Introduction

1.    The meeting of the Joint FAO/ECE Team of Public Relations Specialists in the Forest and Forest Industries Sector was convened in Tällberg, Sweden, from 9-11 May 1994.

2.    The following countries were represented:  Austria, Belgium, Belarus, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States.  The European Forest Institute, ECE and FAO were also represented.  A list of participants is attached in annex A.

3.    The participants were welcomed by Ms. Maria Norrfalk, Director General of the Swedish National Board of Forestry and Dr. Jan Remröd, Director General of the Swedish Pulp and Paper Association.  Mr. Mats Denninger, Deputy Minister of the Swedish Ministry of Agriculture briefed the team on Sweden's New Forest Policy.  Mr. Björn Hägglund, Managing Director of Stora Skog, described the company's forest management objectives and introduced the tour of their copper mine.

Adoption of the agenda (Item 1 of the agenda)

4.    The provisional agenda as presented by Mr. Frazer Lindsay (United Kingdom), Team Leader, was adopted.

Arrangements for meeting chair and rapporteur (Item 2 of the agenda)

5.    Mr. Lindsay chaired the meeting and Mr. Ed Pepke (ECE/FAO) was rapporteur.

Introduction (Item 3 of the agenda)

6.    Mr. Lindsay presented a background paper describing the history of the team including the support of the FAO European Forestry Commission (beginning with its 25th session, report FO:EFC/91/REP and subsequent Executive Committee meetings) and the ECE Timber Committee (beginning with its 49th session, report ECE/TIM/59, its 50th session, report ECE/TIM/63, and subsequent office-holders meetings).  From the joint European Forestry Commission and Timber Committee session in Rome in October 1993, where the team's terms of reference and activities were supported (ECE/TIM/71, paragraph 38), he reviewed initial priorities in the work programme:  1) to assemble a "toolkit" of guiding principals and practices of public relations in the forest and forest industries (FFI) sector;  2) to develop media and public awareness of international discussions on UNCED Rio commitments;  and 3) to develop the public relations network in the FFI sector.

National activity reports (Item 4 of the agenda)

7.    Each country was requested to submit a written report and then was given an opportunity to  highlight national and international public relations campaigns conducted during the previous year.  Overall it was an impressive list of public relations activities and it proved to be a valuable stimulus to start the meeting.  A list of reports from the meeting may be found in annex B and may be obtained from the secretariat.

Team activity reports (Item 5 of the agenda)

Toolkit (Item 5a)

8.    Mr. Lindsay had circulated a draft of the public relations toolkit, formally titled, "Communications strategies in forestry and the forest industry sector".  He presented the toolkit and opened a discussion on its content, value and distribution.  The team commended the excellent start and offered suggestions such as that it should be more specific to the FFI sector, that it needed an introduction which identifies the target audience and its purpose, and that the insertion of examples would assist users.  The Netherlands offered to draft an introduction and Mr. Lindsay will make modifications in the toolkit's next draft with the intent of having a final version available for distribution at the October 1994 Timber Committee session.

Successful public relations campaigns  (Item 5b)

9.    Mr. Jurgen Geldbach (Germany) presented details of a major advertising campaign promoting wood, which is based on needs determined by pre-campaign research through public opinion surveys.  He  was requested to prepare a report for the next meeting on the results of the campaign.  Ms. Marieke C. van Nieuwkuyk (The Netherlands) presented a video that has been part of a successful educational initiative as measured by surveys of viewers.  From the national activity reports Mr. Lindsay is extracting a list of additional potential campaigns for documentation and future distribution.

Women as key consumers (Item 5c)

10.    The results of a working group from Austria, the Netherlands and Norway were presented in a paper which illustrated the importance of this market sector to the FFI.  They offered several public relations strategies to reach this group including choosing the right wording, using pictures of women and families, employing female speakers and selecting effective information channels such as women's magazines and groups. The results of this activity will be included in the toolkit and are attached to this report as annex C.

International databases (Item 5d of the agenda)

11.    Mr. Yves St. Onge (Canada) introduced Internet as a cost-effective means of communication for information dissemination, collection and exchange.  After explaining the how to use Internet and some issues surrounding its use, the team concluded that e-mail (electronic mail) via Internet could be advantageous, that members should obtain access to Internet and that e-mail addresses should be added to the team directory.

Community forests (Item 5e of the agenda)

12.    Mr. Charles Dereix (France) presented a paper titled "Public relations on suburban forests" which was the outcome of a survey of other team members on their public relation activities on forests located in or near urban areas.  Suburban forest management harmonizes social functions and wood production in a complementary approach designed to reflect the needs of the community.  Public relations approaches which provide information to the public on the importance of sustainable forest management activities, the life cycle of forests and the economic necessities of forests, were considered essential in these highly visible forests.

13.     The team leader requested that the replies to the questionnaire leading to this paper be circulated to team members and that a small working group, initially consisting of France and FAO,  should gather information on NGO's management plans for their forests and present it at the next meeting.  It was suggested that the paper had significantly important ideas that should be developed to include additional examples of suburban forest management and that it could be distributed to policy makers, perhaps through FAO.

Follow-up to Rio, Helsinki and Montreal conferences (Item 5f of the agenda)

14.    Mr. Lindsay opened the discussion by introducing his paper on the UK government position on sustainable development and timber certification as part of a round table discussion which ensued.   Each country commented on their particular policies, including timber certification schemes, related to follow-up actions to the Rio, Helsinki and Montreal conferences.  Mr. Andrew Jennings (United Kingdom) described a new campaign by the Forestry Industry Committee of Great Britain to produce a "woodmark" to be applied to sawnwood and processed timber which will identify the source as British-grown and harvested in accordance with government standards and regulations.

15.    After the discussion it was apparent that there was no common approach to either timber certification or to the follow-up to the three conferences, even though each country was attempting to meet the guidelines of the conferences.  Team members pointed out the need for increased public relations and continued exchange of information on the status of national and international certification schemes, and strongly advised further international effort to raise media and public awareness of the principles and practice of sustainable management.

Publicity for the Timber Committee and the European Forestry Commission  (Item 5g of the agenda)

16.    Mr. Pepke opened the discussion by recalling a passage from the team's terms of reference which indicates the team is to assess the public relations needs of the Timber Committee and the European Forestry Commission.  He presented a list of 5 series of  the Timber Section publications for 1994 which include the "Geneva Timber and Forest Information Series."  The series includes "The UN-ECE Timber Committee Yearbook 1993" and brochures about the Timber Committee, the European Forestry Commission, the Joint FAO/ECE Working Party on Forest Economics and Statistics and the Joint FAO/ECE/ILO Committee on Forest Technology, Management and Training.

17.    During the ensuing discussion the meeting expressed concern over the quality and timeliness of the Section's press releases.  It was decided to form a working group to look specifically at analysing the public relations needs and making recommendations to the parent bodies.  Volunteers for the working group were from Canada, FAO, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.  The secretariat was instructed to write a letter to the Executive Committee and office-holders of the parent bodies to explain the discussion and the actions to be taken and to urge the parent bodies to take a more pro-active role in communications outside the FFI sector.

Country statistics  (Item 5h of the agenda)

18.    Mr. Lindsay had circulated a prototype country profile on the United Kingdom's FFI sector with the idea that a simpler collection of statistical and information profiles on all ECE-region countries could facilitate international public relations. Some team members expressed concerns about the definition and comparability of data.  The ECE/FAO secretariat offered to supply official government data received for some of the items on the prototype and the European Forest Institute offered to assemble and publish the profiles in cooperation with the team and the ECE/FAO secretariat.  The team requested that this activity be considered further and that a new model, with estimated costs be presented at the next team meeting.

Other items  (Item 5g of the agenda)

19.    Mr. Pepke opened the topic of the team's database which was to be kept in the Agriculture and Timber Division library in Geneva.  He said that  there had been no additions to the library over the past year and he therefore recommended discontinuing the collection of materials.  The meeting decided that it was premature to abandon the library collection and that the rapporteur should annex a list of all materials distributed at the Tällberg meeting to the report (see annex B).  Countries were requested to send lists of relevant public relations information to the ECE/FAO secretariat to update the database.  The secretariat is to report on the status of the database and the library at the team's next meeting.

Election of officers for 1994/1995  (Item 6 of the agenda)

20.    Mr. Lindsay was appointed team leader for 1994/1995 and Mr. Ingwald Gschwandtl (Austria) was appointed to a new post of deputy leader.

Other Business  (Item 7 of the agenda)

21.    This item was combined with item 5g "other items" above.

Date and place of next meeting  (Item 8 of the agenda)

22.    Canada offered to host the next meeting in Quebec, possibly in April 1995.  FAO was founded in 1945 in Quebec and it will be the 50th anniversary.  The final data will be announced and will take into account the UN Council for Sustainable Development and the FAO Committee on Forestry meetings.

Arrangements for the meeting report  (Item 9 of the agenda)

23.    The rapporteur was requested to draft the report with the team leader and then to circulate it for comment by the team before finalizing.  Final reports would be sent to all team members and would be presented to the October 1994 Timber Committee session.

Special topic: Efficient wood production and nature conservation  (Item 10 of the agenda)

24.    Mr. Lars-Olov Österström, Chief County Forester, and Mr. Fredrik Luhr, Managing Director, gave a presentation which previewed the following day's field trip in Dalarna, Sweden.  They stressed the importance of the forest to life in Sweden.  They explained the functions, objectives and strategies of forest owners associations and their relations with county forest boards.  They highlighted their public relations activities and described the two goals of the New Forest Act: protection and production.

25.    The following day the team took a field trip to view Swedish public relations and forest management practices.  At the first stop the team was taken into a recent harvested area where the Richer Forest Campaign, the New Forest Act, forest management practices, forest owners associations, education campaigns, and other topics were discussed.  At the second stop the economics and objectives of the small forest landowner's management and timber harvesting were demonstrated.  The final stop was for a delightful lunch at the home of a farmer and forest land owner where the family's objectives and finances were explained.

Other matters

26.    The meeting participants expressed their sincere appreciation for the excellent arrangements and generous hospitality of their hosts from Skogsstyrelsen (the National Board of Forestry), Svensk Skog,  Skogsindustrierna (the Swedish Pulp and Paper Association), and Jordbruksdepartementet (the Department of Agriculture).

27.    Finland invited team members to participate in the IUFRO XX World Congress to be held in Tampere in 1995.

30.    The team expressed special appreciation to the team leader for his work over the past year and at the meeting.  They also thanked the ECE/FAO secretariat and the FAO for their support.
 

*******

Annex A

FAO/ECE Team of Public Relations Specialists in the Forest and Forest Industries Sector
List of Participants at the Meeting in Tällberg, Sweden, 9-11 May 1994

AUSTRIA
Mr. Ingwald Gschwandtl,
Dipl. Ing. Head of Division,
Forest Economics and Public Relations
Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Ferdinandstrasse 4
A-1020 Vienna
Telephone: +43 222 21323 or 7307
Fax: +43 222 21323-7216

BELGIUM
Mr. Patrick Engels
Forest Engineer
Flemish Forest Service
Belliardstraat 14-18
B-1040 Brussels
Telephone: +32 2 657 03 86
Fax: +32 2 657 96 82

BELARUS
Dr. Oleg Aleksandrovich Atroshchenko
Head, Forest Industries Department
Sverdlova Street 13a
220630 Minsk
Telephone: +7 0172 27 22 54 (home: 007 0172 51 23 23)

CANADA
Mr. R. O. McRae
Senior Advisor
Council of Forest Industries of B.C.
Tileman House
131-133 Upper Richmond Road
London, SW15 2TR
Telephone: +44 81 788 4446
Fax: +44 81 789 0148

Mr. Yves St-Onge
Forestry Canada
351 St. Joseph Blvd.
Hull, Quebec  K1A 1G5
Telephone: +1 819 997 1107
Fax: +819 997 1149

CROATIA
Mr. Joso Gracan
Forest Research Institute
Cvjetno naselje 41
HR-41420 Jastrebarsko
Telephone: + 41 831 022/831 492
Fax: + 41 831 493

DENMARK
Mr. Martin Einfeldt, Public Relations Officer
Dansk Skovforening
Amalievej 20
DK-1875 Frederiksberg C
Telephone: +45 3124 4266
Fax: +45 3124 0242

FINLAND
Mr Juhani Karvonen
Executive Director, Finnish Forestry Assn.
Salomonkatu 17A
FIN-00100 Helsinki
Telephone: +358 0 469 4545
Fax: +358 0 469 4355

Mr. Pekka Kivelä
Vice President Corporate Communications
Metsä-Serla Corporation
Revontulentie 6
FIN-02100 Espoo
Telephone: +358 0 469 4545
Fax: +358 0 469 4355

FRANCE
Mr. Jean-Marie Bourgau
Adjoint au Sous-Directeur de la Forêt
Sous-direction de la Forêt, Direction de l'Espace rural et de la Forêt
Ministère de l'Agriculture et de la Forêt
1 ter avenue de Lowendal
F-75700 Paris
Telephone: +33 1 49 55 51 40
Fax: +33 1 49 55 41 97

Mr. Charles Dereix
Chef du Département de la Communication
Office National des Forêts
2 avenue de Saint-Mandé
F-75570 Paris Cedex 12
Telephone: +33 1 40 19 58 43
Fax: +33 1 44 73 46 45

GERMANY
Mr. Jurgen Geldbach
Deputy Head of Section
Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry
Rochusstr. 1
D-53123 Bonn
Telephone: +49 228 529 3741
Fax: +49 228 529 4318

IRELAND
Mr. Philip Carroll
Forest Service
Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Forestry
Leeson Lane
IRE-Dublin 2
Telephone: +353 1 678 9011
Fax: +353 1 676 8980/661 1326

NETHERLANDS
Ms. Marieke C. van Nieuwkuyk
Public Relations Manager
SBH Foundation for Forest and Forest Products
Postbus 253
NL-6700 AG Wageningen
Telephone: +31 83 702 4666
Fax: +31 83 701 0247

NORWAY
Mr. Johs Bjørndal
Editor, Norsk Skogbruk
Wergelandsveien 23 B
N-0167 Oslo
Telephone: +47 22 466940
Fax: +47 22 604189

Ms. Berit Sanness
Information Manager
Norwegian Forest Owners' Federation
Box 1438 Vika
N-0115 Oslo
Telephone: +47 22 83 47 00
Fax: +47 22 83 40 47

POLAND
Mr. Wlodzimierz Adamczyk
Assistant, Section of Spatial Information in Forestry
Forestry Research Institute
ul. Bitwy, Warszawskiej 1920r/3
PL-00732 Warsaw
Telephone: +48 2(2) 22 49 32
Fax: +48 2(2) 22 49 35

SWEDEN
Ms. Birgitta Bernadotte
Public Affairs
National Board of Forestry
S-55183 Jönköping
Telephone: +46 36 15 56 00
Fax: +46 36 19 06 22

Ms. Maria Hugosson
Executive Director
Svensk Skog
Box 5518
S-11485 Stockholm
Telephone: +46 87 83 84 64
Fax: +46 86 61 73 06

Mrs. Agneta Lindstedt
Director, Skogsindustrierna
Box 5518
S-11485 Stockholm
Telephone: +46 87 83 84 00
Fax: +46 86 61 73 06

Mr. Lars-Erik Holmberg
Head of Information Service
Skogsstyrelsen
The National Board of Forestry
S-55183 Jönköping
Telephone: +46 36 15 56 00
Fax: +46 36 19 06 22

Ms. Astrid Bergquist
International Secretariat
Jordbruksdepartementet
Department of Agriculture
S-10333 Stockholm
Telephone: +46
Fax: +46

Mr. Jan Remröd
General Director
Swedish Pulp and Paper Assn.
Skogindustriema
Box 5518
S-11485 Stockholm
Telephone: +46 87 83 84 00
Fax: +46 86 61 73 06

