Attempts to introduce scientific management techniques to forestry in Myanmar began in 1856 with the appointment of Dr. Dietrich BRANDIS, a German botanist, to manage the Pegu hill forests of the then Burma. One of Brandis's main management objectives was to ensure a permanent and sustained yield of teak logs from the area's natural forests. He adopted a girth limit selection system in the Tharrawaddy forests of Pegu, and set the minimum exploitable girth limit at 6 feet. Since then the actual yield has fluctuated widely between 1,588 and 9,250 trees per year, because of changes in the estimates of forest growth rates. Until 1927, the actual rate of harvesting by girdling was based on estimates of annual yield. However, unstable social and political conditions prevented regular girdling and silvicultural treatment between 1928 and the early 1960s. As social conditions improved from the 1960s, girdling was able to be conducted in some years. This analysis of the status of the Tharrawaddy forest division's teak stocks uses data from 1912-13, 1982-86 and 1994. It shows that there was poor teak regeneration in low girth classes but an increase in the number of trees in higher girth-classes between 1912 and 1982, and a drastic drop in the growing stock of all girth classes between 1982 and 1994. The poor regeneration was caused by a lack of adequate silvicultural operations during the 40 to 50 years prior to the 1980s, while illegal logging is the primary cause of the decline in growing stock. Strong action needs to be taken to expand the area of new plantings, to prevent excessive logging, and to increase public participation in forest management. Clear and firm policies to achieve these objectives should become fundamental components of all of Myanmar's future forest management plans.

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This paper investigated private forest owners' awareness of the forest resource database, Shinrinbo. The database is used to develop forestry plans and track forestry statistics. There are many discrepancies between the values shown in the database and the actual stands. To clarify forest owners' opinions on the Shinrinbo and related forest information systems, a questionnaire was conducted in Ousumi Regional Forest Planning Area in Kagoshima Prefecture in July 1996 and useful responses were obtained from 793 forest owners. It was found that : (1) 17.9% of forest owners were not aware of Shinrinbo itself. 60.2% were only aware of the name of Shinrinbo but did not know the contents. Only 15.4% indicated that they understood the contents of Shinrinbo. (2) 23.8% of forest owners knew that at least some part of the Shinrinbo data on their forests was wrong. The actual percentage of errors is probably greater, especially for area. Also, the database uses a simple yield table for data estimated before 1970, as the constant table. (3) 18.4% of forest owners clearly indicated a willingness to supply correct information on their forests to the prefectural government. (4) Most forest owners think that the prefectural government, currently managing the Shinrinbo, is not the appropriate organization to manage a forest resources database. The most appropriate manager was thought to be the local forest owners association (70.2%). The role of local forest owners association in private forest practices and local forestry development policy has been increasing, and forest owners' expectation that local forest owners associations should play a role building a database is also high. As there are many small-scale forest owners in Japan, cooperation between owners to develop an accurate forest resource database is extremely important, especially as the role and social expectations of a database are increasing. However, forest owners' awareness of the Shinrinbo is low and awareness of the private Forest Operation Plan even lower. Approximately 90% of forest owners are formally involved in the Forest Operation Plan and obtain several benefits under related laws, for example subsidies and tax reduction, but only 20.6% of forest owners answered that they have a Forest Operation Plan. This suggests that forest owners do not adequately participate in forest planning process. An extension program for forest owners is discussed and improvements suggested for the information system and the method of forest inventory.

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Even if a stand starts with an initial density far below the full density, mortality occurs in accordance with an increase in biomass as the stand develops. Eventually, the time-trajectory of biomass and density asymptotically approaches a straight line on logarithmic coordinates. The features of the time-trajectory of biomass and density were translated into a mathematical formula, which was in turn transformed into a model for describing the time-trajectory of mean phytomass and density. The usefulness of the models was verified in describing the time-trajectory of biomass (or mean phytomass) and density throughout the development of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) stands. Another model for describing the time-trajectory of mean phytomass and biomass was derived by eliminating density from the mathematical formula. The applicability of the derived model was also examined for the eastern white pine stands.

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Brazilian Amazonia is the biggest continuous tropical forest in the world. Thousands of species of fauna and flora, and many indigenous people, live in that forest. Today, the Amazonian environment is changing very rapidly. In 1995, Brazil's population was 162,497,250 inhabitants and population growth is expected to continue to accelerate. Population pressure is one of the most serious reasons for the deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia. The Polonoroeste Project was responsible for the construction of the BR-364 highway, bringing development to the State of Rondonia, in south-western Amazonia, and many villages of indigenous groups were removed. In 1500, Brazil was populated by approximately five to six million indigenous people, composed of 700 ethnic groups. However, today, there are only 217,778, corresponding to 146 ethnic groups. The objective of this report is to describe the situation of one of the indigenous people of Rondonia, the Karitiana group, and to develop an understanding of their needs. They have many problems, including their economic independence, health and education of their children. The relationship between the indios and FUNAI (National Indian Foundation) is very complex and leaves much room for improvement. Preservation of their language and their traditional lifestyle is of crucial importance to maintain their identity.

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Research was conducted on a section of the Superior National Forest in Northern Minnesota to develop and examine potential methods or approaches that may be used to integrate nontimber resources in multiple-use planning. An indicator species for old-growth conifer forests, pine marten (Martes americana), was chosen to examine potential conflicts between specific forest management practices and suitable habitat. Spatial impacts of clearcutting and of deferred harvesting on marten habitat over a fifty year planning horizon were examined. Specific management scenarios were developed to examine the impact of deferred harvesting on marten habitat over time and space. Deferred clearcutting did not improve marten habitat conditions. Other management scenarios could be designed to improve marten habitat without sacrificing economic benefits.

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There have been a number of reports on the three-dimensional analysis of forest stand structures using personal computers. In recent years, it has become easy to display 3D graphics on Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system. Forest Window (FW) has been developed as a new 3D-simulation program for forest stands. This report provides an overview of FW and explains its operation. One of its features is its ability to show stem inclination. The object of this report is to apprise the usefulness of FW. As the result of the study it was recognised that we can use a simpler data structure and FW can display more complicated forest structures than in past applications. FW is a useful application and, run in conjunction with spreadsheet software, it can provide an effective way of studying forest stand structures.

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