Subject: SYLVANET vol.8(3) winter 1994 (fwd)

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 22 Dec 1994 09:42:15 -0500

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   Vol. 8, No. 3.                                  December 1994
 
 A publication of the International Programs,
 College of Forest Resources, North Carolina State University

 IN THIS ISSUE:
 
 1. FORESTRY AND VODKA IN KAZAKHSTAN
 2. FORESTRY AND FOLK TALES IN COLOMBIA
 3. SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN BOLIVIA
 4. GMELINA ARBOREA - THE HOW MUCH, WHERE
 5. TIMBER CERTIFICATION
 6. NCSU IN COSTA RICA!
 7. WHAT'S THAT??? -- AGROECOLOGICAL VEGETABLE SHOPPING
 8. NEWS ON THE EDUCATIONAL FRONT AND MORE!
 9. THANKS GUYS!
 10. 1995
 11. YOURS TRULY...

               KAZAKHSTAN FORESTRY - AN OVERVIEW AND TRAVELOGUE
 
                              by Mike Jacobson
 
  Introduction
 
 Most people have heard of Kazakhstan either in regard to the
 Marco Polo "Silk Road", or to the shrinking Aral Sea. Friendly
 and peaceful people, remote but beautiful landscapes, rich
 natural resources but a disastrous economy - that
 is Kazakhstan. Funded by Volunteers in Overseas Assistance (VOCA)
 and AID, our team was to learn about Kazakhstan's forest sector,
 exchange ideas, and give lectures on US forestry.
 
 Although relatively forest-poor compared to its neighbor Russia,
 Kazakhstan has a strong cadre of well-trained foresters who
 strongly believe in the importance of forests and trees.
 Unfortunately, the foresters can barely operate: the State
 forest enterprise lost 80% percent of its budget, and more cuts
 are expected.
 
  Geography and Culture 
 
 Kazakhstan, the second largest country in the former Soviet
 Union, is over twice the size of Alaska. It stretches over 3,000
 km east to west from the Caspian Sea and Ural River to China and
 Mongolia. Forested areas are mainly in the north and east. Most
 of the rest of the country is made up of steppe (grasslands),
 similar to North American prairies.

 In the south there are deserts. Mountains of up to 5000 m are
 found in the east and south-east. In general, rainfall is sparse,
 with an average of 200-400 mm annually in some parts of the
 north. In some parts of northern Kazakhstan temperatures reach -
 400C in winter. The country is rich in oil, natural gas,
 coal and strategic minerals, which undoubtedly helped fuel the
 Soviet rise to a world superpower.
 
 The original inhabitants, the Kazakhs, were nomads tending sheep,
 horses and cattle. They came from the Mongol and the Arab
 empires. The Russians' first interest in the region was for
 military outposts to protect the Russian eastern
 frontier. With the rise of communism in the early 20th Century
 and the concurrent exploitation of Kazakh natural resources, many
 Russians settled in the region. The fertile black soils of North
 Kazakhstan were exploited for agricultural projects since the
 1950s. As a result, the country is now mostly self-
 sufficient in grains and cereals, and it exports to other Central
 Asian countries. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991,
 the Kazakhs regained political power and are starting to dominate
 affairs once the domain of the Communists. Russian managers are
 replaced with Kazakhs. The Kazakh language and culture are being
 rejuvenated. The country is still heavily influenced by Russians,
 who account for almost half the population of 16 million.
 
 The Soviet system ensured jobs, places to live and basic services
 for everyone. Unemployment, a non-issue in the former system, is
 now on the rise due to State-owned enterprises being sold and new
 owners minimizing costs in the transition to a market economy.
 Inflationary pressures are rampant due to price increases.
 
 It is hard to gauge the feelings of the people to these changes.
 Most Kazakhs seem happy to have their country and culture back.
 People, including Russians, realize the failings of the communist
 system. Yet some feel that the government (freely elected) is not
 doing the right thing in the transition to a market economy.

   The Forest Sector
 
 The forest sector is no exception to economic problems. The State
 Forest Service controls the country's forest resources but
 operates virtually without a budget. Prior to independence, the
 budget was an assured and stable part of forest management.
 At the field level, work is organized into State Forestry
 Enterprises (SFE). Similar to the well-known Soviet style
 collective farm, the SFE is a self-contained community whose
 primary goal is to manage the forest lands under their
 control. Targets on production come from a central planning
 committee and are basically orders given to the SFE. In addition
 to timber, many SFEs also produce their own food and livestock.
 The country has about 150 SFEs averaging in area about 100,000 ha
 (not all forest).
 
   Forest Types
 
 Only 3% of the land in Kazakhstan is forested (10 million ha).
 Three main forest types can be distinguished: in the north, the
 forest steppe is made up of islands of scotch pine and birch
 among agriculture and grasslands; toward the east and the
 mountains are taiga forests of fir, spruce and aspen; in the
 south one finds predominantly salt- and desert-tolerant species.
 Fruit-growing is also under the control of the forest
 enterprises, especially in the south. The region is the source of
 many unique apple cultivars.
 
   Forest Management and Research
 
 The key objective of forestry research in Kazakhstan is forest
 protection and afforestation. Large-scale production and
 harvesting are non-existent. The Soviet plan was for the larger
 mills to be located in Russia, where there are larger forest
 reserves. As a result, Kazakhstan never really developed a strong
 forest resource base. The goal of forestry in Kazakhstan, as part
 of the Soviet economic system, was more for protective than
 production purposes. Now, it cannot rely on the Russians and
 needs to become self-sufficient in forest products.
 
 Forests are generally well-managed and most foresters are trained
 technicians or professionals. Seed orchards, thinning and
 harvesting research areas, which we visited, were very sound and
 advanced, considering the lack of modern facilities. The country
 has two forestry training institutes and one large research
 institute. Additionally, some people were trained in the former
 Soviet Union. There is no extension agency, per se. All questions
 are addressed through the local SFE.
 
  Forest Production
 
 Kazakhstan consumes about 6 million cubic meters of forest
 products, of which about one-third is locally produced. Russian
 imports account for the remainder. There is a growing concern
 that forests will be overcut (especially for fuelwood) in the
 near future.
 
 Production is carried by the SFEs in decrepit sawmills using
 gang/sash saws. There is a wide range of production activities
 across the various SFEs. Some could not operate for lack of fuel.
 Typical products are boards for housing, crates, barrels, and
 logs for log houses. Some enterprises produce crafts such
 as wooden bowls and eating utensils.
 
  Non-Timber Activities
 
 Tourism, recreation, wildlife management, and non-timber forest
 products are not well-developed. Ecotourism is a new word. But
 the beauty and natural resources could provide a wide range of
 recreation: skiing, hiking, horseback riding.
 The country, being very sparsely populated, is still pristine in
 many areas. Wildlife is fairly abundant in bears, foxes, deer and
 mountain sheep. Locals traditionally have had free access to
 berry and mushroom picking in the forests.
 
  Watershed Management
 
 An important aspect of forestry in Kazakhstan is the innovative
 control of watersheds. For example, along the Ural River, elms,
 maples, ashes, and pines are planted in rows. The plowed area
 between the rows retains moisture. As the elms die, they are
 replaced with more useful and productive pines. Pines need
 the wind shelter from the elms and the enriched soil from
 previous plantings.
 
  Environmental Issues
 
 The draining of the Aral Sea was an internationally-famous Soviet
 disaster. Since 1960 the sea has been used to irrigate cotton
 fields in Central Asia. Reportedly, the sea is now less than half
 of its original size. As a result, water, sanitation and dust
 pollution problems abound. There are efforts at replanting the
 watersheds and the exposed sea bottom. Salt-tolerant species are
 used. Lack of funding, however, could waste this important
 restoration effort.
 
  Forest Outlook
 
 The prospects for the forest sector at present are not as good
 as, say, for the vodka market (although the previously subsidized
 vodka producers are losing now to cheaper imports). Yet the
 resolve on the faces of the foresters to maintain the forests is
 impressive. Many of them are working without pay. An estimated
 30% of the land is unproductive, which could mean a huge increase
 in their forest reserves if just one or two percent were used for
 forest plantations. Foreign donors and the government talk of the
 need for environmental protection but fail to act on it. Although
 not a developing country, Kazakhstan needs technical assistance
 to hold on to its forest reserves and to expand the forest
 area in order to make the country more self-sufficient in forest
 products.
 
 Mike Jacobson is a Ph.D. student in Forestry at NCSU. During the
 summer 1994, he spent 5 weeks evaluating
 Kazakhstani forestry sector and tasting local delicacies and
 drinks. A fuller report can be obtained from
 the author by e-mailing to: [email-masked]

 
             RAPID RURAL ASSESSMENT IN COLOMBIA
 
                   by Masatoshi Endo
 
   Introduction
 
 Deforestation in Colombia is high (900,000 ha/year), but
 reforestation replenishes only a small portion (8000 ha/year) of
 cut forests. Forest industries perform almost all major
 reforestation using pine, eucalyptus, Gmelina, and some
 native species. I visited 10 different forestry projects,
 including industrial forest plantations and community forestry,
 performing Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA). Spending two to seven
 days at each place allowed me to identify key informants of
 projects and casual neighbors. My objective was to learn  1) what
 people think of the forestry projects in their area,  2) what
 kind of special programs exist to improve relationships between
 people and the projects, and 3) how effective are such programs.
 
  Geography
 
 In the Andean region, the terrain is steep and the population
 pressure relatively high. Coffee grows at elevations of 1400-1900
 m; grazing still occurs at 1900-3000 m. Degraded natural forests
 and farmland intermingle. The northern coastal area is
 characterized by hot and dry weather, except for two short rainy
 seasons (annual rainfall of 1000-1500 mm). The terrain is fairly
 flat, and infrastructure development is poor. In many villages,
 people still obtain drinking water from brown-water ponds, and
 they don't have electricity.
 
  People and forest plantations
 
 In the areas with plantation operations, people complained that
 pine and eucalyptus sterilize and dry up soils, pointing to an
 absence of weeds underneath these trees. They claim that toxic
 substances in pine needles cause decomposition to slow down and
 no other plants to grow. That the absence of weeds is a result of
 the closed canopy is not an explanation. Not even the fact
 that rainfall declined in 1991-92 due to the change in the "Nino"
 current can change people's minds about water loss due to
 plantations.
 
 Opinions like these are often expressed by people with
 considerable education:
 medical doctors, lawyers, and school teachers. The newspaper with
 the most circulation in Colombia, "El Tiempo",  ran a story
 "Pines are bad for soils".
 Such a story can affect policies. For example, the city of Pasto
 (with 300,000 people) would like to prohibit planting of pines
 and eucalyptus within its city limits, at the same time
 eradicating the growing ones within a few years! Yet
 these trees can stabilize eroded lands, provide employment and
 raw materials, and supply fuelwood to reduce people's dependency
 on natural forests.
 
 Some argued that people are now starving because agricultural
 lands are used for forestry operations. People cannot eat trees,
 these critiques stress. However, many forest plantations utilize
 fallow agricultural or grazing lands. In the past, these lands
 belonged to a few large land owners. Food produced did
 not necessarily belong to the locals; most of it went to the
 market. In the last five years, many farmers went out of business
 in Colombia because the prices of agricultural products were too
 low for farmers to make an income (yet expensive for consumers).

   Industrial forestry projects
 
 I contrasted several industrial with public forestrym projects.
 Monterrey Forestal and Reforestadora de San Sebastian, both
 industrial forestry projects, are located in a fairly poor sector
 in northern Coastal Colombia. I was amazed by the many positive
 opinions expressed by local farmers. One local farmer said:
 "God must have brought this forestry project here!". These forest
 projects are the only sources of stable employment opportunity
 with full benefits (health insurance, vacation time, minimum
 wage) in the zone. Monterrey Forestal supports a local women's
 group to run a uniform factory, and also assists farmers finan-
 cially and technically in their bee-keeping business.
 Reforestadora de San Sebastian offers a community health program,
 including construction materials to build toilets. Based on these
 two industrial projects, I conclude that industrial forestry can
 contribute to the improvement of life for the rural people.
 
  Public forestry projects
 
 I was a bit disappointed with some public forestry projects. In
 one project, where tree planting was required by law to improve
 watersheds, 27 million trees were planted in the past 14 years,
 with 7 million surviving. In another project, forest contractors
 (foresters) were planting pine seedlings one inch in height.
 Contractors know that these small trees have a poor survival, but
 the project's objectives are based on the number of trees planted
 in a given time period.
 Local farmers think of these projects favorably because they
 receive free seedlings. However, if one considers how much it
 costs to administer such a program, farmers may actually prefer
 a completely different project. For example, a simple calculation
 reveals that the cost of 200 seedlings delivered to a
 farmer are approximately what a poor farmer would earn in a
 month. In the field, I could easily observe some 200 seedlings
 wasted (not utilized) in farmers' yards on more than one
 occasion.
 
 As a concluding remark, I am convinced that forestry projects can
 contribute to improving rural people's life. But further effort
 is needed to make forestry projects addressing people's needs.
 Equally important is to foster public opinion so that people
 become aware that forestry is beneficial. Without such
 a conviction, reforestation will never become a mainstream event.

 Masatoshi Endo spent his summer in Colombia, chatting with
 campesinos (local farmers) about forestry projects.
 He occasionally had to drink and even dance in order to obtain
 more rapport from people. It was a tough job
 (but somebody had to do it!). Toshi is a Ph.D. candidate in
 Forestry at NCSU.

