Report on
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AGRIS/CARIS IN THE 21ST CENTURYREPORT ON THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL CONSULTATION4 - 6 NOVEMBER 1996BOGOR, INDONESIA |
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[Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7]
[Appendix 1] |
THE STATUS OF FORESTRY RESEARCH INFORMATIONSYSTEM IN KOREADr. Byoung Il Yoo Forestry Information, Forestry Research Institute, Seoul, South Korea INTRODUCTION In Korea, up to 1983, the AGRIS national centre was the KIET (Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade). After 1984, the AGRIS/CARIS national centre changed to the Rural Development Administration, with the research support division in charge. To date, the information from a total of 78 Korean journals have been submitted to the AGRIS centre in Vienna such as the Journal of the Korean Forestry Society. The forestry administration has no direct relationship with AGRIS in Korea. However, FRI and FGRI have been able to use AGRIS through the national computer network system since the early 1990s. STATUS OF FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE In Korea, there are two national forestry research organisations: the Forestry Research Institute (FRI) and the Forest Genetics Research Institute (FGRI). Each of the nine provinces and some universities have a forest research institute. These strongly co-operate on research projects. The Forestry Research Institute, founded in 1922, studies both forestry and forest products. The main research activities cover policy and silvicultural and management systems linked with the Forest Resources 10 Year Plan, forest resource survey, and the management of the Forest Museum and Arboretum. The Forest Genetics Research Institute, founded in 1956, works to develop tree species for erosion control, improve native species, develop new nut-bearing species for income and preserve genetic resources. The Institute also devotes its efforts to preserve genetic resources for tree species improvement and to develop new bio-technology materials from trees. The number of researchers in national research institutes is about 450 persons. During the past ten years, human resources have doubled. Therefore now we have enough researchers to carry out research related to forest and forestry industry. STATUS OF RESEARCH ACTIVITY In 1996, FRI had 94 projects. FRI and FGRI publish several journals and information leaflets. The research budget of FRI and FGRI is about 9423 million won (about US$11 million). The share of the research budget among the total budget for Forestry Administration was about 7% in 1996. The total number of publications related to forestry is estimated to be more than 30, including the scientific journals in Korean. Publications are distributed to libraries and official organisations. The FRI Journal of Forest Science is distributed abroad to about 200 recipients. This stimulates exchange with other countries' forest research papers. FRI provides general forestry information and research output via public computer networks in Korea. Each year more than 200 articles appear in Korean journals. However, only about 40-50 articles appear in Journal of the Korean Forestry Society, which is submitted to AGRIS. Therefore forestry references in AGRIS cover only 25-30% of total references in Korea. STATUS OF FOREST LIBRARIES The Forestry Research Institute and Forest Genetics Research Institute have their own libraries. The Forestry Information section is in charge of the FRI library and the input/output of national and international forestry information including the publication of FRI's research output, and purchase of books and journals, exchange of forestry information. Forestry Research Institute is the forestry information centre in Korea, and the importance of linking with other organisations has increased. In 1996 FRI purchased 102 journals, of which more than 90% were imported. FRI subscribes to Current Contents in the Agriculture, Biology and Environmental Sciences (ABES). IUFRO provides the information bulletin for developing countries quarterly, which is useful for searching the forestry bibliography.
FRI uses the Korean Library Automation System (KOLAS), which was developed as the library information system by Korean National Central Library in 1994. KOLAS is used on personal computers and it is possible to store 100 000 references. FRI inputs information to KOLAS and submits the file every year to the Korean National Central Library as part of the national library automation system. KOLAS was developed for the Korean language (Hangul), but it is possible to also use English, Chinese, Japanese, etc. It is convenient for library management, especially for searching the information held in the library. The most frequent users of FRI's library are the researchers, but it is also open to the public and students of elementary schools and universities. FRI's library is the biggest professional forestry library in Korea. It has also a lot of forestry-related materials like video tapes and maps. Recently it became possible for users to search the international forestry information via Internet. However up to now, it is not available for use on the regional forestry computer network. CONCLUSION Even though the Korean forests are young, they are an important living environment. To increase the efficiency of forest management, especially sustainable forestry management (SFM), it is essential to develop the forest research information system in Korea. We have to increase efficiency and co-operate with developed countries in forestry information systems and international forestry organisations such as FAO and IUFRO. |