No. 2 March 1999
 
Watershed Assessment and Riparian Restoration in the Rio Laja Basin of Mexico by Bill Zeedyk
 
What do migratory birds, eroding hillsides, flood-damaged croplands, crumbling stream banks, impoverished communities, inspired volunteerism, and international conservation programs have in common? Answer: Restoration of degraded riparian habitats along the Rio Laja in Mexico.
 
Geographically, the Rio Laja watershed is located mainly in the State of Guanajuato approximately 150 kilometers northwest of Mexico City and 100 kilometers east of Guadalajara. Its headwaters are in the Santa Rosa Mountains at an elevation of 2800 meters. The river flows southward to join the Rio Lerma within the highly productive and highly developed Bahia, or breadbasket of Mexico.
 
As the hydrologic condition of the Laja's watershed has deteriorated, the health of its riparian habitats has also declined, threatening the lives and livelihoods of the valley's people and the diversity and sustainability of its ecosystems. Increasingly frequent and more devastating floods have destroyed river bottom croplands, widened stream channels, turned perennial streams into rock-strewn arroyos, obliterated traditional water sources and destroyed wildlife habitat. Habitats for migratory birds disappeared and the socio-economic fabric of rural communities has worn so thin that many inhabitants migrate elsewhere for work.
 

Bill Zeedyk discusses watershed degradation and the destruction of riparian vegetation with stream bank rehabilitation volunteers. Photo by Richard Becker

International cooperation in the restoration of degraded riparian areas and upland watersheds in the Laja Basin began in 1995 with the formation of a multiagency coalition of environmental and community health organizations. This coalition was sparked by a grant from the Wildlife, Fisheries, and Rare Plant program of the USDA Forest Service, Southwest Region, to the Sociedad Audubon de Mexico, headquartered in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico. Audubon matched these funds through local and international charitable sources and fundraising events. The coalition of six volunteer, charitable-based organizations included four environmentally oriented groups and two groups dedicated primarily to health and social activities.
 
Using the initial Forest Service grant as seed money, Audubon organized and sponsored two on-the-ground training workshops teaching simple erosion control, watershed protection, stream stabilization, and riparian revegetation practices. Local community leaders from eight different communities and peer counselors from the La Fundacion Apoyo Infantil de Guanajuato (FAI) and Centro de Adolescentes de San Miguel (CASA) participated. About 60 local residents and counselors participated in the two sessions. The project pioneered the use of simple, low-cost, labor intensive measures using freely available native materials. In addition, training sessions stressed the economic benefits of soil conservation practices, in the form of more productive crops, as well as the environmental benefits.
 
A grant to Audubon from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) facilitated on-the-ground applications in eight communities and 11 kilometers of stream channels were subsequently treated with the installation of rock structures, tree plantings, road treatments and grazing modifications. The strength of this effort lay in the principle that the communities themselves should develop the plans with assistance from FAI and CASA counselors and implement the plans with help from the same agencies plus Audubon. The grant from NFWF enabled Audubon to publish a 37-page field techniques manual entitled Rescate Y Restauracion de Los Rios (Rescue and Restoration of Rivers). In addition, they produced a promotional video documenting the program and a training video which will be used to train additional counselors and community leaders in watershed and stream stabilization practices.
 
Initial efforts began in those communities that expressed an interest in participating. However, it soon became apparent that some method was needed to prioritize between alternative project proposals. As a result, the Forest Service Office of International Programs funded the development of a small-scale watershed assessment process that will be applied throughout the Rio Laja basin and will identify streamside treatment opportunities, as well as reforestation, grazing, and soil conservation priorities. Chuck Troendle (Forest Service Researcher, Rocky Mountain Station, Fort Collins, Colorado) headed up the assessment team and is working closely with Bill Zeedyk. The assessment methodology, when completed, should have application beyond the Rio Laja itself.
 

In the meantime, community participation has expanded, thousands of willow and cottonwood trees have been planted on community-owned ejido lands and private ranch lands, and hundreds of erosion control structures have been built. These activities show positive environmental and economic responses. International Programs intends to remain involved by funding additional training sessions on the-ground treatments identified by community-based planning efforts supported by the original coalition. A companion technique manual describing mitigation of impacts derived from sand and gravel-mining operations is also in preparation under an International Programs grant. Hopefully, lessons learned from the Rio Laja project will find application in similar watersheds throughout Latin America.
 
