Statistical
Policy
Silviculture
Management
Utilization
Integration of planning and financing
1. For the purposes of the present symposium the definition of man-made forests and the interpretation proposed in Appendix 1 be adopted.2. For the purposes of the present symposium, the classification of man-made forests on the basis of intensity of management proposed in Appendix 2 be adopted.
3. Countries which have not yet reported data relating to man-made forests, in response to the FAO questionnaire, do so as soon as convenient, so that comprehensive statistics covering all countries can be published. Also that countries which have already reported should re-examine and, if necessary, revise the information in the light of the definition of manmade forests in Appendix 1. Countries having statistics readily available on type (4) in Appendix 1 should be invited to submit these at the same time, and
4. Information submitted by countries in response to the FAO questionnaire be summarized, edited and published on the lines proposed in the FAO secretariat note and that the Forestry and Forests Products Division make appropriate arrangement for this.
5. The attention of governments should be called to the growing needs for wood and forest products, the urgency of forest plantation programs to meet them, and the close relationship of these programs with national development. That countries which have not already done so examine the possibilities of creating man-made forests to supplement the production from existing natural forests, and to provide for the supply of their future wood needs for exports, and for the establishment of wood-processing industries. Countries in the tropics which have substantial areas of unused land of potential for afforestation and few other resources for industrial development are particularly recommended to examine these possibilities, especially those in which wood usages, such as pulp, are increasing most rapidly.6. National afforestation policies and programs should where necessary be considered and co-ordinated on a regional basis or interterritorial basis, with the aims of avoiding wasteful overlapping and of making the best use of opportunities to establish large-scale wood-processing industries.
7. Planting policies for the establishment of wood - processing industries be co-ordinated from as early a stage as possible with national plans for industrialization. If such plans do not already exist, account should be taken of the effect of possible future industrial development on the rational siting of man-made forests.
8. Indirect benefits of man-made forests be considered in framing plantation policies and programs and that, as far as practicable, man-made forests should be designed to serve not only productive purposes but also the needs comprised in the term "multiple land use."
9. Industrial and private afforestation be encouraged, especially in conjunction with the establishment of wood-based industry projects. This will require the creation of a more favourable climate for investment.
10. Countries take account of the necessity of basing large planting projects on such research results as are available, and of the necessity of concurrently establishing a soundly conceived program of research.
11. The rate of expansion of plantation programs be geared carefully to the research knowledge available and to the capacity and experience of the executive organization and that caution be exercised in increasing the planting rate until adequate foundations in these respects have been established.
12. Greater facilities be set up in the developing countries for the training of subprofessional staff engaged on man-made forests and for the training of forestry and forest industry workers; that consideration be given to setting up regional or interterritorial training centers for subprofessional staff.
13. Consideration be given as to whether more planting of fine hardwood timbers should be undertaken.
14. In framing plantation policies and programs due consideration should be given to:
(a) the distribution of the major planting areas, having regard to the effects of transport costs on wood usage;
(b) the effects of the local growth conditions on the properties of the wood to be grown bearing in mind especially the effects that rapid growth may have; and
(c) possible changes in wood usage and the desirability of producing a raw material that can be made to serve alternative uses.15. Governments recognize the value of communal and private woodlots and should encourage their establishment in suitable areas.
16. In densely populated areas in which man-made forests are being created, extension and publicity programs should be undertaken to demonstrate the role of the forests and to support multiple use of them.
17. International organizations should take care, both in their own publications on man-made forests and in those which they collate (regional afforestation handbooks and monographs, or species monographs), to include:(a) identification of sites and of ecological conditions without restricting these to climatic data;
(b) presentation of basic data in a standardized form, which allows comparisons to be made between actual cases: such data should include information on both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the production of the species being compared;
(c) the establishment and tending techniques to be avoided or recommended.18. In order to save time, each country or organization which intends the establishment of species elimination or provenance trials should make its plans widely known, in order to enable all interested countries to participate. This is particularly important in the case of trials carried out with tropical species which have an already proved commercial value. That such collaboration should be reinforced by the drafting of a standard methodology by IUFRO, in collaboration with FAO to be followed by the various participants, which should include a uniform method of recording information, both on species in their natural [habitat and on the results of introduction trials. Both these types of records should be circulated as widely as possible between countries.
19. Action should be co-ordinated for the collection of seed and other propagating material of species particularly important in afforestation programs (eucalyptus, Mexican pines, tropical pines) and that use should be made, as far as possible, of the experience already acquired in this field by FAO, IUFRO, the Commonwealth Forestry Institute and other qualified organizations.
20. Studies should be intensified on large-scale propagation by cuttings of eucalypts and of other species (for example Pinus radiata, bamboos, etc), with a view to the use of improved material in intensive afforestation programs.
