Subject: Thailand: RECOFTC Courses 1997 (fwd)

From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 1997 22:20:28 -0500 (EST)

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Subject: Thailand: RECOFTC Courses 1997

To all members of the International Bamboo Communities participating in this
internet list service (courtesy of Jim Ryan and the University of California
at Santa Cruz). And others on the address lists chosen:

Please print, forward and pass this announcement on to anyone with parallel
interests whom you may know. 

Newsletter editors please take note. 

Community Forestry, Social Forestry, Agro-forestry, Ecological Forestry etc.
are all names for revitalizing communities and fostering locally-based
economic renewal. 

Remember a simple formula: "Local resources converted by local people
primarily for local use in ways which generate economic surplus retained for
re-investment within the community."

Dr. Somsak Sukwong, Director, Regional Community Forestry Training Center
(RECOFTC), Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand sent course announcements
on Community Forestry. 

Those for whom bamboo is a vital community resource and who want to help
avoid replication of the downsides of introducing or substituting bamboo for
wood in industrial processes have a great deal to learn through RECOFTC. Karl
Bareis, IBA Coordinator, is a community forestry advocate as are many key
figures involved with pragmatic futures for bamboo--perhaps the earth's only
truly regenerative resource

A training course on eco-tourism 9-27 June 1997 has been postponed. Contact
Dr. Sukwong at <<[email-masked]>> for further information.

1) "Marketing of Tree and Forest Products" 9-27 June 1997. Bangkok. US$3,950
including course materials, accomodation, daily allowance and health
insurance.
Application deadline: 25 April 1997 (addresses below)

"As forested areas continue to diminish, conservation of the forest is
increasingly being linked to a stragegy of integrating forest conservation
and development actitivities. One of these activities is the development of
tree and forest products for income generation as well as forest management.
This strategy requires personnel trained in the marketing of tree and forest
products.

"The Marketing of Tree and Forest Products Course is designed to provide. . .
the skills needed to explore and develop the link between forest utilization
and development of markets for tree and forest products. In the past, many
community forestry projects focused on production for household or community
consumption, while ignoring income generation through marketing of these
products, However, there is now increasing awareness that income derived from
forest and tree products is in many instances the principle motivation in
forest utilization, conservation and tree planting."

2) "Community Forestry Extension" 7 July - 1 August 1997, Bangkok. US$4,300
including course materials, accomodation, daily allowance and health
insurance. Application deadline: 31 May 1997.

"The Community Forestry Extension Course is designed to provide. . .
extension skills necessary to implement participatory forestry programs. 

"Unlike traditional forestry, Community Forestry recognizes local people's
participation in all stages of forest and tree management. The participation
of community and user groups in planning and managing the use of the forest
and tree resources is key to successful extension.  

"To be effective, forestry personnel must be oriented to the needs of local
communities, and Community Forestry extension must form an integral part of
all forest management activities.

"The primary objective of the course is to develop the skills necessary to
determine the needs of rural communities and to foster and incorporate their
participation in forest resource management."

3) "Community Forestry at a Crossroads" 17-19 July 1997, Bangkok. US$150.00
includes reception, banquet, lunches and coffee breaks during the seminar.
Application deadline: 10 June 1997. (The brochure cover is illustrated with a
line drawing of a bamboo grove in a rural village)

"When RECOFTC was established in 1987, community forestry was at a nascent
stage of development in most communities throughout the Asia-Pacific Region.
Ten years later, there is a much greater understanding and recognition of
Community Forestry as a means of forest conservation as well as rural
development.

"As Community Forestry has evolved, there have been shifts in emphasis as
well. Community Forestry was initially centered around involving local
communities in reforestration and protection activities. One of the major
shifts from this emphasis of Community Forestry as a means of ecouraging the
co-operation of local people in forest conservation towards an increasing
emphasis on achieving a real balance between conservation and local
development goals. There has also been, at least at the level of policy
statments, an increasing concern with encouraging greater sharing of
authority and control of Community Forestry between Forest Departments and
local people.

"But, while the concept of community forestry has become widely recognized,
promoted and debating, there is a perception by many people involved in
Community Forestry activities that it has not been widely institutionalized
in practice, particularly where there are no enabling policies nor
legislation. But even in thos cases where policy and legislation has changed,
the implementation of community forestry is often accompanied by considerable
problems.

"In some respects community forestry seems to be at a crossroads. On the one
hand there is a need to accelerate the rate of implementation and the
institutionalisation of Community Forestry within the Forest Departments. On
the other hand, a number of new themes are emerging such as income
generation, the application of Community Forestry in protected areas and
potential connections between Community Forestry and eco-tourism.

"In 1997, RECOFTC will celebrate its tenth anniversary. The occasion of this
anniversary is an appropriate time to reflect on where Community Forestry as
come from, what it has accomplished and where it will go. This seminar will
critically review the development of Community Forestry in the region to date
and explore opportunities and constraints for the future development of
Community Forestry."

4) "Certificate Course in Community Forestry" 18 Aug - 28 Nov 1997. Bangkok,
US$9,500 including course materials, field trips and field study,
accomodation, daily allowance and health insurance. Application deadline: 18
July 1997 (One of the pictures on the brochure cover shows a village within
which bamboo is evident as well as seen in construction of buildings)

"In the last 15 years experiences from around the region have demonstrated
that people living in or near forest areas need to be included in all stages
of forest resource managment. While community forestry principles and
techniques have been applied to a variety of situations, experiences from
around the region can be brought together to provide common approaches in how
to support local communities in management of forest resources.

"In order to successfully implement collaborative management activities,
forestry personnel need to learn a wide-range of new methods and approaches
in order to be able to involve communities in the process of defining and
solving their local issues to address social and environmental problems. This
introductory course in community forestry provides a background and overview
of the issues and experiences from the region in community forestry
development. In addition participatory tools and techniques in community
forestry planning and implementation are explored and practiced throughout
the course."

Instruction in in English. Transportation and personal expenses are not
included.

Dr. Somsak Sukwong, Director
Regional Community Forestry Training Center (RECOFTC)
Kasetsart University
P. O. Box 1111
Bangkok 10903, THAILAND
+662 940-5700 voice
+662 561-4880 fax
<<[email-masked]>>
_________________________________________________________
posted 1 April 1997 by Milo Clark, Strategic Design, [email-masked]