Bill Zeedyk is past Director of the Wildlife, Fisheries, and Rare Plant Program, Southwest Region, USDA Forest Service. He is now a consultant.
 

 
 
Forests, Floods, and Changing Priorities in China by Alex Moad
 
It is a vast area, endowed with spectacular scenery and rich in forest resources. At lower elevations, pine intermingles with oak and brush to form a mosaic of forest and grassland. Higher up, pine forest is replaced by dense stands of fir, which in turn give way to spruce on the upper slopes of the steep mountains. Not surprisingly, forestry is a major source of income throughout the region, providing up to 90 percent of total revenue in some counties and numerous jobs for rural communities. However, recently enacted restrictions on timber felling signal a significant shift in forest management objectives, away from an emphasis on wood production and toward such values as watershed protection, recreation, and habitat restoration. Forest managers responsible for the implementation of the new policies struggle to find an appropriate balance between the need for forest protection and the social and economic needs of forest-dependent communities. In one area alone over 100,000 forestry-related jobs are likely to be affected.
 

Commercial logging on steep slopes as well as level areas in Sichuan Province is now banned. Photo by Alex Moad.

The Pacific Northwest of the United States? It easily could be, but in this instance it is a description of northern Yunnan and western Sichuan Provences in southwestern China. Although separated by a vast gulf of distance and time, the similarities between the two regions are remarkable, as Gary Man (International Programs coordinator for Asia) and I observed during a recent visit to explore options for joint field activities. Looking across the landscape, it was easy to imagine myself in California, Oregon, or Idaho, depending on the elevation, until I looked closer and realized that the animals grazing in the meadow were yaks, not cows, being herded by children in Tibetan clothing. And although many of the plants were familiar, such as gentian, iris, and rhododendron, here one can find 30 or more species, versus 4 or 5 back home.
 
Given the similarity between United States and Chinese forests, it is not surprising that they are able to exchange introduced pests and pathogens with relative ease. Hence much of the collaboration between United States and Chinese foresters has focused on the control of introduced pests.
 
For example, Michael Montgomery, a USFS entomologist, has for several years been working with Chinese counterparts to identify natural control agents for the hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsuga), which is causing significant damage to American hemlock forests. Conversely, USFS entomologist Gary Debarr is helping Chinese counterparts control a mealy bug (Oracella acuta) introduced from the United States to China. Increased efforts also are underway to assess control options for the Asian long horned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis), a serious problem in both countries.
 
As similar as the Chinese and U.S. forests may be, the parallels in management challenges are even more striking. Although the underlying causes and decision making processes differ, both countries are undergoing substantial changes in the management of their public forests. Our September visit to China took place at a critical juncture in the history of Chinese forestry. China experienced some of the worst floods of this century during the summer of 1998. Flooding along the Yangtze River was particularly devastating, inundating agricultural and urban lands, disrupting the lives of millions of people and leaving thousands dead. The industrial areas along the lower Yangtze were particularly hard hit, suffering billions of dollars in damage. Some economists estimate that the 1998 floods may have reduced China's gross domestic product by one-half percentage point or more.
 
The causes of the flooding include high El Niņo rainfall, agricultural encroachment on wetlands and lakes, and rapid industrialization of floodplains. The Chinese government also identified excessive logging as a major contributing factor, citing a Chinese Academy of Sciences study attributing as much as 50 percent of the flooding to deforestation. Even before the floods, there were analyses suggesting that Chinese forests were being over harvested. Environmental groups within China, as well as government officials and scientists, advocated a substantial reduction in logging. Citing the flood damage, the government announced not just a reduction, but rather a total ban on commercial logging of natural forests in the upper Yangtze watershed, including all of Yunnan and Sichuan. Additional logging bans, perhaps encompassing most of China, are likely.
 
The consequences of China's logging ban are profound, more dramatic even than the planned felling reductions in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. In addition to the loss of forestry jobs, the past few months have seen a substantial increase in wood imports to China. By some estimates imports may eventually account for one-half of China's total wood needs. To meet the anticipated demand, and to compensate for the loss of forestry jobs, China has announced a multibillion dollar reforestation campaign to restore watersheds and establish timber plantations. As in the United States, forest managers also are hoping to offset revenue losses through increased sale of nontimber forest products and recreation/nature tourism. Given our common interests, International Programs intends to work with Chinese forestry officials to promote increased collaboration on these and other forest management issues of mutual interest. For example, American foresters will visit China this spring to assist with the identification of appropriate nursery stock for reforestation and to help with nature tourism planning.

History in the making--a forest agent posts a notice of the logging ban in Yunnan Province, China. Photo by Gary Man.

Alex Moad is Assistant Director for Technical Cooperation, Office of International Programs.
 
Middle East Collaboration on Watershed Monitoring by Tom Hoekstra
 
The USDA Forest Service, the Jewish National Fund of America (JNF), and Keren Kayemuth Leisrael (KKL-Israeli Land Development Authority) have been collaborating on forest and grassland management and research for over 10 years. Recently that collaboration has emphasized watershed management and monitoring and includes a comprehensive watershed monitoring workshop and follow-up pilot sites to test monitoring protocols. The collaboration began with a request from JNF for technical assistance on forest fire prevention and management for Israel and has expanded to all aspects of wildland management. Many technical exchanges have occurred between Israel and the United States that have improved the understanding of both organizations about arid and semiarid land management including watershed management.
 
The Forest Service, KKL, Jordan Badia Research and Development Programme, and the Turkish Ministry of Forestry are conducting a watershed workshop in Jordan and Israel in March 1999. An invitation has also been extended to the Palestinian Authority. The workshop will: 1) present and review case studies of existing watershed monitoring and evaluation projects in each of the participating countries; 2) attempt to synthesize and develop a generalized approach to monitor and evaluate watershed and erosion control management based on the case studies; and 3) design a multinational test using the above approach.
 
The workshop will be held for 3 days in the Badia region in Jordan and 3 days in the Negev region in Israel. The ecological setting for the workshop and the case studies focus the workshop on arid and semiarid lands. Workshop participants will visit watershed-monitoring sites in Jordan and Israel as well as hear about the work that has been done there. Oral presentations regarding work in the eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the Southwest region of the United States will also be part of the workshop. The U.S. coordinators for the workshop are the Forest Service Inventory and Monitoring Institute, Fort Collins, Colorado, and the Office of International Programs, Washington, D.C. in cooperation with USDA Foreign Agriculture Service/ International Cooperation and Development.
 
Following the March workshop, each participating country will locate a test site in their country and test the implementation of the generalized approach to monitoring watersheds. The intent is to establish an ongoing collaboration between participating countries on monitoring and evaluating the effect of watershed management. The Forest Service Office of International Programs has written a grant proposal to the U.S. Agency for International Development to fund this watershed collaboration.
 
Tom Hoekstra is Director of the Forest Service Inventory and Monitoring Institute in Fort Collins, Colorado. He has been involved with work in the Middle East for many years.
 
News Bits from Around the World
 
International Programs Goes Wild
 
Building on a long history of success, in December Ducks Unlimited (DU) and the Forest Service Office of International Programs announced a new partnership effort for the conservation and maintenance of priority wetlands for migratory birds, waterfowl, and wetland wildlife. This partnership links international neotropical bird strategies, such as Partners in Flight and the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Strategy to help accelerate the momentum of the TAKING WING program. The expanded partnership with DU brings International Programs into a new international conservation role with respect to wetlands management. This new partnership will emphasize collaborative projects throughout the hemisphere to address migratory waterfowl issues.
 
In a separate initiative in 1998, working with DU Canada, Canadian Provincial and National governments, and Forest Service National Forest System, the Office of International Programs helped initiate a new partnership effort in Canada to conserve boreal forest wetlands, which produce over 40 percent of North America's waterfowl. These wetlands are being lost to agricultural, energy, and timber harvest developments. A balance is being sought so wetland ecosystems can remain viable.
 
