Report on
Discussion Forum on Information Services in the Asia-Pacific
and
AGRIS/CARIS in the 21st Century
an Asia-Pacific Regional Consultation

Edited by Michael Ibach and Yvonne Byron

DISCUSSION FORUM ON INFORMATION SERVICES

IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC

Becky Skidmore

ASEAN Forest Tree Seed Centre Project, Ottawa, Canada

List of Acronyms

[Chapter 1]
Introduction

[Chapter 2]
Forestry Information Initiatives

[Chapter 3]
Collaboration

[Chapter 4]
The Survey

[Chapter 5]
The Discussion Forum

[Chapter 6]
Final Action Plans

[Chapter 7]
Keynote Papers

[Chapter 8]
Conclusions

[References]

[Appendix 1]
Survey Questionnaire

[Appendix 2]
Forestry Information Services in the Asia-Pacific Region

[Appendix 3]
The Future for Scientific Publishing and Information in the Asia-Pacific Region

[Appendix 4]
Information Services at IUFRO

[Appendix 5]
Sources of Forestry Information

[Appendix 6]
List of Participants

Three keynote papers were presented during the course of the Discussion Forum and added an interesting dimension to the theme of forestry information systems in the region. Francis Ng's paper, "The Future for Scientific Publishing and Information in the Asia-Pacific Region", presents a historical perspective on the development of scientific education, research and publishing in the region and offers suggestions and hope for the future (Appendix 3). He points to the growing dominance of English as the international language of science and the impact this trend has played in developing scientific capacity in the region. In an effort to develop beyond their previous vocational roles, universities in the region, such as the newly established Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, are beginning to play a contributory role to global scientific knowledge. At the same time, developments in information technology offer opportunities for cheaper, more efficient information storage and retrieval, as is evident in CIFOR's own recently produced Manual of Forest Fruits, Seeds and Seedlings. In order to use these new tools and the associated technology effectively, CD-ROM producers and information managers such as librarians need to stop considering CD-ROMs as elite products. Declining costs mean these products can be mass-marketed and distributed conveniently to the intended users. The growing availability of desktop publishing and the internet is enabling scientific communities to regain power from commercial publishing houses where copyright concerns have made access to scientific knowledge increasingly restrictive and expensive. AGRIS and its associated CD-ROMs offer an exciting opportunity for non-commercial developers to mass-market agricultural, forestry and fisheries information internationally to scientific users rather than pricing them exclusively for libraries and information centres.

Heinrich Schmutzenhofer of IUFRO spoke on "Information Services at IUFRO and the Latin America Network Experience" (a summary is available at Appendix 4). His presentation discussed the extensive networking experience of IUFRO and its historical development since its founding in 1892. The internet has greatly facilitated the communication role of IUFRO and its home page now provides easy, hypertext access to detailed information about IUFRO, its programmes, divisions and working units, as well as the appropriate contact persons. Where appropriate, a search engine offers keyword and Boolean access. Particularly useful is the opportunity to access, electronically, the extensive publishing output of the organisation. This technology has been instrumental in developing a well-functioning network in the Latin American and Caribbean region to the point requests to IUFRO concerning this network have recently grown significantly. The World-Wide Web (WWW) offers a tremendous opportunity for all members of the forestry community and it is not difficult for the appropriate links and home pages to be established for interested organisations already possessing the technology.

CABI's Ken Becker discussed "Sources of Forestry Information" (a summary appears as Appendix 5). He points to the crucial relationship between quality of research and the information that supports that research, and stresses the importance of having access to and knowledge of existing resources. The traditional categories of knowledge are mentioned, including primary publications, of which journals form the most important component, secondary publications such as indexes and abstracts (e.g., AGRIS, AGRICOLA and CAB ABSTRACTS) and tertiary publications, e.g., a subset of abstracts which may include value-added information such as review articles from appropriate subject experts. The presentation provided an excellent, annotated overview of various on-line and CD-ROM databases and the technology that supports them. Internet features and useful WWW forestry and related sites were also reviewed, including electronic publications. Particularly important are emerging knowledge-management systems, such as the proposed Electronic Forestry Compendium, which use subject expertise to manage information in a user-friendly fashion. The continuing developments evident in all aspects of information technology pose interesting challenges to forestry information providers, intermediaries and users, as all shareholders strive to effectively assimilate and use the technology and the information it contains.

The presentations were followed by a demonstration of a prototype of CABI's Electronic Forestry Compendium, a PC-based knowledge management system designed to provide silvicultural information on individual tree species. An 18-month project starting in 1997 will focus on developing a CD-ROM covering 650 tropical and sub-tropical species important for forestry and agroforestry in the Asia-Pacific region. Compendium features include species reviews (with input provided by experts), illustrations, maps, glossary, a multi-lingual glossary, a taxonomic database, bibliographies and abstracts, plus an iterative guide to choice of species for particular sites and uses. The project, formulated after an extensive user needs survey, is to be undertaken by CABI in collaboration with CIFOR and numerous other institutions, and with funding from several donor agencies. The Compendium will be of particular use to developing countries where access to information continues to be a major constraint. The Asia-Pacific module represents an initial step towards the overall goal of a global Electronic Forestry Compendium.