global leaflet

helping farmers improve crop quality and 

yield, Haroun is supporting the restoration 

of livelihoods in Darfur. Meanwhile, he is 

saving money to build a home for his family 

so that they can leave Otash and begin a 

new life in Nyala.

Displaced families like Haroun’s are 

assisted by the U.S. Government, the 

leading international donor in Sudan. 

Since fiscal year 2004, the United States 

has contributed more than $2 billion for 

humanitarian programs in Sudan and 

eastern Chad. The Forest Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, has been 

involved through the Disaster Assistance 

Support Program through an agreement 

with the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster 

Assistance in the U.S. Agency for 

International Development. 

In early 2004, Forest Service experts 

helped to assess humanitarian needs in 

Darfur. They served as liaisons between 

the U.S. Government and nongovernmental 

organizations, validating the needs of the 

displaced and helping to direct funding to 

relief programs in sectors such as health, 

water and sanitation, food security and 

agriculture, nutrition, logistics, shelter 

and security. 

In 2005, experts found that a poor 

transportation infrastructure in Darfur was 

keeping supplies from getting to camps 

during the rainy season. A Forest Service 

bridge engineer, who is experienced in 

remote-area geotechnical applications, 

surveyed the area and recommended 

improvements. The U.S. Agency for 

International Development then funded 

corresponding projects, such as reinforcing 

streambed crossings to withstand seasonal 

flooding and allow supplies to reach 

families in need. 

In 2006, personnel from the Forest 

Service and Bureau of Land Management 

helped security staff from the U.S. Agency 

for International Development identify and 

evaluate safety hazards for team lodging. 

In 2007, Forest Service field officers 

have continued to support humanitarian 

 Getting supplies to families in need

is one aspect of the humanitarian

relief the Forest Service provides.

Disaster Response Team Alleviates Suffering in Darfur, Sudan

by Sureka Khandagle and Gary Barrett 

WHAT’S INSIDE?

DISASTER

◆ International Perspective: The Local and Global Value

 of Disaster Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

◆ Tsunami Relief and Preparedness

 in the Indian Ocean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

◆ Dealing With Disasters: 

 The Incident Command System in India . . . . . . . . 4

◆ Preparing for an Oilspill 

 in Africa’s Gulf of Guinea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

◆ News Bits From Around the World . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

◆ Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

No. 7, February 2008: Disaster

he 4-year conflict in Darfur, 

Sudan, has claimed hundreds 

of thousands of lives and driven 

more than 2 million people from their 

homes. Families have been ravaged by the 

fighting, which has affected more than 60 

percent of the population.

That includes Mohammed Salih Haroun, 

an agricultural engineer who runs a seed 

store and agricultural consulting business 

in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. In 

July 2006, an Arab militia attacked and 

burned his family’s village of Amoodh 

Al Akhdar. Many civilians were killed, 

including Haroun’s 29-year-old brother. He 

and the rest of his family fled to Otash, a 

camp near Nyala that provides shelter for 

about 60,000 internally displaced people. By 

News From International Programs of the Forest Service

continued on p. 7...

Forest Service

T

1

Sureka Khandagle is Team Leader for the Darfur Field 

Office, Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, U.S. 

Agency for International Development, Khartoum, Sudan; 

and Gary Barrett, formerly a Disaster Management Specialist for the Forest Service, International Programs, 

Disaster Assistance Support Program, Washington, DC, 

is Head of the United Nations Joint Logistics Center, 

South Sudan.
2

n the summer of 1910, 3 million 

acres burned across northern 

Washington, Idaho, and Montana 

in the largest wildfire complex ever 

recorded in the United States. Eighty-five 

people perished, including 78 firefighters. 

Among those who fought the fires were 

rangers in the Forest Service, such as Ed 

Pulaski, whose heroism became legend. 

That fateful summer marked the beginning 

of a long history of wildland firefighting, 

culminating in today’s Incident Command 

System—a comprehensive system for 

disaster management that is finding 

worldwide application. 

The Incident Command System 

originated in the 1970s, when a task 

force led by the Forest Service devised 

it to manage multijurisdictional wildfire 

emergencies. Perfected over the years, 

it was formally adopted by the U.S. 

Government in 2001. Today, all Federal 

agencies and cooperators in the United 

States use the Incident Command System 

to respond to all types of emergencies.

The system’s usefulness is not limited to 

the United States. In 2003, the International 

Wildland Fire Summit recommended the 

Incident Command System as the global 

standard for responding to wildfires. The 

Forest Service’s International Programs has 

helped other countries find even broader 

applications. Working with partners at the 

Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance 

in the U.S. Agency for International 

Development, the Forest Service’s 

Disaster Assistance Support Program has 

adapted the Incident Command System 

in responding to all kinds of international 

disasters (see text box on this page). The 

U.S. Government now routinely sends 

disaster assistance response teams to 

incidents abroad, including human-caused 

disasters such as in Darfur (see “Disaster 

Response Team Alleviates Suffering in 

Darfur” on page 1). The system has become 

a benchmark for other Governments, 

international response agencies, and the 

United Nations. 

The Forest Service has helped other 

countries build their own disaster response 

systems and capabilities with funding 

from the U.S. Agency for International 

Development and others. The Forest 

Service Disaster Mitigation Program has 

provided countries like India opportunities 

to study the Incident Command System and 

adapt it to their needs (see “Dealing With 

Disasters: The Incident Command System 

in India” on page 4). Similar training 

has been offered in Bulgaria, Indonesia, 

Mongolia, Taiwan, the Caribbean, member 

countries of the Association of Southeast 

Asian Nations, and elsewhere. The Disaster 

Mitigation Program is also working with 

the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration to develop emergency early 

warning procedures for countries in the 

Indian Ocean (see “Tsunami Relief and 

Preparedness in the Indian Ocean” on 

page 3).

The advantages cut both ways. 

International Programs has given Forest 

Service professionals opportunities to link 

their experience and expertise with the 

needs of disaster response practitioners 

and natural resource managers around the 

world. For example, the 1989 Exxon Valdez 

The Local and Global Value of Disaster Management

by Bruce Keleman and Hutch Brown 

I n t e r n a t i o n a l P e r s p e c t i v e 

disaster gave the Forest Service a chance 

to use the Incident Command System on 

an oilspill, an experience with relevance 

to oil-rich countries around the world 

(see “Preparing for an Oilspill in Africa’s 

Gulf of Guinea” on page 5). Forest Service 

instructors in Asia, Africa, and elsewhere 

not only teach, but also take home lessons 

learned and insights gained into many 

of the problems we encounter as natural 

resource managers. Capacity building is 

key, both at home and abroad—helping 

people and local communities acquire the 

knowledge, skill, and tools to succeed.

I

continued on p.7...

Bruce Keleman is a retired Deputy Fire Management 

Officer for the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests, 

Wenatchee, WA; and Hutch Brown is a Policy Analyst for 

the Forest Service, Washington, DC.

Through firefighting, the Forest Service has 

long been involved in emergency response. 

In 1985, the agency created the Disaster 

Assistance Support Program to help partners in 

the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, 

U.S. Agency for International Development, 

deliver disaster relief around the world. Today, 

the program provides emergency support and 

extensive training, helps partners improve 

their methodologies for disaster response, 

and coordinates disaster preparedness for 

U.S. embassies and the U.S. Agency for 

International Development. The Disaster 

Assistance Support Program can mobilize up 

to 350 disaster management experts from the 

Forest Service and other agencies, such as the 

Bureau of Land Management. From fiscal year 

2002 to 2006, such experts completed 256 

short-term assignments ranging from a few 

days to several months, amounting to more 

than 23 person-years. Personnel responded 

to emergencies associated with wildfires 

(Bulgaria), an earthquake (Pakistan), drought 

(Ethiopia, Kenya, and southern Africa), tsunamis 

(India, Indonesia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and 

Thailand), hurricanes (Grenada and the United 

States), food security crises (Mali and the west 

African Sahel), locust infestations (Senegal and 

West Africa), and complex situations (Central 

Asia, Iraq, Lebanon, and Sudan). 

A Strong Record of 

Emergency Response
hose who live along the Indian 

Ocean will never forget the day 

of the tsunami. On the morning 

of December 26, 2004, huge waves washed 

ashore without warning. Many people 

were caught in bed; those who survived 

will always remember the horrors that 

followed. 

Hours before, a 9.2-magnitude 

earthquake—the second largest ever 

recorded—roiled the waters off Indonesia, 

pushing hundred-foot waves toward 

coastal communities in 13 countries as far 

away as East Africa. There was no early 

T

Tsunami Relief and Preparedness in the Indian Ocean

by Kary Schlick, S.H.M. Fakhruddin, Laura Chapman, and Liz Skree

warning system; most victims had no idea 

of the approaching danger until too late. 

The tsunami claimed more than 176,000 

lives and destroyed the homes of 1.7 

million more, making it one of the worst 

natural disasters in modern history.

Within hours, the Office of U.S. Foreign 

Disaster Assistance in the U.S. Agency for 

International Development responded, 

deploying a 40-person disaster assistance 

response team to the region, including six 

Forest Service employees who helped to 

assess and respond to the immediate needs 

of disaster victims. The team assessed the 

situation, identified needs, coordinated 

relief, and monitored assistance. The 

agency also activated a response 

management team in Washington, DC, to 

provide support and coordinate strategy 

and operations at a broader level. 

The disaster response system used 

by the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster 

Assistance is modeled on the Incident 

Command System, first developed by the 

Forest Service for wildland firefighting 

and now used in the United States on 

all types of incidents. For 17 years, the 

Forest Service has helped the Office of 

U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance respond 

to disasters abroad. The Forest Service’s 

Disaster Assistance Support Program 

helped staff the tsunami response teams 

with personnel from the Forest Service and 

Bureau of Land Management.

In 2005, to help prevent future 

disasters, the U.S. Agency for International 

Development launched a program to 

provide technical support for developing 

the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning 

System. Coordinated by the United 

Nations Educational, Scientific and 

Cultural Organization, the new system 

encompasses all aspects of early warning, 

from detecting a hazard to communicating 

with coastal communities. It will warn of 

all coastal hazards, including cyclones, sea 

Kary Schlick is a Wildlife Biologist for the Six Rivers National Forest, Eureka, CA, and was a member of 

the Response Management Team for the Indian Ocean 

tsunami response as a detailer through the Disaster 

Assistance Support Program, Forest Service, International 

Programs; S.H.M. Fakhruddin is a Technical Specialist 

for the U.S. Agency for International Development, Indian 

Ocean Tsunami Warning System; Laura Chapman is a 

Disaster Response Specialist for the Forest Service, International Programs, Disaster Assistance Support Program, 

Washington Office, Washington, DC; and Liz Skree was 

an intern for the Forest Service, International Programs, 

Disaster Management Program, Washington Office.

Sharing lessons learned

on disaster mitigation can

avert the extent of the

damage wrought by the

2004 tsunami.

continued on p. 7...

Tsunami 

Eyewitnesses 

See Parallels 

With Katrina

In August 2006, the Forest Service hosted a 

study tour on disaster management for 10 Sri 

Lankan officials. Participants saw the Incident 

Command System in action on the Trailhead 

Fire in Stanley, ID. The group also toured 

emergency operations centers and met with 

practitioners at the local, State, and national 

level. 

In visiting the Gulf Coast region, the Sri 

Lankans heard firsthand accounts of Hurricane 

Katrina in 2005. They were struck by parallels 

with their own experiences during the Indian 

Ocean tsunami in December 2004. The shared 

experiences connected the Sri Lankan visitors to 

Katrina survivors, who invited them to a gumbo 

lunch. Participants returned to Sri Lanka with 

touching memories and tools to better prepare 

for future disasters.

3

Forest Service

Forest Service 
4

isasters bring loss of life and 

loved ones, destroyed homes 

and businesses, shortages of 

food and safe water, and emotional stress 

and trauma. One of the greatest challenges 

of the 21st century is protecting people, 

especially the world’s poor, from the 

devastating impacts of disasters. Along 

with the challenge has come new thinking 

on how to deal with disasters. 

In India, floods, drought, landslides, and 

cyclones are common. The 1999 Orissa 

cyclone, the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, and 

the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami each killed 

more than 10,000 people and left millions 

homeless. The 2005 earthquake in Jammu 

and Kashmir was a grim reminder of the 

extremely high earthquake risk throughout 

much of South Asia. 

The Government of India has taken 

steps to improve its disaster management 

system. Since 2002, a partnership between 

India and the United States has brought the 

best U.S. disaster management expertise 

to India. With funding from the U.S. 

Agency for International Development, 

the Forest Service has partnered with 

the Indian Government to integrate the 

Incident Command System into India’s 

disaster response system. A flexible system 

adaptable to incidents of any scale, the 

Incident Command System is used in 

the United States for all types of disaster 

response.

Though skeptical at first, Indian officials 

came to appreciate the Incident Command 

System. Faculty at the Lal Bahadur Shastri 

National Academy of Administration, the 

premier training institute for Indian civil 

servants, embraced the system and became 

its biggest champions. The academy now 

routinely offers courses in the Incident 

Command System, as do regional and state 

training institutions. Hundreds of Indian 

disaster managers have been trained, and 

the Incident Command System has been 

used experimentally for flood response, 

event planning, and disaster simulation 

exercises. The groundswell of support 

indicates the system’s potential viability 

in India, and the Forest Service has used 

Indian trainers elsewhere in Asia to 

introduce the system and explain how India 

has adapted it to its particular needs. 

Since 2006, the Indian National Institute 

of Disaster Management has been key to 

capacity building in the Incident Command 

System. According to its executive director, 

P.G. Dhar Chakrabarti, the system has been 

proven effective but needs to be further 

adapted to Indian concepts of disaster 

management. The Institute has conducted 

courses and helped design a pilot program 

to further test the Incident Command 

System under Indian conditions. 

The pilot program began in February 

2007 in the western state of Gujarat. Three 

districts in Gujarat now have trained teams 

that work closely with Forest Service 

experts to ensure high levels of skill. Soon 

after their certification, one team was 

used in response to monsoon flooding 

in the district of Vadodara. Based on the 

team’s favorable experience, authorities 

in Gujarat plan to institutionalize the 

Natural disasters have

long-term consequences

for daily lives; finding

safe drinking water, for

example, can mean walking

increasingly longer

distances.

Dealing With Disasters: The Incident Command System in India

by Nina Minka and Deanne Shulman

Forest Service 

D

continued on p. 7...

Hurricane Katrina: 

Managing an Outpouring 

of International Aid

After Hurricane Katrina ravaged the U.S. Gulf 

Coast in 2005, 151 nations and international 

organizations offered assistance. The U.S. 

Government had never before accepted 

international aid on such a large scale, so there 

were no procedures governing the process. The 

U.S. Agency for International Development was 

asked to develop a system for processing offers 

of foreign assistance and for receiving and 

transmitting the donated goods. 

The agency called on the Forest Service’s 

Disaster Assistance Support Program for help. 

Forest Service personnel served as liaisons 

among Federal agencies and as field logistics 

officers in Louisiana and Texas. They developed 

a database to track and report on the 580 

offers of foreign assistance, including cash, 

commodities, and personnel. With their help, 

U.S. officials were able to deliver much-needed 

supplies to hard-hit communities, including 

tents from Denmark and Russia, bedding from 

Slovakia and Tunisia, medical supplies from 

Chile and Spain, and baby goods from China 

and Israel.

Nina Minka is a Senior Disaster Management Advisor for 

the U.S. Agency for International Development in India; 

and Deanne Shulman is a Disaster Mitigation Specialist 

for the Forest Service, International Programs, Washington, DC.

Incident Command System throughout the 

state. The U.S. Agency for International 

Development, with Forest Service support, 

is planning more two more pilot programs, 

as well as capacity building, for institutions 

offering training in the Incident Command 

System. 

The program in India could serve 

as a model for introducing the Incident 

Command System elsewhere in Asia. In 

November 2007, the Government of India 

hosted an Asia ministerial conference 

on disaster risk reduction, with several 

Asian countries sharing their experiences 

with the Incident Command System. If the 
5

long Africa’s Gulf of Guinea, the 

mangroves are key to life. Their 

leaves provide nutrients to all 

manner of aquatic species, and their thick 

root networks are vital nurseries for fish 

and shellfish, supporting coastal fisheries. 

Mangrove roots also prevent erosion by 

trapping sediments, and mangrove thickets 

shelter inland areas from storm surges, 

including hurricanes. Without mangroves, 

many of the resources that Africans take 

for granted would be gone.

Now Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea 

are reaping the benefits of an oil boom 

in the Gulf of Guinea, raising concerns 

about coastal ecosystems. Mangroves are 

vulnerable to offshore oilspills, which can 

drastically deplete their fish and wildlife 

resources. Contaminants can quickly 

spread into the dense vegetation, rendering 

oil collection, dispersion, and cleanup 

difficult if not impossible. Cameroon and 

Equatorial Guinea both lack sufficient 

capacity to adequately monitor and 

mitigate such a disaster. 

In June 2006, an interagency team from 

the U.S. Coast Guard, Forest Service, and 

State Department traveled to Cameroon 

and Equatorial Guinea to assess what 

would happen in the event of a major 

oilspill. Forest Service experience with 

oilspills dates to the 1989 Exxon Valdez 

disaster in Prince William Sound, AK, 

when the disaster response team used 

the Incident Command System, a flexible 

system adaptable to any type of incident at 

any scale. The interagency team thought 

that the Incident Command System might 

be useful on an oilspill in Africa, as well.

The team determined that neither 

Cameroon nor Equatorial Guinea has 

a national response system in place, 

although the oil industry is relatively well 

equipped for certain types of operations. 

Stakeholders in Cameroon and Equatorial 

Guinea indicated a genuine interest in a 

collaborative workshop or training series 

on the Incident Command System. In 

partnership with the Coast Guard and 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, Forest Service specialists 

began preparing a basic/intermediate 

multihazard training class. The U.S. 

Coast Guard serves as the lead agency 

for responding to spills in U.S. waters; 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration brings to the team its 

many years of experience with mapping 

environmentally sensitive areas and oilspill 

trajectory analysis. 

In September 2007 in Douala, 

Cameroon, a training was presented 

to Government and oil industry 

representatives from Cameroon, Equatorial 

Guinea, and Gabon. With modules on 

organization and staffing, resources, 

facilities, and planning and managing 

disaster response, the course culminated in 

an oilspill scenario simulation that requires 

students to complete an incident action 

plan and present an operational briefing. 

Emphasis was placed on protecting 

the most fragile marine habitats. Goals 

included increasing regional capacity to 

deal with an oilspill disaster, promoting 

cooperation among stakeholders, and 

reducing Government reliance on oil 

industry capabilities. 

In the Gulf of Guinea, an oilspill disaster 

could threaten regional stability, but the 

Incident Command System affords a way 

to bring a crisis under control. By sharing 

their expertise, the Forest Service and 

others can help countries in the region 

finalize national contingency plans while 

building a more participatory framework 

for disaster response, one that addresses 

the needs of all. Governments, industry, 

and nongovernmental organizations can 

work together in response to any incident, 

protecting the rich mangrove resources for 

generations to come. 

While the oil boom in the

Gulf of Guinea provides

economic benefits, it

may deplete ecologically

important mangroves.

Preparing for an Oilspill in Africa’s Gulf of Guinea

by Jim Elliott, Bob Becker, and Lauren Chitty

A

Forest Service 

Jim Elliott is a Commander in the U.S. Coast Guard, 

Arlington, VA; Bob Becker, a former Incident Command 

System Specialist for the Forest Service, is Director of the 

Office of Emergency Management for the State Department, Washington, DC; and Lauren Chitty is an Africa 

Program Specialist for the Forest Service, International 

Programs, Washington, DC.
6

Bringing Ecotourism to Egypt

Protected areas thrive when visitors 

discover their value and when local 

communities benefit from tourist spending. 

Since 1983, Egypt has designated 27 

protected areas covering more than 15 

percent of its land area. They include the 

Wadi El Rayan Protected Area, located 

some hundred miles from Cairo, a favorite 

destination for visitors for its lakes and rich 

stores of whale fossils. 

 A Forest Service landscape architect 

traveled to Wadi El Rayan to help improve 

the main visitor area and develop a site 

plan that is needed to balance people with 

place while giving visitors a sense of arrival 

and belonging. The architect examined 

how the design can help promote economic 

investment and encourage local support for 

protecting natural resources. 

Students and Shorebirds Converge on 

Alaska

In May 2007, students in grades 5-8 from 

throughout the Western Hemisphere took a 

virtual field trip to the Copper River Delta in 

Alaska to learn about shorebird migration, 

capping a 6-month program in conservation 

education. Through satellite and Internet 

technology, the students traveled more 

than 6,500 miles, from the birds’ wintering 

grounds in Panama to their breeding grounds 

in Alaska. Along the way, they stopped at 

seven critical wetland habitats.

Provided free to classrooms everywhere, 

the program—called “Migration Science 

and Mystery: A Distance Learning 

Adventure”—reached about half a million 

children in both English and Spanish. 

Leadership came from the Prince William 

Network, with support from the Copper 

River International Migratory Bird Initiative, 

an effort by the Forest Service and its 

partners.

The Elusive Empress of Brazil

In the mountains north of Rio de Janeiro, 

an ecologist from the Tongass National Forest 

in Alaska went in search of the Empress of 

Brazil, an extravagant blue flower on a stem 

that can be several feet long. Found only on 

remote mountainsides, the plant is critically 

endangered due to agricultural development 

and the spread of wildfires. For years, the Rio 

de Janeiro Botanical Garden has studied the 

Empress to conserve and restore its vanishing 

habitat. 

In November 2006, a garden biologist 

teamed up with an ecologist from the Forest 

Service to seek out the elusive Empress. 

Using satellite imagery, aerial photography, 

and a geographic information system, the 

News Bits From Around The World

The Forest Service is lending its

expertise in ecotourism to Egypt’s

Wadi El Rayan Protected Area, 

famous for its lakes and whale

fossils.

Forest Service 

team mapped remaining Empress populations 

and modeled the flower’s habitat. The 

project was funded by the Forest Service’s 

International Programs and the U.S. Agency 

for International Development.

Combating Illegal Logging in the 

Balkans 

Illegal logging accounts for more than half 

of the timber produced in some countries, 

and it is a serious problem in the Balkans. 

With logs traded globally, international 

interest in curtailing the problem is strong. 

In May 2007, the Forest Service, working 

with partners, brought representatives from 

several Balkan countries together to share 

strategies, approaches, and tools for reducing 

illegal logging. The partners hosted a 4-day 

regional workshop in Budapest, Hungary. 

Participants included forestry officials, law 

enforcement officers, and prosecutors from 

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, 

Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia. 

The workshop conveyed best practices 

and methods used in the United States. 

Perhaps more importantly, it provided a 

neutral forum for officials from Balkan 

countries to discuss issues of mutual 

interest and to establish relationships with 

counterparts. The workshop was funded by 

the U.S. Department of State, with in-kind 

contributions from the Forest Service, World 

Bank, U.S. Department of Justice, and U.S. 

Agency for International Development.
7

Visit these Web sites for more information related to articles in this issue:

Forest Service International Programs’ Disaster Assistance Support Program — 

http://www.fs.fed.us/global/aboutus/dasp/welcome.htm

Forest Service International Programs’ Disaster Mitigation Program —

http://www.fs.fed.us/global/aboutus/dmp/welcome.htm

Incident Command System — http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/fire/management/ics/index.php

U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance —

http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/

Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System — http://www.iotws.org/

Bureau of Land Management — http://www.blm.gov

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — http://www.noaa.gov/

U.S. Coast Guard — http://www.uscg.mil/

Monarch Butterfly Gateway — http://www.fs.fed.us/monarchbutterfly/index.shtml

Migration Science and Mystery: A Distance Learning Adventure — http://migration.pwnet.org

Wings Across the Americas — http://www.fs.fed.us/global/wings

As we approach the centennial of 

the 1910 fires, we can look back across 

a century of enormous change in our 

collective ability to prepare for and respond 

to disasters. What we have learned is 

relevant to managing both natural and 

human-caused disasters around the world, 

and international cooperation allows us to 

share our experience while we learn from 

others (see the text boxes on pages 3 and 

...continued from p. 2

...continued from p.1

operations in Darfur, helping to implement 

and monitor more than $100 million in 

relief programs. Ravaged villages still dot 

many landscapes, along with huge camps 

like Otash. But relief efforts by the U.S. 

Agency for International Development, in 

cooperation with partners like the Forest 

Service, are giving Mohammed Salih 

Haroun and his family new grounds for 

hope.

...continued from p. 4

Incident Command System can be adapted 

to conditions in India, with its enormous 

size and cultural diversity, then it might 

...continued from p.3 well be applicable anywhere in the world.

swells, floods, and earthquakes.

As part of the new system, the Forest 

Service is conducting “train-the-trainer” 

courses in Sri Lanka to instruct Government 

disaster managers in the Incident 

Command System. Training includes hosted 

study tours (see the text box on page 3).

In Indonesia, the Forest Service is 

helping the Government integrate the 

Incident Command System into its disaster 

response system and enhance its local 

4). As Forest Service employees, we can 

gain much from international cooperation; 

it places our own day-to-day challenges 

in a new light, leading us to consider new 

ways of understanding and overcoming 

obstacles. We are better able to adapt 

to the complex world of emergency 

management for the benefit of the people 

we serve. In both the short and the long 

run, the instructor becomes the student.

tsunami warning system. Indonesian 

officials have taken a foundational course 

in the Incident Command System.