Submitted by Jack Capp, former Director of the Wildlife, Fisheries, and Rare Plants Program, Juneau, Alaska, and currently Special Assistant to the Director, Office of International Programs.
 
Indonesia--Assessment of fire response capacity
 
Large uncontrolled wildfires burned throughout Southeast Asia in 1997 and early 1998. In response to the fires, USAID and the Forest Service, through the efforts of Ben Stoner, Mary Melnyk, and Gary Man (USAID/Global, USAID/Indonesia, and USDA/FS/IP, respectively), initiated an effort to strengthen the Fire/Disaster Response Coordination of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).
 
In the fall of 1998, Deanne Shulman (Fire Management Specialist, Sequoia National Forest, CA) spent over 3 months working as part of a regional technical advisory team to strengthen the capacity of ASEAN to prevent and mitigate transboundary atmospheric pollution.
 
Deanne joined a team of 13 natural resource specialists conducting an in-depth field assessment of fire suppression capabilities in 5 Southeast Asian countries (Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore). Team members included personnel from Indonesia Ministry of Forests and Estate Corps; Indonesia Ministry of Environment; fire specialists from the United States, Canada, and Australia; and research analysts from Germany. The U.S. fire specialists included Larry Swan (District Fire Management Officer, Payette National Forest, Idaho), Bob Becker (Regional Fire Training Officer, California), and Allen Biller (Alaska Fire Service, Bureau of Land Management). Their role was twofold--to increase capacity for fire fighting assessment skills within the Indonesian counterpart staff on the teams, and to provide an expert's contextual framework for analysis of the information collected.
 
As a follow-up to the assessment, Deanne worked with Erly Sukrisanto (Fire Management Specialist, ASEAN regional technical advisory team) and Tom Harbour (USDA FS Assistant Regional Fire and Aviation Director, Montana), to develop a framework for a regional fire suppression mobilization plan. The framework will be introduced to the ASEAN fire management community in the spring of 1999.
 
Submitted by Deanne Shulman, Sequoia National Forest, California, and Gary Man, Office of International Programs, Washington, D.C.
 
Conservation Stamps Benefit Environmental Education in Nicaragua
 
In a precedent setting initiative, a series of nine conservation stamps featuring protected areas in Nicaragua were issued in September 1998. This innovative idea authored by Jerry Bauer, FS employee, who served as the USAID environmental officer in Nicaragua until recently, enables 50 percent of the profit from the sales of stamps in the series, "Naturally Nicaragua," to go to a local conservation group. This group, Fundacion Cocibolca manages and conserves the cloud forest on Mombacho Volcano, just south of Managua, and works on environmental education with school children living in the shadow of the volcano.
 
The first stamps were canceled in a ceremony attended by the President of Nicaragua and the U.S. Ambassador. In addition to the stamps, a visitors guide, high quality brochures, eight posters of Nicaraguan protected areas, and a traveling photo exhibit were also produced through USAID/Nicaragua and the Academy for Educational Development GreenCom Project. Jerry Bauer took all the photos for the stamps as well as other promotional materials. The International Institute of Tropical Forestry and USDA/FAS/International Cooperation and Development provided support for Jerry Bauer's work by providing computer equipment for writing, designing, and editing the materials. Cash-strapped conservation NGO's in developing countries now have a new innovative model for fundraising.
 

These conservation postage stamps, with photos by Jerry Bauer, depict the natural beauty and cultural history of Nicaragua.

 
Pacific Islands Heads of Forestry Meeting
 
A meeting of the Heads of Forestry of 17 Pacific Island states and territories, held September 21-25, 1998, in Nadi, Fiji, centered around 2 themes, "Initiatives in the forests and trees sector in the Pacific," and "The role of forests and trees in mitigating the impacts of climate change on Pacific Island communities." Over 20 representatives from other government, nongovernment, regional, international, and donor agencies attended the meeting as observers. The Pacific Islands Forests and Trees Support Program (PIF&TSP), assisted by the Institute for Pacific Islands Forestry (IPIF), coordinated the meeting. Four of the 40 papers presented at the meeting, were written by Forest Service-affiliated attendees, they included:

• USDA Forest Service: Overview of Forest Management Services Work in the Pacific Islands, by Leonard Newell, Kathleen Friday, Marjorie Falanruw, and Robert Wescom,
• Understanding and managing mangrove forests in Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia by Katherine Ewel and Erick Waguk,
• Invasive Plants Threatening Pacific Island Ecosystems, by James Space, and
• Mangrove forests as modifiers of the impacts of climate change on high islands and atolls in the South Pacific: Mobilizing people and governments to act by Denny Ward and William Metz.