Mr. Mats Denninger
Deputy Minister
Jordbruksdepartementet
Department of Agriculture
S-10333 Stockholm
Telephone: +46
Fax: +46

UNITED KINGDOM
Mr. James Frazer Lindsay
Head of Information
Great Britain Forestry Commission
231 Corstorphine Road
UK-EH12 7AT Edinburgh, Scotland
Telephone: +44 31 334 0303
Fax: +44 31 334 4473

Mr. Andrew Jennings
Director, Forestry Industry Committee of Great Britain (FICGB)
Orchard Cottage, Tower Hill
UK-RH13 717 Horsham, West Sussex
Telephone: +44
Fax: +44

UNITED STATES
Mr. Steve Lovett
Vice-President, International Trade
American Forest and Paper Association
Suite 800
1111 19th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: +1 202 463 2724
Fax: +1 202 463 2785

Mr. Barry M. Cullen
Senior Vice President
Forest Resources & Wood Products
American Forest and Paper Association
Suite 800
1111 19th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: +1 202 463 2710
Fax: +1 202 463 2708

Mr. Luke Popovich
Assistant Vice-President--Communications
American Forest and Paper Association
Suite 800
1111 19th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: +1 202 463 2724
Fax: +1 202 463 2785

OTHERS

EUROPEAN FOREST INSTITUTE
Mr. Tim Peck
Chairman of the Board
European Forest Institute
2, Ch. des Laurelles
CH-1297 Founex
Telephone and fax: +41 22 776 1069

FAO
Mr. Stephen Dembner
Editor, Unasylvia
FAO, Department of Forestry
Via delle Terme di Caracalla
I-00100 Rome
Telephone: +39 6 57 97 47 78
Fax: +39 6 57 97 51 37

FAO/ECE
Mr. Ed Pepke
Forestry Officer--Marketing
UN-ECE/FAO Agriculture and Timber Division
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Telephone: +41 22 917 2872
Fax: +41 22 917 0041
 

Annex B

List of Information Distributed

AUSTRIA - National activity report 1993/1994 (Ingwald Gschwandtl) - Addition to the National Report of Austria: "Image Campaign FEEL WOOD" (I. Gschwandtl) -  Report Forest Affairs - An infogame about the forest and its utilization for the FPP, the Cooperation Agreement of the Austrian Forestry, Paper and Board Industries.

BELARUS
- National activity report 1993/1994

BELGIUM
- Forestry in Belgium (Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels)
- Flemish activity report

FINLAND
- National activity report 5/93-5/94 (J. Karvonen & P. Kivelä)
- Information Package - IUFRO XX World Congress, Aug. 6-12 1995, Tampere (Finland).  Caring for the forest:  Research in a Changing World (IUFRO News, Vol. 23, 1994, Issue 1, ISSN 02256-5145)

FRANCE
- National activity report
- ONF: Découvrir le Centre National de Formation Forestière. Une pédagogie active au service de la forêt et du milieu naturel;
   Rapport annuel 1992;
   Arborescences. No. 48, janv.-fév. 1994. La santé des forêts. Dossier régional, la Lorraine;
   Public relations on suburban forests (report by Charles Dereix);
    News about ONF (C. Dereix)
   Leaflet on "Visites guidées en forêt"
   CD on "Les trompes de chasse de l'ONF"
- La gestion durable des forêts françaises (Ministère de l'Agriculture et de la Pêche)

GERMANY
- Holz. Ich, der Wald, bin mehr als Sie denken

IRELAND
- National progress report (by P. Carroll)

NETHERLANDS
- Public relations in forestry in the Netherlands (SBH)
- Leaflet on SBH (Stichting Bos en Hout)

NORWAY
- National activity report (by Johs Bjorndal)
- The forests of the world--our future.  CD and pamphlet about a television series.
- Ewig singen die Wälder Norwegens

