North American networking activities on non-wood forest products by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Abstract

FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, is the largest autonomous agency within the United Nations system dealing with agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and related disciplines. FAO provides a neutral forum for policy dialogue, a source of information and knowledge, technical assistance, and advice to 180 member countries. Technical information and global networking on non-wood forest products (NWFPs) are provided mainly by the Forestry Department. The NWFP Programme, intended to be a "Centre of excellence in information sharing," is implemented through the following main elements: information gathering, analysis, and dissemination; appraisal of the socioeconomic contributions of NWFPs to development; and improved networking. FAO and NWFP related activities of interest to the North American region are mainly channeled through The Committee on Forestry (COFO), The North American Forest Commission (NAFC), and the NWFP task group of the North American Forest Products Study Group (FPSG). URL addresses are provided for further reading.

Parent Publication

• Forest communities in the third millennium: linking research, business, and policy toward a sustainable non-timber forest product sector.

Citation

Vantomme, Paul. 2001. North American networking activities on non-wood forest products by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In: Davidson-Hunt, Iain; Duchesne, Luc C.; Zasada, John C., eds. Forest communities in the third millennium: linking research, business, and policy toward a sustainable non-timber forest product sector, proceedings of the meeting; 1999 October 1-4; Kenora, Ontario, Canada. Gen. Tech. Rep. NC-217. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Research Station: 140-147.