Participants also viewed two draft videos, "Micronesian Mangroves: Harvesting and Caring for Our Mangrove Forests," and "Mangroves Where We Live: Building Roads and Homes While Conserving Our Mangrove Forests and Reefs," both of which are intended for public education in Micronesia and will be produced in four languages.
 
Submitted by Katie Friday, Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, Hilo, Hawaii.
 
Drought Disaster Response in Micronesia
 
El Nino weather conditions in 1998 created a drought in the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the Western Pacific during which subsistence crops of taro, breadfruit, banana, and coconut were lost. The Pacific Southwest Region of the Forest Service assisted the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) from June 1998 to February 1999 by providing supplemental food to the estimated 80,000 islanders who lost their crops.
 
While Islanders continued to fish in their local waters for their protein needs, the supplemental foods consisting of rice, canned vegetables, canned fruit, and vegetable oil rounded out their diet. The Forest Service in California purchased the food using funding allocated by USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and then shipped it to four major hubs in Micronesia. A team of six Forest Service people was deployed in Micronesia to order the needed food shipments, receive the food on the dock, and serve as technical advisors on distribution to the outer islands. A USDA-FS purchasing agent and a GSA shipping specialist in California supported the team
 
Submitted by Dennis Orbus, Fire and Aviation Management, Riverside, California.
 
Trail Construction Training in Madagascar

Malagasy conservation agents learn trail-building techniques for fragile wetland areas. Photo by Linda Torgerson.

Linda Torgerson (Civil Engineering Technician, Tongass National Forest, Alaska) worked with 2 crews of 15 Malagasy Conservation Agents for 6 weeks in October/November 1998 teaching basic trail construction skills. This training was a follow-up to an earlier basic trail training held in January 1998. The conservation agents, including representatives from several of Madagascar's national parks, learned basic techniques for bridge planning, location, design, and construction for use in their newly developing trail systems. The two sessions were held at the Special Reserve Nosy Mangabe, and in the Park Masoala at Cap Est and were sponsored by the Wildlife Conservation Society, who administers the Masoala Project on the Masoala Penninsula. Local hardwoods were used in the construction of two bridge structures completed as a part of the training, with the recreation strategy of using whole natural woods in harmony with the pristine nature of the protected forest environments.
 
Submitted by Linda Torgerson, Chatham Ranger District, Sitka, Alaska.
 
New Journals, Books, and Websites
 
Measures of Success: Designing, Managing, and Monitoring Conservation and Development Projects. Richard Margoluis and Nick Salafsky, 1998, Island Press. Measures of Success is a practical, hands-on guide to designing, managing, and measuring the impacts of community-oriented conservation and development projects. It presents a clear, logical, and yet comprehensive approach to developing and implementing effective programs, and can help conservation and development practitioners use principles of adaptive management to test assumptions about their projects and learn from the results. The approach has been developed and field-tested by practitioners working in many different projects in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. 363 pp. Paperback: $35.00. ISBN: 1-55963-612-2. Orders: Island Press, Tel: (800) 828-1302. Online: www.islandpress.org. Email: ipwest@igc.apc.org.
 
Ecoregions: The Ecosystem Geography of the Oceans and Continents. R.G. Bailey, USDA Forest Service. This book applies the principles described in Bailey's Ecosystem Geography (1996) to describe and characterize the major terrestrial and aquatic ecological zones of the Earth. Bailey's system for classifying these ecoregions has been adopted by major organizations such as the USDA Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy, and this book is a significant contribution to a long tradition of classifying and studying the world's ecological regions. It includes two color maps that show the major ecoregions of the continents and ocean. 1998/192 pp. ISBN 0-387-98311-2/softcover $39.95, ISBN 0-387-98305-8/hardcover $79.95. For a table of contents, preface, sample illustrations and more please visit http://www.springer-ny.com/envsci/bailey/ecoregions.html
 
