12 FOUNDING MEMBERS FOR THE EUROPEAN FOREST INSTITUTE The European Forest Institute (EFI) launched its activities at the beginning of this year and it has now been established as an Association, forming its own legal entity. The official Act of Constitution was signed by twelve founding members from ten European countries in Joensuu, Finland, on 9 September 1993. The founding members adopted the Institute's bylaws and discussed the plan of action for 1993-94, as well as the future research programme. Research activities have been started The purpose of the European Forest Institute is to undertake research on forest policy, including its environmental aspects, on ecology, multiple use, resources and health of European forests and on the supply of and demand for timber and other forest products, and to prepare forecasts of future development of the European forest resources and their utilization. In order to meet these aims, among the EFI's activities are the development of research methods, compilation and maintaining of data concerning European forests, and organizing scientific meetings and forest research training. Projects will be undertaken on problems of concern to as many countries as possible. Currently the Institute has six ongoing research projects. One of the projects deals with the policy implications of the ECE/FAO Forest Resource Assessment 1990 and will be presented at the Joint Session of the FAO European Forestry Commission and the ECE Timber Committee in Rome, Italy, in October. Other EFI ongoing projects are on growth trends, carbon balance, undisturbed forests of Europe as well as a EFI forestry data bank and a study 'Forest Resources in Europe 1950-90' by Professor Kullervo Kuusela. The number of international researchers working at the Institute is intended to grow gradually to approximately twenty within the next five years. The Government of Finland is financing the Institute to the amount of 4.6 mill. FIM (approximately 700 000 ECUs) next year and will provide substantial support when its activities have reached a stable level. In the future more than half of the research funding is intended to come from other than Finnish sources. Norwegian Director for the Institute Professor Birger Solberg, of Norway, has been appointed as the first Director of the EFI. He will take up his duties on 1 October 1993. Dr Solberg, 46, has extensive international experience, for example from the United States and Kenya as well as by being involved in forestry research round the world for national and international organizations. Dr Solberg's international experience together with his publications which cover a wide field of the forest sector are highly relevant to the EFI's objectives. The Founding Members of the EFI are: Faculty of Forestry, University of Brno, Czech Republic Faculty of Forestry, Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg, Germany Forest Research Institute, Hungary Norwegian Forest Research Institute, Norway The Forest Research Institute, Poland National Forest Research Station, Portugal St.Petersburg Forest Technical Academy, Russian Federation Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden Institute of Terrestrial Ecology/NERC, United Kingdom University of Joensuu, Finland Finnish Forest Research Institute, Finland Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, Finland Appointment of the EFI Board An international Board was selected for the Institute at the Constitutive meeting. The members of the Board are: Professor Per-Ove Backstrom, Sweden Professor Melvin Cannell, United Kingdom Vice-Rector Vladimir Ivanovich Yagodin, Russian Federation Professor Emil Klimo, Czech Republic Mr Pekka Patosaari, Finland Mr Tim Peck, formerly UN-ECE/FAO Professor Kazimierz Rykowski, Poland Professor Raul Albaquerque de Sardinha, Portugal Mr Ernst Wermann, Germany The Board held its first meeting on 10 September 1993 at which Mr Tim Peck was selected as Chairman and Professor Kazimierz Rykowski as Deputy Chairman of the Board. Professor Heinrich Spiecker from the Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg, Germany, was selected as Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board. Further information can be obtained from: Risto Paivinen Acting Director European Forest Institute Torikatu 34 80100 Finland tel. +358+73+124 395 fax +358+73+124 393 internet: efipai@joyl.joensuu.fi bitnet: efipai@finujo
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