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In the drive towards sustainable forest management, there has been continuous improvement in the management of many forest areas in the Asia-Pacific region. In Search of Excellence aims to document and disseminate specific examples of this improvement. The Asia Pacific Forestry Commission (APFC) and FAO believe that part of the process of striving for improvement is to promote examples of success. In Search of Excellence seeks to identify a broad cross-section of instances of exemplary forest management in Asia-Pacific; small to large scale forests that can be held up as examples of forest management that shows promise for the future; and examples across the range of forest eco-types exemplifying different ownership structures and management objectives.

APFC and FAO are calling for nominations of exemplary forest management in the Asia-Pacific region. We welcome nominations both from people and organisations that wish to nominate their own forest(s), and from those who wish to nominate others' forests. Nominations close on 1 February, 2002. For more information on the In Search of Excellence nomination and selection process, please contact [email protected].

Asia Pacific Forestry Commission

Working Group on Sustainable Forest Management

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

In search of Excellence: Exemplary Forest Management in the Asia-Pacific Region

Background

In 1982, Tom Peters and Robert Waterman published an enormously popular business management textbook titled In Search of Excellence. Peters and Waterman chose a sample of highly successful firms and tried to identify the features that had led to these successes. This APFC/FAO In Search of Excellence initiative seeks to borrow from the Peters and Waterman approach, to identify instances of exemplary forest management in the Asia-Pacific region, and examine some of the characteristics that support high-quality forest management.

In Search of Excellence

In the drive towards sustainable forest management there has been continuous improvement in the management of many forest areas in the Asia-Pacific region. In Search of Excellence aims to document specific examples of this improvement. A great deal of attention has been focused on poor forest management, deforestation and degradation of forests. There has been far less recognition of the many positive instances of improved forest management.

FAO believes that part of the process of striving for improvement is to promote examples of success. This serves as a means of disseminating good ideas and as a source of encouragement to achieve better forest management.

In Search of Excellence seeks to identify:

We aim to ask a wide range of people to help us identify and acknowledge some of these efforts to move towards sustainable forest management. We hope to give credit where it is due and to spread information to encourage others to take up some of these ideas, methods and approaches.

Call for Nominations

APFC/FAO are calling for nominations of forests in the Asia-Pacific region that demonstrate forms of exemplary management. We welcome nominations both from people and organisations that wish to nominate their own forest(s), and from those who wish to nominate others' forests.

The Process

The call for nominations of forests is being widely distributed throughout the region. Nomination forms are being sent to government forestry agencies, forestry organisations, universities, environmental agencies and NGOs, and industry associations. The activity is also being advertised in forestry journals and trade magazines, and on forestry list-servers.

APFC/FAO plan to establish a Panel of Experts to review the nominations, and to select outstanding examples for further in-depth analysis. Case studies on management of these forests will appear in a publication that documents and analyses these examples.

Making a Nomination

When submitting your nomination, it will be very helpful to include additional documentation related to the management practices and features that lead you to consider the forest exemplary. Useful supporting documentation would include copies of forest management plans, documentation demonstrating compliance with forest policies and regulations, codes of practice, corporate profiles, press releases and other promotional material. The more documentation you are able to send us, the better chance your forest has of being selected. It will also be very helpful to name a contact person(s) who could provide additional information.

Nominations close 1 February 2002. Completed nomination forms should be sent to Patrick Durst. To nominate a forest, please complete and forward a nomination form. Copies (electronic or paper) may be obtained from: