Forest codes of practice. Contributing to environmentally sound forest operations. (FAO Forestry Paper - 133) (1996): Fiji national code of logging practice: Preparatory work for the compilation of the code

Forest codes of practice. Contributing to environmentally sound forest operations. (FAO Forestry Paper - 133) (1996)

Fiji national code of logging practice

		(introduction...)
		Abstract
		Introduction
		Preparatory work for the compilation of the code
		Scope, content and structure of code
		Logging planning
		Operational requirements
		Environmental requirements
		Equipment and safety
		Training and supervision
		Introduction of logging code
		Conclusions
		Author’s contact information

Preparatory work for the compilation of the code

The compilation of the code started in 1986 and lasted until 1990. Initially work of the code was focused on safety aspects of logging under consideration of international sources such as the ILO Code of Practice on Safe Design and Use of Chain saws. Subsequently it was widened to include all aspects of wood harvesting. Special attention was given to environmental requirements.

Work on the code was carried out by a national committee which consisted of representatives of the Forestry Department, the logging industry, the Fiji Forestry Training Centre and the ILO Logging Training Project. The Committee went through seven drafts before concluding its work. It considered relevant information from Australia, New Zealand, North America and Europe and matched it against the experience gained in Fiji on Wood harvesting and management of indigenous and exotic forests. Suitable reference material from other tropical countries was, at that time, hardly available.

The code was issued as an official document by the Ministry of Forests in 1990. Its standards and prescriptions are binding. In 1991, an expanded extract of the code a leaflet on use and maintenance of chainsaws was printed for wider dissemination. A Fijian version of the code appeared in 1993, including an English/Fijian logging terminology. All these publications are pocket-size with an attractive graphic design and lay-out.

Figure 1. The illustration from the front page of the section on Equipment and Safety. An attractive graphic design and pocket size helped make the code popular among all those concerned with harvesting.