Hundreds of forest workers receiving
serious or even fatal injuries:
ECE/FAO/ILO Network points the way forward
Geneva, 5 June 2007 -- There are still hundreds of serious
even fatal accidents in forestry work all over the UNECE region,
although specialists in occupational safety and health have a clear
idea of how to reduce them, notably through reinforced training
and better enforced safety procedures. The Second International
Conference on Safety and Health in Forestry, organized by France
and Switzerland on 23-25 May 2007 in Annecy, France under the auspices
of the Joint FAO/ECE/ILO Experts Network on Implementing Sustainable
Forest Management, brought together 70 participants from 4 continents
to share experience and map out realistic strategies.
The main recommendations are:
- Networking, coordinated actions and partnerships have to be
strengthened in order to get concrete results in the future.
- A European Certificate of Qualification recognized by professionals
(ENFE) and the training centres at a European level should be
created.
- Safety training must also involve the management level in
order to make sure that safety becomes an issue of high importance
within the management system.
- The training of forest workers of private forests has to be
enforced by several means.
- Another meeting on the same theme should take place in about
5 years, for example in a country in transition.
Christian Salvignol, leader of the Expert Network stated that
he hoped that the conference's recommendations would be taken up
at the policy level, as real progress in removing this stain on
the sector's reputation, which discourages potential workers from
joining the labour force, is impossible without political will
and adequate resources.
For more information contact Mr. Christian SALVIGNOL at +33 (0)4
90 77 88 00 or [email protected] or
visit the Conference's website www.safety-forestry-2007.net/
Ref: ECE/TIM/07/PO3