Distr. GENERAL. TIM/EFC/WP.1/SEM.XX/2008 /8 01 August 2008 Original: ENGLISH. In collaboration with the:

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1 Distr. GENERAL TIM/EFC/WP.1/SEM.XX/2008 /8 01 August 2008 Original: ENGLISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION European Forestry Commission ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE Timber Committee In collaboration with the: International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), University of Padua, Italy and the Slovenian Forestry Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia and in conjunction with The Pan European Forest Week INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT IN SUSTAINABLY MANAGED FORESTS Portorož (Portorose), Slovenia October 2008 Third information note and call for papers and posters This document is an information note for participants. It contains the explanatory notes, the provisional agenda and practical information for the workshop. Attached is a registration form which participants are requested to return not later than 15 September Please forward this information note to any specialists who may be interested in the workshop topic.

2 OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE SEMINAR The seminar will offer the opportunity to exchange experiences and share information on the state of the art of knowledge for the improvement of forestry infrastructure, its maintenance and use in view of new trends in forest harvesting and wood transport. The objective of the seminar is to provide an international forum for presentations related to the subject matter and to connect advanced scientific methods and modern information technologies with practical engineering and field operations through paper and poster sessions, field excursions and direct contacts among participants, who are supposed to then share their knowledge and information with colleagues in their home countries. The meeting is also intended to become a twelve-years-after event of the FAO/ECE/ILO Seminar on Environmentally Sound Road Construction and Wood Transport, held in 1996 in Sinaia Romania, in particular considering and assessing major opportunities and developments of the sector, which have taken place since then. Although the technical aspects of road construction may not have entirely changed, the role of forests and forestry has. The concept of sustainable forest management has been promoted in many countries, the threat of climate change has become a global concern and the renaissance of the utilization of wood for energy can be witnessed. Forest products and services have regained importance on global markets, and forestry administrations, forest companies and managers are streamlining their companies and operations so as to remain competitive. Keynote speakers will try to assess developments made over the last twelve years and describe expected trends in specific areas. Participants will have the opportunity to report on their recent experiences in forestry infrastructure construction, maintenance and use, on advancements in wood transport technologies and logistics and on improved investment practices and related current legal requirements. It is expected that the workshop will provide the sector with sound conclusions and recommendations that will be of particular importance for those countries where infrastructure still needs sound development and where the wood based industry is heavily challenged by the requirements of a globally operating economy. The output of the seminar should also give guidance to forest owners and investors engaged in the sector. 2

3 PLACE AND DATES OF THE SEMINAR The seminar will be held from October 2008 in Portorož (Portorose), Slovenia, which is located on the Adriatic coast, approximately 20 km south of Trieste, Italy and 120 km east of Venice, Italy. ORGANIZATION The meeting is being organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in collaboration with the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), the Slovenian Government, Slovenian Forestry Institute and the University of Padua (Italy). The Steering Committee of the seminar is represented by Mr. Joachim Lorbach, Forest Products Service, FAO Rome, Italy, the Scientific Committee by Prof. Raffaele Cavalli, University of Padua, Italy and the Organizing Committee by M. Sc. Robert Robek, Slovenian Forestry Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia. PARTICIPANTS The seminar is aimed at foresters involved in developing, planning and executing forest operations and management in the field, but also at those engaged in teaching, training and extension work and in administrative and policy advisory services: Forest engineers and wood transport experts, Forest operations managers, Representatives of private and public forest enterprises, Officials of forest services and administrations, Scientists, teachers and trainers from universities, forestry schools, vocational training and extension centres, Representatives of non-governmental organisations, forestry associations and forest contractors, Representatives of decision-making bodies. 3