      BOLIVIA SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY MANAGEMENT PROJECT (BOLFOR)
 
                        by David Hughell
 
 Bolivia's most urgent environmental concerns are deforestation
 and forest degradation. The conversion of Bolivia's economically
 viable forest ranges from 80,000 to 200,000 hectares/year. Its
 booming export market is dominated by three species which
 comprise nearly 90 percent of the timber trade -- Swietenia
 macrophylla (mahogany) (which alone accounts for 63 percent of
 total timber value), Amburana (roble) and Cedrela (cedro). While
 stocks may last less than a decade at the current rates of
 extraction, almost nothing is known about the
 natural regeneration and growth of these species. In addition,
 experts estimate that more than 50 percent of total timber cut is
 wasted through irrational harvesting and milling practices.
 Secondary timber products are almost ignored,
 and almost all of Bolivia's hardwoods are marketed with little or
 no value-added processing in country. A host of potentially
 renewable non-timber forest products (e.g., essential oils,
 fruits, gums, medicinals, and selected fauna)
 that could dramatically increase the value of the standing forest
 remain unexplored. In summary, increasingly scarce forest
 resources are being extracted at extremely high ecological,
 economic, and social costs, and then sold for only
 a fraction of their potential value.
 
 The Bolivia Sustainable Forestry Management Project (BOLFOR) has
 been created to address these urgent problems. BOLFOR is a new
 AID-financed forestry project executed by a consortium of
 non-profit and for-profit organizations: Chemonics
 International (prime contractor); Tropical Research and
 Development (TRD); Conservation International (CI); Wildlife
 Conservation Society (WCS). Its activities are organized into
 three components: (1) natural forest management,
 (2) policy and institutional analysis and development, and (3)
 timber and non- timber product development, including
 value-adding enterprises. Contrary to most AID natural resource
 management projects, BOLFOR's activities have intentionally
 been left open to give it the flexibility to respond to local
 initiatives carried out by other organizations. The goal is to
 fortify local institutions and avoid the problems inherent in
 traditional top-down project implementation.
 BOLFOR's key counterpart organization is Bolivia's new Ministry
 for Sustainable Development and the Environment (MDSMA), although
 BOLFOR also works closely with other relevant government and
 non-governmental organizations. In Bolivia the non-govermental
 organizations (NGOs) are generally stable, well funded and, in
 some cases, have good technical expertise to carry out
 environmental research and development activities.
 
 BOLFOR's major focus is "eco-certification", with the ambitious
 goal of having 25 percent forest production in the department of
 Santa Cruz certified. The idea behind eco-certification is to use
 market forces (take advantage of "green" consumerism) to motivate
 change from destructive to less-destructive and sustainable
 forest management practices. Based on the guidelines laid out by
 the International Timber Trade Organization (ITTO), criteria have
 to be set for identifying acceptable forest management and for
 determining which products are a result of these practices.
 
 David Hughell is a graduate student in quantitative management in
 Forestry, NCSU. As a consultant with Chemonics, David Hughell
 carried out a 5-week assignment (June/July 1994) with the BOLFOR
 project to help design a strategy for the development of a
 computerized environmental monitoring and evaluation system.

 Gmelina arborea: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  IN INDUSTRIAL PLANTATIONS
 
                 by Wendell Clark and Bob Flynn

  Abstract
 
 Gmelina arborea occurs naturally in India and several neighboring
 countries. Because of its abundant production of seed, rapid
 early growth and coppicing characteristics, it has been widely
 planted throughout the lowland tropics. The earliest recorded
 plantation was in 1879 in what is now Bangladesh. By 1981,
 gmelina had been planted in at least 35 countries. Gmelina grows
 extremely rapidly on good sites, but has not been successful on
 steeper slopes, poor soils, or areas with marginal rainfall. The
 wood is easy to work, and has properties similar to the Populus
 spp. It is used for rotary peeled veneer, pulp, particleboard,
 matches, and sawn wood for local use. In addition, its light
 color and physical properties offer exciting potential for future
 use in medium density fiberboard (MDF) and oriented strand board
 (OSB), as these new products continue to rapidly gain acceptance
 world-wide in the furniture and construction industries. In
 plywood, gmelina makes an excellent surface for modern finishes,
 as well as good core stock. The following article is intended to
 briefly summarize the extent of industrial gmelina development by
 geographical area.
 
   Africa
 
 Nigeria has almost 90,000 ha in gmelina plantations, making it
 one of the world's largest reserves of the species, and certainly
 the largest outside its native range. This timber was planted as
 part of three pulp mill schemes. Two mills were actually built,
 but were several years behind schedule, and are now
 operating at a fraction of capacity. Planting was done on
 schedule and much of the gmelina is now getting too large for
 pulpwood. Many plantations are remote from the intended pulp
 mills. New private or joint venture mills to produce
 particleboard, MDF, or OSB for export would be the best use of
 Nigerian gmelina timber, but unstable political conditions
 presently preclude the necessary investment. Mature gmelina
 deteriorates rapidly and does not age well.
 
 Gmelina has been planted widely in several other African
 countries, including Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia.
 
   Southeast Asia
 
 Malaysia - Sabah Softwoods Sdn Bhd (SSSB) has around 6,000 ha of
 gmelina in plantations, and they are currently expanding this
 base. The plan is to eventually chip this wood for pulp
 production, either in Malaysia or other Asian
 countries. However, after several feasibility studies, no chip
 plant has yet been built.
 