21. The scale of eucalyptus provenance trials should be restricted by concentration on a limited number of species (for example Eucalyptus globulus, E. camaldulensis, E. viminalis, E. tereticornis, E. grandis, E. robusta, E. citriodora, E. gomphocephala, E. microtheca, E. deglupta, E. dalrympleana, E. bicostata and E. occidentalis) but that research institutes concerned should intensify their studies on the best cultivation techniques for the Renan-therae.
22. In view of the great importance of provenances in tree improvement, especially those situated at the limits of the natural distribution of the species, and of the rapidity with which the natural forest is being destroyed, particularly in the tropics, the following measures should be taken to reinforce the efforts of FAO, IUFRO, the Commonwealth Forestry Institute, the Forestry and Timber Bureau, Canberra and other organizations in collecting and conserving valuable species and provenances:
(a) compilation and publication by FAO in conjunction with IUFRO and the International Biological Program of information from countries on species and provenances of potential importance for the creation of man-made forests of industrial tree species, including information on yield and usages;
(b) circulation by FAO of a request to countries to select and conserve provenances, seed sources or plus trees within the natural range, to report the location of these seed sources, and to report any intended plan of exploitation within them.23. Consideration should be given to the preparation of a special document on the control of tree seed quality, which should be the subject of general agreement. For this purpose close liaison should be maintained with the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA). Further, that a system of seed origin certification, based on that of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), should be generally adopted; in this respect governments are reminded that all FAO member countries may, on request, become associated with the existing OECD system.
24. All those concerned with large-scale afforestation programs should be prepared to reserve an adequate proportion of each planting area for the testing of new or improved techniques, in collaboration with the research institutes concerned. The methods to be adopted on a field scale should always be based on analysis of their comparative costs and benefits, tested experimentally.
25. A worldwide effort of co-operation should be concentrated on the study of forest shelterbelts and windbreaks, with special reference to the following points (some of which are also included in the International Biological Program):
(a) exchange of propagating material and germ plasm, mainly of trees species especially selected and improved with a view to establishing shelterbelts;
(b) worldwide geographic and ecological classification of plains with a view to a more rational exchange of germ plasm;
(c) increased research into the physiological reactions of plants and animals to unfavorable site factors;
(d) increased exchange of personnel and ideas.
26. With respect to new proposals for the establishment of man-made forests, governments should formulate a policy which is explicit as to objectives, but not specific as to the technical details for implementing the decision, which should be left to the forest authority.27. Developing countries are advised to seek assistance under multilateral or bilateral programs to carry out a feasibility study of the proposals including technical as well as other aspects, unless the country already has qualified personnel to conduct such an investigation.
28. Subject to a favorable answer to the above, countries should use the experience of other nations which have successfully developed plantation programs, but should adapt them to their own social and economic conditions.
29. The forest authority should consider carefully the questions of location and the selection of appropriate sites in relation to locality factors, soil depth and fertility.
30. Cognizance should be taken (based on experience elsewhere) of susceptibility to diseases and insect pests in the choice of species, and their extension onto marginal sites.
31. Once established, provision should be made for adequate treatment and maintenance to ensure the health of the crops.
32. Countries with existing plantations should establish forest insect and disease survey units, so that outbreaks may be detected in their early stages.
33. Continuous forest inventory programs should be instituted on a computer-oriented basis even if not immediately applied.
34. Considering the severe attack of a wood borer on eucalypt plantations in Tunisia, it is recommended that FAO, in collaboration with IUFRO, initiate a study on this problem for the benefit of countries in the Mediterranean area and north Africa.
35. Countries should consider the development of a uniform costing system and proceed as a matter of urgency with the accumulation and analysis of cost and return data to pave the way for economic analysis and to promote the selection of viable projects. It is recommended that the Forest Economics Branch of the Forestry and Forest Industries Division of FAO take up this matter.
36. In view of the differing methods of measuring stand height as a measure of site index, it is recommended that FAO, in collaboration with IUFRO, initiate a study aimed at determining an internationally acceptable measure which would enable comparisons to be made between countries.
WOOD PROPERTIES
37. Before planting man-made forests, planners should study the suitability of the proposed species for the manufacture of wood products, and make allowance for the probable characteristics of the timbers when grown on the sites and in the rotation periods anticipated.38. Urgent attention should be given to the development of simple methods of assessing wood properties, especially those suitable for use in countries without laboratory facilities or expertise in wood technology.
39. A reliable method of measurement of forest growth or mean annual increment is required (that is, related particularly to the value of the wood for pulping); an attempt should be made to develop a simple method based on the weight of the dry wood substance.
40. The Commonwealth Forestry Institute should be encouraged to continue its work on low altitude tropical pines and expand it to other quick-growing conifers and hardwoods in the tropics and subtropics.
41. The Australian Forestry and Timber Bureau should be requested to prepare and publish, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSI]{O), a bibliography of publications on eucalypts throughout the world up to 1968, and thereafter to publish biennial supplements, the latter possibly with annotations.
