Institute of Chartered Foresters

7 A St Colme Street
Edinburgh EH3 6AA.
Tel: 0131 225 2705
Fax: 0131 220
Editor: Colin Mann BSc(For), MlCFor
Issue No.1/95


Saskatchewan (see Postcard fromCanada page ID Photograph: Peter Wilson


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ICF NEWS 1/95
readership who woul d be interested to
know' why both Council and the
Professional Affai rs Committee (PAC),
while consi dering environmental ethics,
found the word ' sustainability' to be
inappropriate. Seemingl y we are suggesting
that foresters do not have to adopt any
environmental ethics at all as long as they
' strive for an increasing knowledge of
forestry and its interaction wi th . . . the
natural environment' ? Are we mouthing
the rhetoric of envi ronmental ethics whil e
adopting the praxis of non-sustainability?
That is the impression given.
It woul d be helpful to know how
Council and PAC define ethi cs? Webster' s
Electronic Thesaurus (Merriam-Webster
1987) defines ethics as ' a group of moral
principles or set of val ues' or ' the complex
ideals, beliefs, or standards that
characterizes or pervades a group,
community, or people' . If we try to appl y
Webster' s definition to Clause 1 there is
either a very weak ethical content or none
at all. It is very ' heroic' to talk of ' striving
for an increasing knowledge of forestry and
its interaction with . . . the natural
environment' but it l acks any ethical
content or accountabi lity. Please let us not
fudge issues: we need environmental ethics
with ethical content.
J.F. Studley Southwest Institute for
Nationalities, China

The President Replies
I sympathise wi th the points rai sed in the
above letter and hope that we are now
going to see a wi de debate on our Code of
Ethics. To explain our current position, a
number of us have been aware of
developments elsewhere, notably North
America, to add to existi ng ethics some
form of ' green' ethics. It seems to me that
increasingl y foresters' codes of ethics have
to include a stated commi tment to the well-
being and continuity of the forest. If our
own ethics are read carefull y and in
their enti rety they are remarkably
comprehensive. The responsi bility of
professional foresters to their profession, to
their employers and to the public is well
spelled out. Responsi bility to the ' forest' is
implied but not detailed. It was this aspect
that PAC and your Council sought to
tighten up, and naturally the word
' sustainable' was central to our discussion.
We di d not resort to Webster' s (very
American) definition of ethics but rather
Chamber' s, which includes the phrases
' rules of behaviour. . . professional standards
of conduct' . These ' rules' and ' standards'
are the basis on which a member, or a
member of the general publ ic, can lodge a
complaint against a Chartered Forester. In
turn, they can be cited i n a court of l aw in
defining what can be expected of a
Chartered Forester. For this reason the Code
has to be carefull y worded and there should
be no ambiguity that woul d allow for
mischievous complaints. Unfortunately,
' sustainabili ty' , ' sustainable development' ,
' ecosystem management' , and many of the
other modern expressions still have a range
of meanings. It is this fear, and this fear
alone, that led your Council down a very
cautious, if rather disappointingly boring,
path. As the post-Rio process continues it is
to be hoped that fi rmer defini tions will
emerge that wil l enable our Code to be
developed further. We probably need
to go down this route some ti me but it
seemed to the Counci l that the moment was
not yet ri ght.
Views of the members on this
contentious issue woul d be most welcome,
whether at the AGM or in the pages of
ICF News.
Professor Hugh G. Miller, President

Sir,
THE BRITISH FORESTER OVERSEAS
I welcome the personal views of David
Danbury (ICF Focus 4/94 p. 7) and urge
Council to consi der his suggesti ons. I have
worked overseas, with three breaks for
further study, continuousl y since 1979.
From my perspective I do feel that ICF has
a rather parochial ethos and a very narrow
forestry focus (Section 2 of the Charter). In
spite of this, I j oined as an associate
member because I needed a professional
' home base' , and if I do ever return I need
some locall y recognised bona fi des. British
foresters overseas are involved in a very
broad range of forestry activities
(community and soci al forestry, rural
development forestry, soil and water
conservation, biodiversity, i ndi genous
knowledge, agroforestry, multi disciplinary
proj ects, research, etc. ), and currently there
is no professional body to represent their
interests adequately.
If ICF seeks global recognition (Section
3(m) of the Charter) and aspires to attract
overseas Bri tish foresters there is a need to
examine ways to incorporate them into its
membershi p and to represent their interests
more full y.
I woul d suggest that:
(a) Davi d Danbury' s suggestions for
overseas Bri tish foresters be considered
i. e.
(i) more secure career path and j ob security
(ii) greater institutional recognition
(iii ) the establishment of a ' natural home'
(iv) ICF seeks ways to be more rel evant
(v) a revision of the examination
procedures and exempti ons
(vi) steps to be taken to ensure that
foresters are not si delined to a narrow
technical rol e,
(b) The ICF Laws be updated to
accommodate British foresters overseas.
(c) A survey be sent to all British foresters
who work part/full ti me overseas inviting
them to suggest ways in which ICF could
more full y represent them.
J. F. Studley
Southwest Institute for Nationalities, China
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