Forestry Information Technology Support and Information Transfer to Developing Countries - The Role of CAB International (CABI)

摘要

A report is presented on current initiatives by CAB International and collaborating organizations to promote the dissemination of forestry information worldwide. (1) A new current awareness service, called CAB ACCESS, was launched on diskette and on the Internet in 1995. CAB ACCESS covers the most popular forestry journals, providing titles and keywords for all papers. Full text is available through a 24-hour turnaround document delivery service called DOCUMENTS NOW. (2) A new concept in forestry information transfer, the Forestry Compendium, has been developed by CAB International in collaboration with the Oxford Forestry Institute, with funding from the UK Overseas Development Administration (ODA). The Compendium, still in a fluid stage of development, consists of text, illustrations, maps, glossaries, abstracts, etc., all interlinked with customized software designed to be run on a personal computer. A demonstration version of the Compendium is available for dissemination, designed to show how support can be provided to forest managers, researchers and field workers in selection of tree species suited to site and to management objectives. A survey of user needs for the Compendium has been conducted for the Asia-Pacific Region. (3) Through FORSPA and other programmes, CABI is providing TREECD, a retrospective CD-ROM product, along with associated hardware, to institutions in developing countries worldwide. In addition, access to and training on the Internet is being supplied throughout Southeast Asia, enabling forestry research institutions in this region to enter the mainstream of the worldwide telecommunications revolution. (4) CABI is actively seeking ways of assessing forestry information needs in developing countries, including by case studies for individual countries (a concept under discussion with ODA) and by means of workshops. (5) Finally, CABI is in consultation with various collaborating institutions regarding the preparation of full-text CD-ROMs of Third World forestry literature.