 Indonesia - P.T. Suryaraya Wahana has four nurseries producing
 gmelina and is aggressively planting on the island of Kalimantan,
 according to Dr. Chuck Davey of NCSU. Several Japanese companies
 are reportedly interested in growing gmelina in either Indonesia
 or Malaysia - wood from these plantations would be chipped
 and exported to pulp mills in Japan.

 Gmelina has also been planted in the Philippines, Thailand,
 Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, among other countries, but the
 authors know of no other recent, large-scale plantations.
 
   South America
 
 Brazil - Perhaps the most well-known gmelina plantations were
 developed by Daniel Ludwig as part of the Jari project. Planting
 of gmelina began at Jari in 1968. In 1980, Jari had 72,000 ha of
 gmelina. However, despite the fact that the species makes
 excellent pulp, it did not grow well on many of the soils at
 Jari. Gmelina has not been replanted since 1990, and now the
 project is no longer utilizing the species.
 
 Costa Rica - Ludwig planted gmelina in Costa Rica and Panama
 already in the early 1960s. Stone Container has planted 13,000 ha
 of gmelina in southern Costa Rica, and plans to export most of
 the wood in chip form. They have not yet secured the necessary
 permits to build the chip plant and export dock, and are
 being opposed by international groups such as Greenpeace. This
 despite the fact that Stone has made a concerted effort to be
 "environmentally friendly", e.g. plant only on land that had
 already been cleared for grazing, plant in blocks averaging about
 40 ha in size rather than in huge blocks, use mainly manual labor
 to clear competing vegetation rather than herbicides, etc. Stone
 also hopes to grow some gmelina on a longer rotation (around 10
 years) to produce sawlogs. Growth rates on Stone's plantations
 reportedly have averaged about 40 m3/ha/year; growth ranges from
 15 to almost 100 m3/ha/yr. Another company in Costa Rica, Los
 Nacientes, has about 5,000 ha of gmelina in the northern and
 eastern parts of the country.
 
 Guatemala - Simpson Paper Company has established about 5,000 ha,
 with the intention of chipping the wood and exporting the chips
 to their pulp mill in Texas. Simpson is currently reconsidering
 its options, and may export pulp-logs to Texas and chip there.
 They are expanding their plantation base, with the aim
 of reaching 7,000 ha.
 
 Venezuela - Smurfit Carton de Venezuela planted about 4,000 ha to
 help feed their new wood-based pulp mill at San Felipe. They will
 expand this slightly.

 Colombia - Pizano, S.A. has several thousand hectares of gmelina,
 used to feed their particleboard mill. Smurfit Carton de Colombia
 has a gmelina seed orchard and is selling seed, but is not
 expanding plantations of gmelina.
 
 Wendell Clark is a forestry consultant with experience in 17
 countries, including a recent assignment in
 Nigeria with gmelina plantation utilization. Bob Flynn is a
 forestry consultant specializing in raw material
 supply and demand. The authors would like to hear of
 new developments with Gmelina. Please contact W. Clark at: 12528
 S.W. 158th St., Vashon, WA 98070, fax 206-567-4988, and B. Flynn
 at: 6824 19th St. W., #330, Tacoma, WA, 98466, fax 206-565-5919,
 e-mail [email-masked]

       TIMBER CERTIFICATION: Implications for Tropical Forest
              Management - Conference Notes
 
                       by Robert Crook
 
 On Feb.5-6, 1994, at Yale University, a conference on Timber
 Certification was held, focusing on the impact
 of such a program on timber harvesting and marketing throughout
 the world. The spectrum of groups present
 ranged from industry: hardwood trade associations and timber
 buyers, to environmental: Friends of the Earth,
 the Sierra Club, Rainforest Alliance. Also present were some
 writers and publishers of forestry journals.
 This mix made for lively exchanges, and discussion on a global
 scale.
 
 For any who are unfamiliar with what timber certification is, a
 quick recap is in order. Different groups have begun to try and
 certify that forest products are harvested in a sustainable
 manner. Such certification projects can be effective for two
 reasons: a rational, sustainable management of forest resources
 is more economically favorable in many cases in the long run.
 Secondly, these programs foster a spirit of cooperation between
 the producers and consumers.
 
 While the effort to certify timber is well intentioned, there are
 many questions and problems with implementation.
 
   Constraints
 
 Biological. Which biological parameters should be used to
 determine if forest harvesting activities are causing a
 degradation of the forest? All groups present at the meeting
 would be happy to see Best Management Practices (BMP)
 implemented in all forests. This means that any forest product
 seen with a green sticker at your local lumberyard does not imply
 sustainable harvesting techniques, but rather ecologically
 sensitive harvesting of timber.
 
