the following countries have hosted the eleven congresses organized to date:

In Europe: Italy (1926), Hungary (1936), Finland (1949), Spain (1966), France (1991)

In North America: United States of America (1960)

In Latin America and the Caribbean: Argentina (1972), Mexico (1985)

In Asia and the Pacific: India (1954), Indonesia (1978)

In the Near East: Turkey (1997)

4. The Secretariat suggested to the Committee on Forestry (COFO) at its Fourteenth Session¹ that the Committee make recommendations to the Council for the choice of the host country, taking into account inter alia the following criteria:

The desirability to rotate the Congress between geographical regions and to feature different issues from one Congress to the next;

Within-country forestry activities as pertinent to regional and global cooperation;

Socio-economic, institutional and environmental aspects of interest to the majority of member countries;

Security for foreign visitors, stability, health conditions, travel costs and hotel accommodation;

Financial implications and commitment to ensure broad and balanced participation from various countries and constituencies;

Institutional competence and experience in organizing international events;

Attractiveness of the proposed Congress venue and facilities offered.

5. COFO did not reach a consensus on a recommendation to the Council for the choice of the host country.

6. The synthesis documents supporting the offers from Guatemala and Canada (as submitted to the Committee on Forestry in March 1999) are reproduced below. Document CL 116/8-Sup.2 provides an assessment of logistic and infrastructure conditions in both countries, as a result of a mission undertaken by the Director, Conference, Council and Protocol Affairs Division.

1 Document COFO-99/9