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

In summary, the Discussion Forum on Forestry Information Services in the Asia-Pacific exceeded expectations. The spirit of co-operation evident throughout the forum and the development of three specific and realistic action plans assured participants of the value of networking. The groundwork for a mutually beneficial forestry network in the region has now been laid and participants can use the momentum to further efforts in this direction. Thompson (1993) of IDRC appropriately sums up the collective responsibility required to create a sustainable information system or network:

[Information specialists] need to work in concert with all prospective users in designing the system; to convince users that the responsibility for designing the system is equally theirs, thereby ensuring that information issues are entrenched in the national research system and forms an integral part of the country's research agenda.

The Discussion Forum, with its diverse mix of information users, providers, managers, policy makers and donors, offers the appropriate combination of skill, knowledge and power to achieve just that.