 The Indonesian representatives to the meeting were advocating a
 plan with many characteristics of ecosystem management. A key to
 the success of the forestry program is to control population
 growth through a family planning program. The Indonesians sent
 former NCSU alumnus, Syafi Manin, to represent them at the
 conference.
 
 Political. If the North expects the South to harvest their timber
 in a sustainable manner, than the South will expect the North to
 do likewise. The idea of boycotting timber which is harvested in
 an ecologically insensitive manner will not work. Austria tried
 this approach and damaged its relations with ITTO
 producer nations. To boycott timber in the U.S. would not make
 much sense as a way to stop deforestation; we are a relatively
 small consumer.
 
 It makes more sense to expand the markets for the secondary
 timber species that are at present being wasted. These include
 tropical timbers as well as red alder and Pacific yew from the
 north-western U.S. A representative of Overseas
 Hardwoods Company, T. Lee Robinson, Jr. put it: "Most people
 looking to purchase wood are only interested in buying the
 properties of wood, not any one particular species, so that as
 more becomes known about the physical and anatomical
 properties of these woods, the easier it will be to sell these
 lesser known species."
 
 Economic. Who is going to pay for consultants and certiffiers to
 go to remote places to certify that a forest is being harvested
 sustainably? The industry/trade representatives at the conference
 said that no U.S. consumer will spend the extra money on wood
 that is sustainably harvested. Mark Eisen, head of Marketing
 for Home Depot, a home improvement chain worth $10 billion
 dollars, said that if two products are priced equally and one is
 green stamped and the other is not, than the green stamp will be
 sold. However, if it is more expensive it will
 not last in the marketplace. Environmental and other groups
 disputed this claim.

 Right now, the Rainforest Alliance is being criticized for
 charging too much money to timber producers for certification
 under the BPM guidelines. Certification costs range from a few
 thousand dollars to a hundred thousand dollars
 for Collins Pine. For Collins Pine this works out to $1 per 1000
 board feet. Estimates at the conference were that it should not
 cost more than $2.50 per 1,000.
 
 Such cost makes the profit margin too small for the many small
 communities in the developing world who are trying to start up
 community-based forest operations. These are the same communities
 who are colonizing and converting forest to agriculture because
 they know of no way to successfully produce anything from
 the forest.
 
 The Rainforest Alliance is trying to implement regionalization of
 certification officers. The use of local personnel would cost
 less to hire and support while in the field.
 
 Another suggestion was to lower taxes and import duties on timber
 that was harvested sustainably to a level at which it could
 compete in the marketplace with other timber. This was suggested
 by a representative of the International Hardwood Products
 Association.
 
 Rob Crook was a forester for the Peace Corps in Costa Rica. He is
 a M.S. candidate in forestry at NCSU. He is currently looking for
 employment, preferrably in Latin America. A more complete version
 of these notes can be obtained from the author at R.Crook, Box
 8002, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695.

                   NCSU's 1994 TROPICAL FORESTRY FIELD TRIP
 
                               by Laura Lombardo
 
 From May 15-27, group of 18 travelled from North Carolina to
 Costa Rica to get a first-hand account of tropical forest
 management and conservation.  Dr. Rebecca Butterfield, Forestry
 Coordinator at the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) and
 NCSU alumnus, lead the tour.
 
 The group comprised graduate and undergraduate students in
 forestry, political science, and biomath. Among
 this group were 5 international students from Japan, Mexico,
 Indonesia and Taiwan.
 
   Reforestation / Plantation Forestry
 
 Driving through the Costa Rican countryside, one notices the
 immense deforestation that has occurred through conversion of
 once primary-forest lands to cattle pastures. This conversion has
 been politically and economically driven by past
 credit policies of the nationalized banking system. Only ten
 years ago, Costa Rica was still an exporter of wood, with
 approximately 150 sawmills in operation. Since no effort had been
 made to reforest, Costa Rica must now import
 timber to meet its demand for wood products, and a majority of
 its sawmills are shutting down. However, the environmental
 movement convinced the government to recognize forestry as a far
 more appropriate land use than cattle grazing.
 Reforestation of pasture lands through plantation forestry is now
 being supported and even subsidized by the government in order to
 make forestry an economically attractive alternative to farmers.
 
 The Organization of Tropical Studies, OTS, through its TRIALS
 projects, hopes to better match native tree species to sites, to
 increase seed production and nursery capabilities, and to
 understand the effects of reforestation on water-
 sheds and soil properties. There are many opportunities for
 interested graduate students to get involved in TRIALS research.
 TRIALS has experimental forestry plots at La Selva Biological
 Station and a research nursery in Buenos Aires.
 In Buenos Aires, we visited Ston Forestal's industrial forestry
 operations, where Ston maintains a Gmelina arborea (exotic
 species) seed orchard and conducts provenance tests. Melina is
 used as a model for management of demanding tree species (exotic
 or native), and is being evaluated for adoption to large-
 scale silviculture. In Salama, melina is growing successfully in
 plantations, yielding 70 m3/ha/yr!
 
 We visited 2 sawmills, one for large and the other for small
 diameter logs. At El Gavilan Sawmill, the machinery in stock
 could only process very large logs, such as those from the
 old-growth primary forests. In order to stay in business,
 the mill is restructuring to handle smaller diameter logs
 harvested from plantations. The mill buys timber directly from
 farmers and not from loggers to ensure a steady supply of wood.
 The mill also purchases land. If the purchased land is forested,
 the mill manages the land according to natural forest
 management regulations, where 40% is harvested. If the land is in
 pasture, the mill will reforest using the results from TRIALS
 research, and manage in plantations.
 
 The second sawmill (small diameter) operated solely from the
 thinnings from 5-12 year old plantations. Due to the current wood
 shortage in Costa Rica, this mill is quite successful in selling
 whatever it produces.
 
   Natural Forest Management
 
 CATIE, the regional agricultural and forestry research center,
 focuses on sustainable natural forest management in Tirimbina.
 Most of the forests which escaped deforestation is privately
 owned, even in the national parks. The government provides
 incentives to land owners to manage their land sustainably. CATIE
 assists private land owners in forest management and promotes
 silviculTural "liberation" through girdling as a means to
 increase mean annual increment of potential crop trees.
 
   Agroforestry
 
 At La Selva, OTS studies the ecology and biophysics of
 agroforestry to help decide which species to plant together. In
 the coffee-growing region of Guanacaste, AGUADEFOR, an NGO,
 interplants nitrogen-fixing trees with coffee. The trees provide
 nitrogen for the coffee, and fruit and firewood for the
 locals.
 
  Protected Area Management
 
 We spent a day at Santa Rosa National Park (monkey alert!) in
 northwestern Costa Rica. This park is part of the Guanacaste
 Conservation Area, a 110,000 sq km area with forest types ranging
 from coastal tropical dry forest to humid tropical rain forest.
 Research efforts for the Guanacaste Conservation Area have
 focused on restoration of the tropical dry forest, silviculture,
 and environmental education.
 
 The Costa Rica National Park Service, which considers
 conservation of the park to be the primary objective, has been
 under tremendous pressure to accommodate tourists. This is common
 in most national parks in Costa Rica. Another challenge
 is funding. So far, the park has been very successful in getting
 international funding, and work is underway to set up an
 endowment fund to support the park's operating budget.
 
   Rainforest Ecology
 
 A guided tour of the primary and secondary forests (450 tree
 species at La Selva) introduced us to the lushness of the
 vegetation. Beautiful birds (including the colorful keel-billed
 toucan), poison dart frogs, and my all-time favorite, the
 leaf-cutter ants, never ceased to amaze me. While at La Selva, we
 heard lectures from OTS researchers on ecology of rainforests and
 secondary forests, and visited their GIS facilities and a
 fascinating insect inventory project.
 
 All in all, the trip was a great, unforgettable experience. We
 all learned a great deal about the many aspects of forestry, got
 to speak some Spanish to the very warm and friendly Costa Ricans,
 saw beautiful scenery (including active volcanoes), forests and
 wildlife, and ate some excellent pineapple!! I look forward to
 next year's trip!
 
 Laura Lombardo is a M.S. student in Forestry at NCSU. After eight
 years as an engineer with the EPA, she is pursuing her interests
 in international forestry and development.

 
 OPINIONS:
 
 THE PROBLEM OF PER DIEMS: AGRO-ECOLOGICAL VEGETABLE SHOPPING
 
                           by Jan Laarman
 
 We often discuss incentive and disincentives for different kinds
 of forestry activities. For example, we debate circumstances that
 would motivate a community to engage in tree planting, or that
 would encourage a logger to reduce logging
 damages.
 
 However, an honest discussion of incentives and disincentives
 should call our attention to a subject rarely explored. In
 countries where a forester makes the equivalent of under US$100
 a month, a one-week trip amounts to a substantial
 amount of money in per-diems. A recent experience in
 agro-ecological vegetable shopping helps make the point.
 
 We were putting on a workshop in a distant town, and this enabled
 my companions to save a considerable proportion of their per
 diems. In the highlands they bought carrots, cabbages, and
 potatoes. A little lower in elevation, it was bananas, millet,
 and beans. Then lower still and closer to the main city, they
 compared roadside stalls for tomatoes, onions, and garlic.
 I remembered the Holdridge Lifezone System and its significance
 for agroecological patterns on the land. But I concluded that Dr.
 Holdridge could not have anticipated that his system would be so
 useful for fruit and vegetable shopping on government per diems.
 Several questions are suggested:
 
   * Why is travel such a large item in many forestry budgets?
 