In Thailand, the Forest Service is helping 

the Government develop a tsunami early 

warning system tailored to local conditions. 

Workshops and tabletop exercises have 

focused on system design, protocols and 

procedures, hardware technology, media 

notification, and equipment testing. In July 

2007, with help from the Forest Service 

and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, Thailand conducted the 

largest tsunami warning drill ever in 

Southeast Asia, activating all 79 newly 

installed warning towers along its Indian 

Ocean coast.

International collaboration is paying 

off. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand will 

present their accomplishments in regional 

workshops and can help neighboring 

countries strengthen their own disaster 

management systems. The best way to 

mitigate the impact of future disasters in 

the region is to coordinate and prepare 

across borders and boundaries.
8

24th International Seminar on Forest 

and Natural Resources Administration 

and Management 

Dates: October 6–21, 2008

Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, and the District of 

Columbia, USA

 Jointly offered by Forest Service International Programs and Northern Arizona 

University, this seminar presents a broad 

spectrum of natural resource management 

techniques and institutional arrangements 

so that participants may selectively gather 

ideas that can assist in the management 

of their lands. It focuses on strategies and 

methods to develop, manage, and conserve natural resources for the sustained 

delivery of goods and services to meet the 

full range of human needs. For application 

details, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/global/

is/isfam/welcome.htm or write to Dr. 

Michael Wagner, P.O. Box 15018, 82 Huffer 

Lane, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA, or e-mail at 

ISFAM@nau.edu.

Bulletin Board

The Global Leaflet presents highlights of policy, research, 

technical cooperation, development, and conservation 

activities in which the Forest Service is involved worldwide. 

Its purpose is to demonstrate the breadth and importance of 

international collaboration on natural resource management 

issues and to share information within the Forest Service and 

with our partners in the United States and around the world.

International Programs is dedicated to applying the 

wealth of skills within the Forest Service to foster sustainable 

forest management globally. We encourage linking 

the agency’s researchers, foresters, wildlife biologists, 

hydrologists, policymakers, and disaster specialists with 

partners overseas to work on assignments in the areas 

of technical cooperation, policy assistance, and disaster 

coordination. Our focus is on key natural resource problems 

and issues in countries with significant forest resources 

and important forest-related trade with the United States. 

International cooperation results in improved sustainable 

natural resource practices in partner countries, develops the 

skills of Forest Service personnel, and brings back knowledge 

and innovative technologies to the United States.

Acting Secretary of Agriculture : Charles F. Conner

Chief of the Forest Service: Abigail R. Kimbell

International Programs

USDA Forest Service

1099 14th St. NW, Suite 5500W

Washington, DC 20005-3402

Web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/global

Director: Val Mezainis

Phone: (202) 205-1650

Art Director: Jeff Baldwin

Editor: Hutch Brown

United States Department of Agriculture

Forest Service

International Programs

2008 International Field Course 

on Wildlands and Protected Area 

Management

Dates: July 8–August 10, 2008

Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

Co-hosted by the Center for Protected Area 

Management and Training at Colorado 

State University and Forest Service International Programs, this course, held in 

Spanish, presents key concepts and methods of protected area management while 

emphasizing field-based practical exercises. For application details, visit http://

www.fs.fed.us/global/is/field_course/

welcome.htm or write to Ryan Finchum, 

Colorado State University, Center for Protected Area Management and Training, Fort 

Collins, CO 80523-1480, USA, or e-mail at 

finchum@cnr.colostate.edu. 

2008 International Seminar on 

Protected Area Management 

Dates: August 4–22, 2008

Missoula, Montana, USA

This seminar—jointly offered by the University of Montana, University of Idaho, 

Colorado State University, and Forest Service International Programs—is geared for 

senior-level managers and policymakers 

working in protected areas. The program 

examines and stimulates debate on management strategies, policies, and innovative 

institutional arrangements to address the 

conservation and use of the world's most 

special places. For application details, visit 

http://www.fs.fed.us/global/is/ispam/

welcome.htm or write to Wayne Freimund, 

School of Forestry, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA, or e-mail at 

wayne@forestry.umt.edu.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits 

discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis 

of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where 

applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, 

religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political 

beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s 

income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not 

all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with 

disabilities who require alternative means for communication 

of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) 

should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 

(voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write 

USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 

795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an 

equal opportunity provider and employer.