Developing a Pacific network of forestry professionals

January 8, 2025

The Crawford Fund Victoria Committee continues to support the work of Graham Wilkinson, a forestry consultant and Fellow at Forestry Australia, who has a long history of delivering forestry training on behalf of the Crawford Fund. He most recently focused on the development of a Pacific Network of Forestry Professionals, working throughout Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Samoa, Fiji and Tonga.

The Crawford Fund is supporting this initiative in partnership with ACIAR and the Pacific Community (SPC) and with the technical support of Forestry Australia, Australia’s national association of 1200 forestry professionals. The project was led by Graham, and Jalesi Mateboto, a highly regarded program leader within SPC, with extensive experience within Pacific Island Countries.

“This project is helping to overcome the professional isolation, and the ‘tyranny of distance’ suffered by many forestry professionals within the Pacific, by supporting the formation of professional associations within Pacific Island Countries and by connecting these associations to a regional network,” said Graham. 

The Pacific Network of Forestry Professionals (PNFP) will provide access to information and services for professional development and capacity building, such as on-line learning, webinars, mentoring and professional accreditation.

“The sharing of information and resources within the region is critical given that most Pacific Island Countries have very limited capacity to develop and deliver their own resources.  For this reason, Forestry Australia, with the support of ACIAR, is providing free access to its on-line resources, including publications, newsletters, webinars and mentoring program, to up to 100 forestry professionals within the Pacific for the next five years.  This will allow forestry professionals within the Pacific to see the benefits that can be provided by a professional association, and to evaluate how they can best contribute to resources and services needed at a local level and more widely through the network,” he said.

Graham and Jalesi have visited Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands to meet with forestry professionals and discuss the development of local associations and the PNFP, and further consultations are planned with PNG with the support of ACIAR.

“All countries have expressed very strong support for the proposed network and progress has already been made towards to the formation of local associations in each country.  All the countries are facing similar challenges: declining governmental resources and a need to ‘do more with less’ in an era where forests and trees have an increasingly important role to play in our response to climate change and biodiversity loss,” said Graham.

“There is now a smaller number, but greater diversity, of people entering the profession, often from non-forestry backgrounds with no formal training in forestry.  As a result, the demand for access to ‘on the job’ training and on-going professional development is high,” he said.

“The consultations highlighted that we have a rich resource of professionals, including those recently retired, who are willing and motivated to volunteer their expertise and time to support the profession through activities such as training and mentoring.  Young professionals also have much to offer and gain from involvement in professional associations,” said Graham.

“There was also recognition that the widespread uptake of modern communication platforms throughout the Pacific can now largely help to overcome the ‘tyranny of distance’ and facilitate activities such as training and networking between colleagues within and between countries,” he said.

Tasmania and the Crawford Fund are widely recognised and appreciated for the expertise and support that has helped to build capacity for sustainable forest management in Pacific Island Countries explained Graham.

This project has also significantly contributed to the professional development of two forestry professionals, one of whom is a Crawford Fund mentee Mr Heimuli Likiafu from Tonga, and the other, Ms Moana Bergmaier-Masau from Fiji, who is a Masters student at the forefront of promoting gender equality and diversity within the forestry profession. Both Heimuli and Moana were supported to attend the ANZIF Conference in Coolangatta, and deliver presentations to the session on forestry in the Pacific.

“All countries are very grateful of the support provided by the Crawford Fund. ACIAR, Forestry Australia and SPC and they look forward to developing an effective and sustainable network that will enhance the capacity of forestry professionals to address the environmental, economic and social challenges for forest management into the future,” he concluded.