DRAFT

(May 11, 2004)

 

12th Caribbean Foresters’ Meeting

Conference Theme:  Wildland Fire Management, and Restoration

Hampton Inn and Suites (Isla Verde)

San Juan, Puerto Rico

June 7 – 11, 2004

 

AGENDA

 

Monday, June 7, 2004

 

1:00 – 6:00 p.m.                       Arrival of participants and registration at the Hampton Inn

 

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.                       Reception hosted by IITF and the Puerto Rico Conservation Foundation (light hors d’ouvres) at the Hampton Inn

 

Tuesday, June 8, 2004

                                                            Opening Remarks

 

7:30 a.m.                                  Departure from the Hampton Inn

 

8:00 – 8:30 a.m.                       Welcome to the International Institute of Tropical Forestry (Ariel Lugo, USFS/IITF)

 

8:30 – 8:35 a.m.                       Program Expectations (Jeffrey Miller, USFS/IC)

 

8:35 – 9:00 a.m.                       Local Reflections (Frank Wadsworth, USFS/IITF)

 

9:00 – 9:25 a.m.                       International Fire Support Program (John Schulte, USFS/WO)

 

9:25 – 9:40 a.m.                       Coffee Break

 

9:40 – 12:00 noon                    Country Reports (7)

                                                *15 minutes for each presentation, with 5 minutes for Q&A

 

                                                Facilitator:  Claus Eckelmann/FAO

 

12:00 – 1:30 p.m.                     Lunch

 

1:30 – 3:10 p.m.                       Country Reports (5)

                                                *15 minutes for each presentation, with 5 minutes for Q&A

 

                                                Facilitator:  Claus Eckelmann/FAO

 

3:10 – 3:30 p.m.                       Coffee Break

 

3:30 – 4:50 p.m.                       Country Reports (4)

                                                *15 minutes for each presentation, with 5 minutes for Q&A

 

                                                Facilitator:  Claus Eckelmann/FAO

 

4:50 – 5:00 p.m.                       House Keeping News

 

6:45 – 9:30 p.m.                       Walking Tour of Old San Juan

 

Wednesday, June 9, 2004

 

7:00 a.m.                                  All Day Field Trip hosted by Miguel Canals of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) - departure from the Hampton Inn to Guanica

 

Guanica Dry Forest:                             

 

10:00 a.m.                                Opening Remarks – Secretary of Natural Resources

                                                Luis E. Rodríguez Rivera (or DNER/State Forester, Edgardo González)

 

                                                Guest speaker

                                                Topic:  Fuels Treatment Around Communities – How to develop a Cohesive Fuels Treatment Strategy

                                               

4:00 p.m.                                  Depart for San Juan

 

6:00 p.m.                                  Arrival at the Hampton Inn

 

Thursday, June 10, 2004

 

7:30 a.m.                                  Departure from the Hampton Inn to IITF

 

7:55 – 8:00 a.m.                       Opening Remarks – Jeffrey Miller

 

8:00 – 8:35 a.m.                       Guest Speaker (Ronald Myers, TNC/Fire Ecologist)

Topic:  “Forest & Fires:  Toward an Integrated Approach to Fire Management in the Caribbean.”

 

8:35 – 9:10 a.m.                       Guest Speaker (Joseph O’Brien, USFS/SRS)

                                                Topic:  “Tropical Pinelands and Fire”

 

9:10 – 9:30 a.m.                       Coffee Break

 

9:30 – 10:05 a.m.                     Guest Speaker (Bill Gould, USFS/IITF)

                                                Topic:  “Fuel Loads and Forest Characteristics”

 

10:05 – 10:40 a.m.                   Guest Speaker (Peter Weaver/IITF and Joseph Schwagerl/USFWS)

                                                Topic:  “Early recovery of sub-tropical dry forest in the absence of grazing and fire”

 

10:40 – 11:15 a.m.                   Fire Video

 

11:15 – 11:50 a.m.                   Guest Speaker (Terry Hueth and John Schulte, USFS)

                                                Topic:  “Systematic Approach to Command and Control During a Disaster”

 

11:50 – 12:00 noon                  Working Group Overview (Claus Eckelmann/FAO)

 

                                                Facilitator identifies group tasks and break-out locations for working groups

 

12:00 – 1:30 p.m.                     Lunch

 

1:30 – 4:30 p.m.                       Working Groups

 

                                                Small (St. Lucia, Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Tobago, St. Kitts & Nevis, Bahamas)

 

                                                Medium/Continental (Trinidad, Jamaica, Guyana, Suriname, and Barbados)

 

                                                Large (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, and the Virgin Islands)

 

Group Question – What are the underlying reasons for wildand fire in your country?

 

Step 1. – what is the role of fire in forest types in your country?  Can you divide your country’s general ecosystem types into fire-maintained, fire-sensitive, and fire-independent?

 

Step 2. – what are the local influences that shape why there is wildland fire in your

country (i.e. land pattern and its ownership, etc…)

 

Step 3. – what do these identified influences mean for possible fire prevention and

management?

 

Step 4. – what steps are needed to design a national forest/vegetation fire management

and restoration program or make improvements to the existing system?

 

4:30 – 4:35 p.m.                       Return to main Conference Center

 

4:35 – 5:35 p.m.                       Each group receives 20 minutes to present results

 

5:35 – 5:40 p.m.                       House Keeping News

 

7:30 – 9:30 p.m.                       Banquet (Dr. Lugo will present a slide show on the last 20 years of the Caribbean Foresters’ Meeting)

 

Friday, June 11, 2004

 

8:30 a.m.                                  Departure from the Hampton Inn

 

9:00 – 10:00 a.m.                     Feedback on perceived Forestry Department needs, 2006 CFM theme, and host country nominations

 

10:00 – 10:15 a.m.                   Coffee Break

 

10:15 – 11:15 a.m.                   Meeting of the Caribbean Sub-group of the Latin American Forestry Commission

 

11:15 – 12:00 noon                  Lunch

 

12:00 – 4:00 p.m.                     Field Trip to El Yunque (Caribbean National Forest)    

 

4:00 p.m.                                  Departure for the Hampton Inn

 

5:00 p.m.                                  Arrive at the Hampton Inn

 

Saturday, June 12, 2004

 

                                                Departure of Participants