Plan Praised By F.A.O. Expert

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30561, 2 October 1964, Page 1

Plan Praised By F.A.O. Expert

The Director of the Forestry Division of the Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome (Dr N. A. Osara) “applauds” the plan for School of Forestry training to be integrated with other departments in the University of Canterbury. Invited to Christchurch specially to advise —he has been attending a forestry conference in Rotorua —Dr. Osara said that the plan to include agricultural, engineering, and fine arts studies “exactly coincides with the advice we are giving 15 new schools of forestry which we are sponsoring in developing countries.” Canterbury had not previously consulted the F.A.O. but by sheer logic there was this “reasonable coincidence.” Dr. Osara said the plan to add a school of architecture was a natural sequence which must commend itself. The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canterbury (Dr. L. L. Pownall) had asked for advice on curricula in forestry. Dr. Osara said he had promised to supply as many papers as possible. “Professional training of foresters in a university is vital to any economy based on the land,”, said Dr. Osara, "and I would give a further

word of advice; for every professional forester in university training there should be four or five rangers receiving sub-professional instruction.” Rangers need not, perhaps should not, be trained in the universities. Many countries, advanced in forestry, found that rangers’ schools were best run by the national forest service. Dr. Osara will see some Canterbury forests before he leaves New Zealand this evening. However, he said, he had seen enough from the air to recognise the enormous forest potential in the South Island. .He saw also, he said, an opportunity for New Zealand to help to give training in forestry to students from Oceania, Asia, and Africa whose countries could not afford a forestry school.