42. The Division of Forest Products, CSIRO, should be requested to investigate the possibility of making available, at the earliest possible date, all substantial information which it has already compiled on the wood properties of individual tree species; that this be in a form that will allow it to be supplemented by additional data as collected, and that it be circulated widely, possibly through FAO.
HARVESTING
43. High priority should be given to research to develop efficient methods of logging steep country.44. Research should be directed to minimizing the high costs of thinning operations in man-made forests. Consideration should be given to handling early thinnings in tree lengths, bundling of short wood, bunching long logs and attaching them to skidders, and the design of loaders suitable for both long and short logs in small operations.
45. Research should be directed to determining the most economic method of providing access to felled trees at the stump, for different vehicle combinations; and to the optimum road development for forest tending and harvesting operations.
46. New or improved mechanical felling appliances should be developed., so as to reduce noise and vibration which -tend to affect the health and efficiency of operators. Other aims should be to improve methods of mechanical delimbing and the control of the direction of felling.
47. Debarking machines should be developed which are suitable for efficient use in small-scale operations, and for fibrous-barked species, and that the optimum location for debarking should be investigated.
48. Encouragement should be given to the development of a small portable chipper with self-feeding mechanism, capable of handling a wide range of tree diameters.
49. Attention should be directed to designing a mechanical harvester which can operate in the space left by removal of a row of trees in a plantation.
CONVERSION
50. FAO, in collaboration with IUFRO, the Division of Forest Products of CSIRO and other appropiate research organizations, should be requested to disseminate information on the most important principles of sawing, seasoning, preservation and other treatments which are effective in achieving the most efficient utilization, especially of eucalypts and other quick-growing hardwoods (for example Gmelina). The symposium noted with appreciation that the Division of Forest Products of CSIRO is prepared to help further with advice if specific problems are submitted to it.51. FAO should request the Division of Forest Products, CSIRO, to collaborate in drawing up a questionnaire, for distribution to all countries concerned, seeking information on all methods of conversion and use of plantation-grown eucalypts.
52. Further research should be undertaken on methods of avoiding degrade immediately after felling when converting fast-grown plantation timber.
DEVELOPMENT OF INTEGRATION IN UTILIZATION
53. The advantages of large-scale working, integration of forest industries and flexibility in production, as a safeguard against changing market conditions, should be recognized when the planning of man-made forests is being carried out. Wherever possible, new forests should be planted with species suited to several end uses, in units of optimum size and at optimum times. They should be well located in relation to markets and to industrial sites.54. Notwithstanding the above, attempts should be made to develop efficient methods for the economic operation of small-scale integrated forest industries, including pulping, to supply domestic markets in developing countries.
55. Studies be encouraged, through FAO and other appropriate agencies such as IUFRO, on the practicability of the economic integration of simultaneous production of wood and food or fodder crops.
FUTURE CONFERENCE PROGRAMS
56. A section dealing with the interdependence of the economy of forest growth, harvesting and utilization should form an important part of future forestry conferences. Its meetings should be scheduled at a favorable time to ensure the keen participation of foresters, as well as of specialists in utilization.
57. Whenever plantation plans are to be formulated, governments should make an adequate evaluation of national, regional and world needs and critically examine the desirability of self-sufficiency in wood and/or wood products. The evaluations made by FAO should continue to be revised and brought up to date periodically, and should be as comprehensive as possible.58. The necessity of closely integrating technical afforestation programs with the development of forest industries should be recognized.
59. For support from both national and international financing sources, preinvestment studies should be made, in which, if needed, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the technical assistance of the various international financing organizations should participate.
60. Governments should assure such financial assistance as may be necessary and appropriate for establishment and development of man-made forests.
61. In view of the difficulties with which the developing countries are faced in establishing man-made forests on a large scale from their ordinary financial resources, emphasis should be placed on the need for adequate participation by international financing and industrial organizations. In this respect it should be stressed that, in their appraisals, such international organizations should take into account factors other than the return on the capital investment. But it should be recognized that finance may be forthcoming only if a stable economic climate can be assured.
62. Afforestation and the conservation and management of protection and production forests should be regarded as infrastructural works in the areas undergoing agrarian reform or industrialization.
63. In view of the infrastructural character of forests, all aspects of their potential contribution to the economy, including indirect and conservational benefits, should be taken into account and represented to the government whenever national afforestation programs are being planned.
64. Further investigations should be made into the quantitative evaluation of the indirect benefits of forestry, with a view to the improvement of criteria used in feasibility studies and investment analyses. Research on the cost and return relationship, which is urgently needed, should be extended to the indirect benefits (conservational, sociological and recreational) of substantial planting schemes.
65. In order to facilitate the success of plantation plans and of related industrial development plans, infrastructural, educational and social development in the forest areas should be promoted so as to ensure stable and contented personnel suitable for the needs of the projects.
66. The incidence of high harvesting and transport costs be recognized in the siting of processing plants and manmade forests, in relation to each other and to markets.
