| European
Tropical Forest Research Network |
ETFRN-News is a quarterly publication of the European Tropical
Forest Research Network: Editor: Willemine Brinkman
Editorial assistance:Evelyn Whyte
Jelle Maas
ETFRN Coordination Unit
c/o The Tropenbos Foundation
P.O. Box 232
6700 AE Wageningen/ The Netherlands
Tel.:+31-317-41 30 33
Fax:+31-317-41 20 99
E-mail: etfrn@etfrn.org
ETFRN and European Commission News
The ETFRN Institutes directory has now been transferred to a database, and we have started updating and correcting the entries. If your organisation's entry in the last version (dated 1997) of the ETFRN Directory of European Reserach Institutions in the field of Tropical, Subtropical and Mediterranean Forests is incorrect or incomplete, please let us know. We intend to have the institutes database linked to the ETFRN Internet site in November.
Work on improvements and new links to the ETFRN Internet site is ongoing. Feedback on the accessibility of information, type of links available, relevance and use for your work, ideas for improvements or additions will help us tailor the site to your needs. I would also like to kindly ask you to check if your Internet site has the correct link to the ETFRN site. The new address is http://www.etfrn.org.
I attended the EIARD (European Initiative for Agricultural Research for Development) colloquium in Montpellier on 25 and 26 of September, organised by the ECART and NATURA networks and supported by EC-DGXII.
Parallel to this invitation, NRI (UK) was commissioned to write a background paper presenting cases of existing networks, where the IPM and ETFRN networks should be included as examples of thematic networks. Within NRI, the section on ETFRN was delegated to Jane Thornback, who promptly contacted the ETFRN Coordination Unit to ask for assistance and existing documentation which could be used as a basis for the ETFRN paper. This resulted in a visit from Jane Thornback to the Coordination Unit last 23
July and a joint paper written by Jane Thornback and myself, which is based on the existing ETFRN documentation, particularly the 1997 -1999 plan.
Jelle Maas represented the ETFRN Coordination Unit at the Accra consultation on forestry research in Sub Saharan Africa, organised by FAO, IUFRO and several African Forest Research organisations on 30 September - 2 October. A short report on the results of the meeting should appear in the December Issue of the ETFRN News.
The ETFRN side meeting at the World Forestry Congress will
have the same theme as the December issue of the ETFRN News: "Research Priority
Setting Methods: experiences relevant for tropical forest research". After a
general presentation on ETFRN, Professor F. Owino of the African Academy of
Sciences will hold a presentation titled: "African Forest Research Priorities:
Research for Development This will be followed by discussion. I hope this will
be an occasion to meet many ETFRN News readers attending the World Forestry
Congress.
Observations, comments, or suggestions on the work of the Coordination Unit
are always welcome.
The European Commission's Budget Line for Tropical Forests was created by the European Parliament in 1991, after passing several resolutions on the issue. From 1992 onwards, approximately 50 million ECU per year were spent on the EC tropical forest programme. The largest percentage was spent in Latin America, followed by the ACP countries and Asia. A review of the relevant publication Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests - A mid-term report is reviewed on.