4 PROVISIONAL AGENDA Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Adoption of the agenda. Election of officers. Opening of the seminar, welcome addresses and general introduction to the seminar. Papers and posters will be presented under the following headings: Item 4 Item 5 Item 6 Item 7 Item 8 Item 9 Item 10 Item 11 Item 12 Introduction to Slovenian Forestry and its forest engineering practices Recent scientific developments in infrastructure and transport: Planning, design and organisation of construction works, logistics and wood transport; evaluation of existing infrastructure, its environmental impacts and socio-economic effects on sustainable oriented forestry and rural development; productivity and costs of operations, future trends and challenges of the global wood market. Implementation of recent developments in construction practice: examples of successful implementation of new technologies, procedures and tools for integral opening up of forests, infrastructure layout and structure design; efficiency of machinery and work procedures, optimisation of the roads and harvesting operations, new materials and structures, technical details for reliable, safe, and durable constructions. Technical improvements of infrastructure and wood transport: effects of new wood transport techniques, their impacts on infrastructure construction, maintenance and use; minimizing delays and cost in timber delivery, impacts of IT in wood transport on revenue, road management optimisation. Environmental and social impacts of wood transport: construction and transport practices in conservation areas, site disturbance, mitigation measures, role of forestry infrastructure on rural development, public-private partnership in infrastructure development, communications during harvesting and construction activities, impacts of climate change on access and transport of wood. Legislative and financial aspects for access improvements: Infrastructure classification and its legal status, qualifications and licensing of forestry engineering, contracting and supervision, role of forest owner associations in road and harvesting projects; subsidies for construction projects and new transport technologies, insurance for construction activities and constructions. Any other matters. Conclusions and recommendations. Adoption of the report. 4

5 SEMINAR PROGRAMME Tuesday, 21 October 2008 Arrival of participants at the airport/railway station, (Trieste/Ljubljana) and transfer to the workshop venue. Participants registration and accommodation in the hotels Seminar steering committee meeting Wednesday, 22 October 2008 Continuation of registration of participants Opening of the Seminar and welcome speeches Introduction of the Seminar and Slovenian Forestry Presentation of papers Welcome dinner and cultural evening Thursday, 23 October 2008 Continuation of presentation of papers Half day excursion Traditional dinner in the countryside Friday, 24 October 2008 Full day excursion Saturday, 25 October 2008 Continuation of presentation of papers and posters Conclusions and recommendations - adoption of the report Farewell party Sunday, 26 October 2008 Transfer of participants to the airport Ljubljana, airport Trieste or railway station Ljubljana 5

6 STUDY VISITS One full day and one half day study excursions will be offered: Thursday, 23 October 2008 During this half-day excursion we will visit local community Idrija, which has documented forest management since the 17 th Century. Our host will be the forestry company SGG Tolmin, which has over 50 years of experience in road construction and cable logging in steep terrain. By observing the ongoing road construction and forest operation jobsite in the national park, and through discussions with local authorities and foresters the seminar participants will gain insight on efficient forest infrastructure management at local level. Friday, 24 October 2008 At that full-day excursion, we will demonstrate an example of the successful integration of a forestry infrastructure project into local and regional development actions in the Alpine rural community in Friuli Venezia Giulia region (Italy), bordering Slovenia. Our host will be the Regional Forest Service (Director Dr. Emilio Gottardo). With its long experience, the Forest Service will demonstrate examples of good practice in road net development. Three sites will be included in the excursion, located in the mountainous area of the region Friuli Venezia Giulia (Carnia area); in each site information about the planning, building and maintenance of the road net will be provided including also some experiences and opinions from private forest consultants and forest entrepreneurs. PRACTICAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE WORKSHOP Documentation Participants are invited to contribute to the workshop and prepare a scientific or professional paper or poster under the proposed items. Abstracts of papers and posters should be sent via to the registration not later then 15 September Please fill in the attached form for registration at the end of this document and send it by not later than 15 September 2008 to: 6

7 Mr. Joachim Lorbach Forest Product Service Forest Products and Industries Division, FAO Forestry Department Viale delle Terme di Caracalla Rome, Italy Tel: Fax: With a copy for information to: Mr. Robert Robek Slovenian Forestry Institute Vecna pot 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia Tel: Fax: Robert.Robek@gozdis.si ARRIVAL OF PARTICIPANTS Participants are expected to arrive on Tuesday, 21 October 2008 at the Ljubljana Joze Pucnik airport (Slovenia), airport Ronchi-Trieste (Italy), railway station Ljubljana or directly in Portorose. Transfer from both airports and the railway station will be provided by the organizers. Participants arriving by car are asked to directly go to the hotel.. For your easy orientation please find the location map below: EXCURSION 2 EXCURSION 1 PORTOROSE 7

8 DEPARTURE Transfer of participants from the hotels to the airports of Ljubljana and Trieste or Railway station Ljubljana will be provided by bus on Sunday, 26 October ACCOMODATION AND REGISTRATION Accommodation: Participants should indicate on the registration form if they are travelling alone or accompanied. Participants will be accommodated at selected hotels of different categories in Portorose, which will offer special prices for seminar participants. Registration: Participants are requested to send their completed registration form (Annex) as soon as possible but not later than 15 September 2008 to the addresses indicated on the form. Organisational costs for the seminar, welcome and farewell event, coffee or tea between presentations, travel costs for the study visits as well as fees for entrances during cultural visits are 200 per participant and 150 per accompanying person. Participation fees should be paid in cash when registering at the registration desk in the selected hotel upon arrival. Accompanying persons are invited to the excursions and to the welcome and farewell events. Spouse program is not included in the accompanying person fee. Participants should pay their costs for board and lodging directly to the hotel. Reservations for the accommodation will be made through the preliminary registration form and accepted on first come first served basis. Details about accommodation will be available in the next information. LANGUAGE Please note that the workshop language will be only English. 8

9 PASSPORTS AND VISAS Both Slovenia and Italy are EU member countries (Schengen Agreement). All participants should have a valid travel document (passport) and, if required, an entry visa, which can be obtained from the Slovenian Embassy or Consulate in their home country. Visa applications should be made as early as possible. WEATHER Daytime temperature at the seminar venue in October normally varies between 18 to 24 o C and during the night 12 to 17 o C. The water temperature of the Adriatic sea is still around 20 o C. MONEY EXCHANGE Currency in Slovenia and Italy is the Euro ( ). Money can be exchanged at the money exchange offices at the railway stations or at the airport. Major credit cards are accepted for board and lodging at the hotel. If necessary the major currencies can be exchanged also at the hotel. 9

10 ANNEX REGISTRATION FORM SEMINAR ON INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT IN SUSTAINABLY MANAGED FORESTS Portorose, October 2008 To be completed and sent not later than 15 September 2008 to: With a copy to: Mr. Joachim Lorbach Mr. Robert Robek Forest Product Service Slovenian Forestry Institute Forest Products and Industries Division, Vecna pot 2 FAO Forestry Department 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia Viale delle Terme di Caracalla Tel: I Rome, Italy Fax: Tel: Robert.Robek@gozdis.si Fax: Joachim.Lorbach@fao.org (PLEASE USE TYPEWRITER OR BLOCK LETTERS) *Indicate whatever applies, **Mark selection with X in front of option 1. Family name (Mr/Ms)*: First name: Title or position: Office or mailing address: Tel: Fax: Representative of (Country/organization): Accompanied by (Mr./Ms.)*: 2. Expected arrival**: Airport Trieste Airport Ljubljana Railway st. Ljubljana Portorose 3. Accommodation requests** Vegetarian Single room Interested in spouse program Hotel category** **** *** ** 4. I intend to prepare a paper on the following subject: 5. I intend to make an oral presentation on the following subject: 6. I intend to present a poster on the following subject: 7. I intend to make a Power Point presentation**: yes no 8. I intend to show**: Film Title: Video Format: Approximate length minutes 9. Other equipment needed: 10.Agenda item (see text on page 4): Date:... 10