Kids Corner Website--in English, French, and Spanish
The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Forestry Advisers Network (CFAN) has recently posted a new presentation on its Website-- "Kid's Corner." This Internet presentation is intended to give students information on tropical forests, why they are important, what can be done to help save them, and what CIDA has been doing to help change things. You can visit their site at: http://www.rcfa-cfan.org
 
Bugwood Africa Website
This site visually demonstrates possible applications of existing and evolving electronic technologies to improve communications and support implementation and utilization of Integrated Pest Management in agroforestry and forestry in eastern and southern Africa. It was designed by personnel associated with the Entomology and Forest Resource Digital Information Work Group at the University of Georgia, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Tifton, Georgia, USA, as a sister site to Bugwood--USA, it can be viewed at http://www.bugwood.caes.uga.edu/. The Forest Service is involved in Bugwood Africa through the Eastern Arc Forest Health Project.
 
Watershed Restoration: Principals and Practices, Editors: Jack E. Williams, Christopher A. Wood, Michael P. Dombeck. 1997. American Fisheries Society.
A blueprint for understanding the natural and human laws, resources and tools required to restore watersheds. A central theme of the book is that watersheds embrace not just natural resources , but also social and economic cultures that are connected to and dependent on those watersheds. Another critical theme of the book is the coming together of local citizens to resolve problems within their watersheds. The approach advocated in this book is of broadly applying sound restoration principles at watershed scale through community and agency coalitions. For a copy of this book please contact the American Fisheries Society at 5410 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 110, Bethesda, MD 20814-2199.
http://www.fisheries.org/publications/AFSBooks/webfinal/x550.24.htm
 
New Field Operations Guide for Disaster Assessment and Response. The USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Response, Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service International Programs, Disaster Assistance Support Program, has published a revised edition of the Field Operations Guide (FOG), a reference tool for individuals sent to disaster sites to perform initial assessment or to participate as members of an OFDA Disaster Assistance Response Team. The FOG can be obtained from the U.S. Government Printing Office (Tel: 202-512-1800; Fax: 202-512-2250; Address: Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328) for $29.00, which includes shipping costs. The stock number is 001-001-00665-3. The FOG is also posted on the Web at http://www.info.usaid.gov/ofda/.
 
Forest Policy and Economics Journal. Elsevier Science and the European Forest Institute are collaborating in setting up this new forestry journal. The journal is intended to provide an authoritative international forum for policy issues, including economics and planning relating to the forest and forest industries sector. The journal is planned to be published quarterly beginning in 1999. Professor Max Krott, forest policy scientist of Gottingen University will serve as the founding Editor-in-Chief. For further information about the journal contact Prof. Dr. Max Krott, Insitut fur Forstpolitik und Naturschutz, Georg-August-Universitat Gottingen, Germany, Tel: +49 551 39 34 12 Fax: +49 551 39 34 15, e-mail: mkrott@gwdg.de
 
Sustainability of Temperate Forests by Roger A. Sedjo, Alberto Goetzl, and Steverson O. Moffat. Resources for the Future senior fellow Roger Sedjo and his colleagues examine initiatives designed to promote and enhance sustainable forestry in temperate countries. While concerns about tropical deforestation are considerable and discussed widely, temperate forests account for the vast majority of the world's roundwood production and most global trade in wood and paper. Improving forest sustainability in temperate regions is imperative, economically and environmentally. This book illustrates how far nations have progressed and how far they still need to go in that effort. August 1998, Paperback ISBN: 0-915707-98-5/$14.95, 102 pages.
 

 
 
Meeting and Workshop Announcements
 
Sixth Conference on Agroforestry in North America, June 12-16, 1999, Hot Springs, Arkansas. The theme will be "Sustainable Land-Use Management for the 21^st Century." Fore information contact Dr. Catalina A. Blanche, Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center, 6883 South State Hwy 23, Booneville, AR 72927-9214, Tel: (501) 675-3834, e-mail: cblanche@yell.com.
 
SI/MAB International Biodiversity Curriculum. The Smithsonian Institute's Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity Program (SI/MAB) is offering three complementary courses in 1999. Biodiversity Monitoring and Assessment for Adaptive Management, May 9-June 11; Economic and Policy Solutions for Ecosystem Conservation, September 19-October 22; and Smithsonian Environmental Leadership and Communication, October 31-November 12. For more information see the SI/MAB web site at http://www.si.edu/organiza/museums/ripley/simab/start.htm or contact Christopher Ros c/o SI/MAB Program, Smithsonian Institution, S. Dillon Ripley Center, 1100 Jefferson Drive SW, Suite 3123, Washington, DC, 20560-0705 tel: 202-357-4793, e-mail: cjr@ic.si.edu
 
Issues in World Forestry and Forest Products: A Tropical Study Program in Nicaragua, Laguna de Apoyo, Nicaragua May 16-June 5, 1999. Full cost for this course is $1,300 plus the cost of airfare and Virginia Tech tuition. Registration and payment are due by April 1, 1999. For further information and application details, please contact Dr. A.L. Hammett, Coordinator of International Programs, College of Forestry and Wildlife Resources, 210 Chatham Hall (mail code 0323), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061 tel: 540-231-2716, fax: 540-231-8176, e-mail: himal@vt.edu. Visit the course website at: http://www.cyber.vt.edu/wd3784nic/
 
International Seminar on Forest and Natural Resource Administration and Management, August 22-September 11, 1999, Colorado, Wyoming, Southeast United States and Washington, DC. This annual seminar is an intensive, interactive training program designed for management professionals who desire to improve their managerial and administrative skills. The seminar fee is $5,000. For more information contact Ms. Ann Keith, Coordinator 15th International Forestry Seminar, College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1401, USA tel: 970/221-9566 fax: 970-484-9560, e-mail: IFS@picea.cnr.colostate.edu or visit the ISFAM website http://www.fs.fed.us/global/isfam/welcome.htm/ Forest Genetic Resources of the Pacific Islands, The Forest Service has been instrumental in organizing a subregional workshop on Forest Genetic Resources planned for April 12-16, 1999, in Apia, Samoa. This workshop is the first opportunity the Pacific Islands have had to establish a baseline of information on their forest genetic resources and collaborate on strategies for their conservation. For more information contact Len Newell at lenewell@gte.net, tel: 808-522-8233.
 
Intensive Training Program in Environmental Management and Care Systems for West Africa 1999/2000, the Accra-based NGO International Center for Enterprise and Sustainable Development (ICED) and the Human Ecology Department of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium, are organizing five training modules totaling 165 hours. The modules include: Sustainable Development and Environmental Management Systems, Environmental Care Systems, Eco-design and Eco-labeling, Environmental Taxes, and Environmental Responsibility in World Trade. The program will be organized in three separate training sessions that will be repeated in different West African countries beginning in Ghana in March 1999. For more information and applications contact: Chairman, International Centre for Enterprise and Sustainable Development, PO Box 16461, Airport-Accra, Ghana, tel: +233 21 302480, Tel/Fax: +233 21 767593, e-mail: soc@ug.gn.atc.org or Programme Co-Director, Human Ecology Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, B 1090 Brussels, Belgium. Tel: +32 2 477 42 81, Fax: +32 2 477 49 64; e-mail: gronsse@meko.vub.ac.be
 
Gender Issues & Development Policy Seminar and Discussion Series. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) launched a brown-bag seminar series February 16 on Gender and Development Policy to be held the third Tuesday of each month. A simultaneous discussion of seminar issues will also take place on the Gender-CG listserv. The seminar paper will be announced at least a week before the seminar and IFPRI will post an abstract on the listserv with instructions for downloading the paper from the IFPRI website: http://www.cgiar.org/ifpri/themes/mp17/2bbag.htm. A summary of the main points that emerge from the seminar will be posted and listserv members will have the opportunity to discuss the issue for a month until the next paper is introduced. If you would like to subscribe, please send a message to LISTSERV@CGIAR.ORG with text consisting of "SUBSCRIBE GENDER-CG". You will receive an electronic message introducing you to the network. For additional information, please e-mail m.hoffman@cgiar.org or b.mcclafferty@cgiar.org.