SWEDEN
- National activity report 1993/1994
- SKOGSSTYRELSEN : The extension campaign "A richer forest"
     Biotopfaktablad on Tallen, Bäcken & Aspen
     Sweden's new forest policy
     Renewable forests - Myth or reality? Case Sweden (Rapport 3, 1994)
- STORA SKOG : Diversity for the future. Forest management strategy
     Folder
- SKOSINDUSTRIERNA : Press briefings, De. 29, 1993
     A search for sustainable forestry, the Swedish view
     Puzzle "Paper is one part of nature's cycle"
     The forest of opportunity (J. Remröd)
- Waste is more than just a load of rubbish
- STORA Annual report 1993
- Scandinavian Forestry. The forest should used widely - not used up

UNITED KINGDOM
- National activity report 1993/94
- Forest Life No. 10 (Forest Enterprise, Forestry Commission)
- Information Note on 'Timber Certification - The forest stewardship council' (FICGB - Forestry Industry Committee of Great-Britain)

UNITED STATES
- The public affairs climate for the U.S. forest and paper industry
- A tree for each American
- Where will the wood come from?
- Below-Cost Timber Sales
- Stewardship & Environmental Responsibility
- Project Learning Tree
- The American Forest:  Facts and figures 1991
- America's Forest & Paper People: Improving Tomorrow's Environment Today

EUROPEAN FOREST INSTITUTE
-Information about the activities of the European Forest Institute (EFI), Joensuu, Finland by T.J. Peck

FAO
- The Challenge of Sustainable Forest Management.  What future for the world's forests?

UN-ECE/FAO
- Timber Section Publications for 1994
 

Annex C

Women as Key Consumers

a report submitted by working group members:
 Ingwald Gschwandtl, Austria, Marieke van Nieuwkuyk, The Netherlands and Berit Sanness, Norway
to the Meeting of the Joint FAO/ECE Team of Public Relations Specialists
in the Forest and Forest Industries Sector, Tällberg, Sweden, from 9-11 May 1994
 

Women have a great influence on how the structure and preferences in consumer commodities change in our part of the world.  Women usually take more than 85 per cent of the decisions in connection with managing the household.  This includes the choice of furniture and floor (wood or carpet...), baby`s nappies (paper or cloth...), etc.  Besides, women often choose which envelopes and other kinds of paper products should be bought by the offices.  Women's opinions and behaviour, therefore, have great influence on the demand structure of products from the forest industry.  At the same time, they have great influence on what their children and partners think about the world, about environment and about forestry and forest products.

This is well known and used by environmental groups as well as advertising professionals and industry. Forestry seems not to be very conscious about this matter.

How can forestry and forest industry increase the share of women in the public that have an acceptable knowledge about forestry?  Be aware that a large number of members of the target groups are female and that women have to be addressed in another way than men.

Of course, everybody has to work out a strategy that fits to his special situation, but here are some suggestions:

* Choose the right words

Forestry is often associated with men, machines and economy.  Women do not usually associate these words with environment.  It can be useful to study pamphlets and advertisements made by companies that have based their image on women's environmental interest.  There you often will find words that are based on consciousness of traditional female priorities.  Words like environment, honesty, trust, human rights, global responsibility, safety, health, natural, simple, communication and cooperation are often used in such texts. These words can perfectly well be used to describe forestry, can't they?

* Choose the right pictures and speakers

If you plan to make pamphlets, brochures, posters or adverts, make sure that the pictures do not show only men.  Show families, children, women, old people, and show social relationships.

Try also to get female speakers for your messages in press conferences, advertisements, interviews, etc.  We listen more carefully to people that seem familiar to us.

When NGOs are informing about ecolabelling products for the household, it is often female representatives of the organization that are interviewed in the papers or on television.  When you give information addressed to women, make sure that your examples feel familiar to their experience.  Give examples from a women's world, but in a balanced way.

* Choose the right information channels

Try to establish contacts with the women's social network and women's organizations.

Try to get women's magazines interested in your information.

If you do advertising, don't forget women's magazines.

Try to motivate women living in the forest owner families to take a larger responsibility for forestry and forestry management on their properties and use them as information channels.

Employ women as a member of your information staff and female foresters. They have the words, the ideas and the contacts.