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Organization type: Government
Profile:
The U.S. Forest Service, drawing on the skills of over 35,000 employees, brings natural resource management expertise to many international conservation policy discussions and technical assistance projects through collaborative work with federal agencies and departments, government organizations, international conservation organizations, private industry, and universities.
Cooperative agreements, memoranda of understanding, direct one-on-one arrangements, and membership or participation in international organizations serve as the foundation for cooperative activities. The USFS International Programs Office promotes sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation internationally. By linking the skills of field-based USFS staff with partners overseas, the agency can address the most critical forestry issues and concerns. International Programs regularly taps into the agency’s wide range of expertise. Wildlife biologists, forest economists, hydrologists, disaster and fire management specialists, policy makers, and other experts can be accessed through this program.
USFS International Programs has three main staff units: Technical Cooperation, Policy, and Disaster. Both Technical Cooperation and Disaster Programs work closely with USAID. Technical Cooperation, specifically, develops and manages natural resource projects overseas on a wide range of topics (i.e., fire management and forest health). There are two main disaster programs: the Disaster Assistance Support Program (DASP) and the Disaster Mitigation Program. Funded by USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, DASP trains and mobilizes personnel domestically to respond to and mitigate foreign disasters, such as the drought in Ethiopia and the locust response in West Africa. The Disaster Mitigation Program, on the other hand, trains and provides technical expertise to partners overseas in emergency preparedness, response, and disaster mitigation. Finally, USFS International Programs’ policy unit is actively involved in sustainability roundtables and international fora, which ensures that U.S. positions on global forest policies and agreements reflect the best interests of the country.
Areas of Sustainable Tourism (ST) expertise:
- Interpretation
- Concession management
- Buffer zone managemnet
- Encroachment issues, community involvement
- Indigenous and community relationships
- Road and trail design and management
- Community planning and integration
- Cultural and heritage resources
- Business planning for local entrepreneurs
- Landscape planning
- Social and marketing research
- Law enforcement
- Wildlife management
- Policy development
Regions worked:
- Africa:
- Ghana
- Congo
- Gabon
- Tanzania
- Liberia
- Guinea
- Madagascar
- Senegal
- Ethiopia
- Kenya
- South Africa
- Asia and the Near East:
- Jordan
- Palestinian Authority
- Lebanon
- Indonesia
- ASEAN countries
- India
- East Timor
- Sri Lanka
- Vietnam
- Europe and Eurasia:
- Latin America and the Caribbean:
- Mexico
- Honduras
- Nicaragua
- Brazil
- Bolivia
- Peru
- Jamaica
- Ecuador
- Dominican Republic
- Haiti
Recent projects: (for more information on these projects, please see the USFS International Programs web pages on protected areas and ecotourism at www.fs.fed.us/global/topic/welcome.htm#6)
- South Africa: The USFS is now working with two partners engaged in protected area management issues in the southern African region: the University of KwaZulu Natal/Centre for Environment and Development and the University of Montana. Both are currently engaged in a series of agreements to work collaboratively to address the growing need for interdisciplinary training, research, and outreach activities in protected area management.
- Mexico harbors a wide variety of ecosystems and biodiversity, much of which is represented in its natural protected areas. With almost no federal public lands, Mexico’s protected areas rely on interdisciplinary approaches and close collaboration with residents and other actors to administer and protect the land and resources. While the USDA Forest Service benefits from learning from these experiences, the USFS assists its counterparts in conserving and managing Mexico's extensive system of protected areas through technical assistance, training, and exchanges with local, regional, and national Mexican staff.
At the national level, Mexico’s National Commission on Protected Areas (CONANP) works with the USDA Forest Service to identify priority training needs throughout its system. A number of managers from Mexico receive training in the United States through international seminars supported by the USDA Forest Service’s International Programs. In addition, the commission takes advantage of specific technical assistance in other projects to further train staff.
- Albania has unique ecological features that provide significant but under-utilized tourism potential, including coastal areas, mountainous terrain, rivers, parks, and protected areas. The tourism industry in Albania currently focuses on coastal areas, rather than on the unique features that set this country apart from its neighbors. Albania's natural features have the potential to attract tourists seeking ecological and cultural experiences. Thoughtful, sustainable development of these resources could enhance rural village and community livelihoods throughout Albania.
In October 2004, the USDA Forest Service fielded a team that traveled to Albania in support of USAID activities in the specialty tourism and herbs and spices sectors. The team’s analysis and recommendations looked to promote Albania’s rich ecological features and protected area network, and to ensure that tourism approaches integrate the needs of the local people who depend on the resource base. Plans for additional activities are currently under development for 2005.
- Russia: Designated a United Nations World Heritage Site, Lake Baikal is the world’s deepest, oldest, and largest (by volume) freshwater lake. In 2002, the USFS established a long-term relationship with Tahoe-Baikal Institute to promote development of ecotourism at Lake Baikal and to improve local capacity for watershed management.
USFS and the Tahoe-Baikal Institute developed a series of training, research, and exchanges, specifically focused on building a 1,500-mile trail around the entire lake, called the Great Baikal Trail, and on the improvement of Baikal’s largest watershed, the Selenga River. Both projects build on lessons learned from the policies and expertise developed within the Lake Tahoe watershed in California and Nevada, as well as other watersheds within the United States.
The Great Baikal Trail will connect more than six protected areas around Lake Baikal, offering tremendous opportunities for low-impact tourism. In 2002, three experts from Lake Baikal traveled to the United States to learn from local specialists, work on trail crews, and attend seminars on trail building and protected area management. These experts included a long-term ecotourism expert at Baikal and the Great Baikal Trail project leader, and the senior park ranger from the Zabaikalsky National Park (the second largest park around Baikal). Additional activities in 2002 included developing an interpretive brochure in Russian and English for one of the most popular hiking routes, and supporting participants at the “Baikal Tourism Conference” in Irkutsk, Russia, to discuss the Great Baikal Trail.
Recent ST partnerships and collaborations:
- USAID
- Foreign Agriculture Service
- World Bank
- United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
- Center for International Forestry Research
- The International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF)
- The Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry (IPIF)
- USFS Inventory and Monitoring Institute (IMI)
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Peace Corps
- USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA)
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
- U.S. Department of State
- USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC) International Agroforestry Program
- Asian Development Bank
- Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
- International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF)
- International Society of Tropical Foresters (ISTF)
- International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO)
- International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
- International Union of Forestry Organizations (IUFRO)
- North American Forest Commission (NAFC)
- Organization of American States (OAS)
- United Nations
- UN Forum on Forests (UNFF)
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
- UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
- UN Development Programme (UNDP)
- World Food Programme (WFP)
- World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
- African Wildlife Foundation
- American Forest and Paper Association
- Conservation International
- Ducks Unlimited
- The Nature Conservancy
- Tropical Forest Foundation
- Society of American Foresters
- Wildlife Conservation Society
- World Wildlife Fund
- Consortium for International Protected Area Management (CIPAM)
- Colorado State University - College of Natural Resources
- University of Montana in Missoula - School of Forestry
- University of Idaho - College of Natural Resources
- University of Wisconsin
Contact:
For more information, contact a USFS International Programs regional coordinator or a USAID representative as identified on the USFS web site: www.fs.fed.us/global/fs_usaid_partnership/contacts.htm
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