   * Why do only top administrators in a ministry or forestry
 department come to  meetings, especially in far-away places, even
 when the meetings are intended for  technical personnel?
 
   * Is it good economics when a project team spends hours of time
 and many liters of vehicle fuel to save very modest  amounts on
 a meal or hotel bill?
 
   * Why is having family or friends with whom to spend a night
 important in the choice of where to hold a conference or meeting?

   * Why do decisions about who is assigned to regional and other
 field positions command so much attention, even of top
 administrators, to the neglect of other matters?
 
 It seems to me that the economics of official travel are vastly
 understudied in relation to their true significance for forestry
 programs.

 
 CONFERENCES:
 
 International Society of Tropical Foresters, Raleigh Chapter, and
 North Carolina
 State University will sponsor the following one-day meeting:
 
 Current Issues in Clearcutting (March 25, 1995). We intend to
 probe an array
 of perspectives in both tropical and temperate forestry.
 
 For more info contact:
 Toshi Endo
 North Carolina State University
 College of Forest Resources
 Box 8002
 Raleigh, NC 27695
 Fax 919 515-6193
 e-mail [email-masked]

 The Australian National University will be offering the following
 courses in 1995:
 
 Rural Projects -- design, monitoring and evaluation (April 24 -
 May 19,1995).
 Focus on development of practical skills in project
 identification, design, and logical framework, social and
 economic analyses, organization, management, and implementation.
 Cost, including tuition and subsistence, is A$ 8,000.
 
 GIS and Environmental Modelling (July 3-14, 1995). Hands-on
 experience in spatial data manipulation in IDRISI: raster and
 vector systems, data formats and sources, data handling and
 interpretation, map generation. Practice with forestry,
 agriculture, soil, hydrology, and related data sets. Cost,
 including tuition and subsistence, is A$ 3,500.
 
 Environmental Assessment for Development Projects (Sept.4-29,
 1995). Topics covered include EIA procedures, environmental
 economics, and the role of the community in environmental
 management. Intended for resource planners and project
 professionals.
 
 For more info contact:
 George Collett
 ANUTECH Pty Ltd
 GPO Box 4
 Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
 Tel 616 249 5671
 Fax 616 249 5875

 Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, will hold the
 following meeting:
 
 First Open meeting on the Human Dimensions of Global
 Environmental Change Community (June 1-3, 1995). The purpose is
 to promote exchange of information on current research, teaching,
 and outreach in the area of human dimensions.
 Special sessions will include: International Institutions and
 Global Environmental Change; Scientific Analysis; Perceptions,
 and Desicions-Making; Property Rights and Global Environmental
 Change; Industrial Restructuring and Sustainable Development;
 Land Use/Cover Modelling and Analysis; Human Migration.
 
 For more info contact:
 Global Environmental Change Program,
 Social Science Research Council, 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY
 10158.
 Tel 212 661-0280
 Fax 212 370-7896
 e-mail [email-masked] or [email-masked]

 PUBLICATIONS:
 
 Land, Forests, and Sustainable Community Development in Insular
 Southeast Asia - Bibliography Uptade. Included 420 citations on
 resource management in forests and upland areas of insular
 Southeast Asia. Costs: US$ 10.0 (airmail) or US$
 4.0 (surface mail). Make checks to: Cornell University.
 Mail to: SINULOG
 349 Warren Hall
 Cornell University
 Ithaca, N.Y. 14853
 e-mail [email-masked]

 POSITIONS WANTED:
 
 Statistician and economist (M.S.), specializing in accounting and
 economic analysis is looking for an accounting/manager/computer
 analyst/finance officer position. Has international experience.
 English-proficient, and versed in Russian. Please contact Samuel
 Onyenankeya, c/o Mr. O.B. Ibelachi, No 63 Awolowo
 Street, Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria.

 Sylvanet would like to recognize the people who were and are
 instrumental to its well-being: David Hughell, who over the years
 helped maintaining the address database; the former co-editor,
 Kevyn Wightman, who put us at the forefront of internet
 technology, and last, but not least, Mike Jacobson, who not only
 serves coffee, but also proof-reads Sylvanet. Thanks!

 AND TO ALL OF YOU:
 
 FELIZ AN~O NUEVO!
 HAPPY NEW YEAR!
 SZCZE,S'LIWEGO NOWEGO ROKU!
 SELAMAT TAHUN BARU 1995!
 ALLES GUTE ZUM NEUEN JAHR!

 Sylvanet editor:
 Kathryn B. Piatek
 
 International Programs Director:
 Dr. Jan Laarman
 
 Our address: College of Forest Resources
 North Carolina State University
 Raleigh , NC 27695 USA
 Phone: 919 515-7581
 Fax: 919 515-6193
 e-mail: [email-masked]