A pioneering project to develop performance indicators for sustainable forest management
achieved a milestone with publication of the Criteria and Indicators Tool Box. The kit
helps users build customised sets of C&I for measuring conditions that indicate
whether a forest is likely to survive for the long term.
CIFOR research showed
that increased agricultural productivity does not always discourage farmers in developing
countries from cutting down more trees for shifting cultivation, as many experts believe.
In fact, technological advances often increase deforestation by making farming on marginal
lands more profitable.
A simulation tool to aid
forest and land use management moved from concept to an operational prototype in January.
Once completed, the Forest Land Oriented Resource Envisioning System (FLORES) will aid
real-life decisions involving interactions between forests, agricultural land and
communities.
Field work gathered
momentum at Bulungan Research Forest in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, where a new base camp
and other facilities improved conditions for research. Studies at the site by CIFOR and
numerous partners are aimed at developing model practices for sustainable forest
management.
CIFOR’s analysis of
the effects of the economic crisis in Indonesia on people in rural communities and the
country’s forests was posted on CIFOR’s Web site and updated regularly. The
research reports were read by policy makers, government officials, analysts and
journalists during a period of sweeping economic and political changes.
Beefed-up
"cyberspace" capabilities greatly improved communication between CIFOR
scientists and their collaborators around the world. The centre’s Web site began a
facelift, and the launch of IntraCIFOR now provides an easy to use, centralised source of
internal information.
At a September meeting in
the Netherlands, CIFOR played a central role in discussions within the Consultative Group
on International Agricultural Research on how to increase emphasis in research on
integrated natural resource management.
The Forest Products and
People Programme completed initial trials of a promising analytic technique to better
determine whether certain non-timber forest products in tropical countries are good
prospects for commercialisation.
CIFOR scientists
contributed extensively to a review by the World Bank of its 1991 policy on forests.
Ensuing Bank policies are likely to reflect greater awareness of how lending and
development activities can unintentionally lead to greater deforestation.
Initial work to draft a
strategic plan for CIFOR research in sub-Saharan Africa got underway. Due in 2000, the
plan will spell out areas in which CIFOR expects to boost its assistance to Africa’s
forestry research community to help the continent meet pressing development needs.
During a Board meeting in
Belém in June, CIFOR revitalised its cooperation with Brazil’s national agency for
agricultural research, EMBRAPA. More joint research is planned to address problems facing
the Amazon, the world’s largest remaining stretch of tropical rainforest.
Because most methods of
biodiversity assessment ignore the needs and values of forest-dwelling people, CIFOR
launched a pilot project to investigate a more broad-based approach.
The Adaptive
Co-Management Programme brought together veterans of community forestry projects in
several countries to seek ways of strengthening shared learning in ACM methods now being
developed.
At "Indonesia
Day" in September, held in conjunction with a Board meeting, CIFOR briefed Indonesian
officials and international donors on the impact of the centre’s extensive research
in its host country. Representatives of many partner research organisations in Indonesia
also attended.
CIFOR and the
International Union of Forest Research Organisations appealed to the Global Environment
Facility to include logged forests in its support for biodiversity protection. Because
only about 10 percent of all forests will be set aside for conservation, protecting
biodiversity in the remaining 90 percent is crucial, CIFOR argues.
To herald the new
millennium, CIFOR sponsored a calendar art competition among children in several countries
where it does research. The drawings depicting "My Vision of the Forest"
included an outstanding entry (shown here) by Xie Chao from China that was printed as
CIFOR’s new corporate poster.
Team-building among the
scientific staff was strengthened at a September retreat in Ubud, Bali. Follow-up
initiatives were planned to promote more interdisciplinary research and better common
understanding of research at CIFOR.
The impact assessment
programme began its first case study: an evaluation of the effects of CIFOR’s
criteria and indicators project. |
