Autumn Training Course in International Forestry Resources and Institutions

• Applicant: Dr. Franz Gatzweiler
• Subject Area: Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Policy, Agricultural Sociology
• Term: from 2003 to 2005
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5415965

Zusammenfassung: The International Forestry Resources and Institutions (IFRI) Research Program attempts to ascertain why forest resources are depleted and provide better answers to the question of how to reduce deforestation and loss of biodiversity in many different parts of the world. In its efforts to understand what is wrong, IFRI researchers have identified three problems: (1) knowledge gaps, (2) information gaps, and (3) the need for greater assessment capabilities. Knowledge gaps refer to the lack of an accepted scientific understanding about which variables are the primary causes of deforestation and biodiversity losses, and how these variables are linked to one another. Information gaps refer to a lack of reliable data about specific policy-relevant variables in a particular time and location. Assessment capability is the training in rigorous forest mensuration techniques, participatory appraisal methods, institutional analysis, statistics, qualitative analysis, geographic information systems (GIS), and database management. The IFRI training program offers an intensive nine-week program in methods and is held each year from late August through October at the Indiana University in Bloomington. The training program consists of three components: seminar sessions, fieldwork, and computer laboratory sessions. Seminar sessions introduce participants to theoretical foundations, the instruments and methods used in data collection, principles of research design, basic data analysis, and report-writing. Fieldwork in a southern Indiana forest community provides hands-on training in field methods. The computer laboratory component covers data entry and database management and is primarily for visiting scholars.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants