Forestry

FAO work in the field of forestry aims at balancing social, economic and environmental objectives in view of the sustainable management of forest resources. This requires effective collaboration with strong partners. Over the past fifty years very strong links have been established in the fields of forest technology, management and training, putting particular emphasis on employment, safety and health, and training of forest workers. Teams of specialists on forest fire, gender and forestry, forest contracting and other relevant issues have been set up.

In addition to other mutual activities involving FAO and ILO, the Joint FAO/ECE/ILO Committee on Forest Technology, Management and Training (1954-2004) served for over 50 years as a strong alliance between the two organizations and the Geneva based United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). When FAO was writing the Model Code of Forest Harvesting Practices , the Code of Practice for Forest Harvesting in Asia-Pacific and the Regional Code of Practice for Reduced-Impact Forest Harvesting in Tropical Moist Forests of West and Central Africa, ILO experts gave extensive suggestions for the chapters on the forest harvesting work force, including employment, qualifications and training of personnel, layout, construction and hygiene of camp facilities and safety measures. Several sections of the three above mentioned publications are dealing with labour related issues:

• Model Code: chapter 9 "The forest harvesting workforce".
• Asia-Pacific Code: chapters 10 "Camp hygiene" and 11 "Safety".
• African Code: paragraph 5.1.3 "Felling safety", 8 "Layout,  construction and hygiene of camp facilities", 9 "Employment, qualification and training of personnel", 10 "Safety measures".

After publishing the ILO Code on Safety and Health in Forestry Work (Geneva 1998) which details over 700 different recommendations and rules on safety and occupational health, these safety rules became mandatory for all member states of ILO. How far member states have already incorporated these regulations into national law depends on many factors. Most of the OECD countries have a long tradition concerning safety and health regulations and laws, while developing countries may have adequate laws but insufficient capacity to enforce them. Forestry experts of FAO were asked to provide extensive suggestions and were also involved in the review process of the Safety Code.

Another issue addressed by FAO/ILO collaboration is the manual on the use of chain saws in tropical forest, which explains the main working techniques, tools to be used and safety rules to be observed when working under difficult and dangerous conditions in the forest. Although published two decades ago, the standards set therein still apply.

More than sixteen different international meetings, workshops and training courses in the fields of vocational training, applied ergonomics and other social aspects of forestry were held over the last two decades, namely Training of Professional Forest Workers (Finland), Future of the Forest Workforce (USA), Clothing and Safety Equipment in Forestry (Finland), Safety and Health in Forestry are Feasible (Switzerland), Forest Training for Target Groups that are Hard to Reach (France), and Role of Women in the Forestry Sector in Europe and North America (Portugal).

The most recent FAO/ILO collaboration is the work of the Team of Specialists on Best Practices in Forest Contracting, which is preparing the Guidelines for Forest Contractors and Gender and Forestry, dealing with gender related aspects in forestry.

In order to support the action areas defined by the FAO/ILO Memorandum of Understanding, FAO Forestry Department will continue to help improving rural livelihoods of forest–dependant communities by training people working in the forest and by raising awareness of their vulnerable health and safety conditions, of ergonomics, of performance rating, decent work and appropriate working techniques.

Contacts

FAO Focal Point: Joachim Lorbach, FOIP (Joachim.Lorbach@fao.org)

ILO Focal Point: Mr. Edmundo Werna, SECTOR (werna@ilo.org)