11.   A SELECTION OF INTERNATIONAL ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

The purpose of this section is to resolve some comparisons between acronyms and to explain some of the terms that are often seen in reports and literature. The editors are grateful to John Palmer, Jeff Burley, Jim Ball and many others for contributions to this list. Any list is inevitably subjective and this is an unusually long one which the editors hope will be found interesting and  useful. However, and the editors take sole responsibility for errors omissions and inconsistencies. 

Notes

1) The country where the headquarters of an organization is located is given after the expansion of the relevant acronym; international = present in several countries. Where the headquarters is located in India or the USA, the city/state is also often indicated for clarity. Most of the acronyms are in English; some equivalents are given in French and Spanish but not yet in a systematic manner.  Names of French institutions are mostly with initial letters in lower case, following French custom.

2) Abbreviations which do not refer to institutions are given in lower case letters in the expansion of the acronym.

3) Organizations listed are mostly international or regional , with some national and sub-national institutions  included if they are deemed to be of particular importance. .

4) Readers are invited to suggest additions or corrections; an advantage of loose-leaf and electronic formats is that updates are easy to issue without re-publication are welcome.

AAAS                         American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C., USA

AAS                            African Academy of Sciences, Kenya

ABO                            area based organisation

ABOS                         Department of Forestry Development Cooperation, The Netherlands

ACCT                         Agence de coopération culturelle et technique, France

ACIAR                        Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Australia

ACORD          Agency for Cooperation and Research in Developing Countries, UK

ACP                            African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries (signatories of the Lomé Convention)

ACSAD          The Arab League Centre for Studies in Arid Zones, Syria

ACT                            Amazon Cooperation Treaty (see TCA)

ACU                            Association of Commonwealth Universities

ADB (or AfDB or BAD)

                                    African Development Bank, Côte d'Ivoire

ADB (or AsDB)

                                    Asian Development Bank, Philippines

AECT                         Association for Educational Communication and Technology, #, USA

AERDD          Agricultural Extension and Rural Development Department, of the University of Reading, UK

AETFAT

AFNETA        Alley Farming Network for Tropical Africa (IITA), Nigeria

AFOCEL        Association Forêt-Cellulose, France

AFORNET     African Forestry Research Network (AAS), Kenya

AFRD                         Agency for Forestry Research and Development, Indonesia

AFRENA        Network for agroforestry, farm forestry and tree crops in East and Central Africa (ASARECA programme; during 1987-99, was the Agroforestry research network(s) for Africa, an ICRAF programme)

AFWC                        African Forestry and Wildlife Commission (FAO), Ghana

AGCD/ABOS            Administration générale de la coopération au dévelopement, Belgium

AGRICOLA    Agricultural On-Line Abstracts (database compiled by NAL), Bethesda, Maryland, USA

AGRIS                        Agricultural Research Information Service (FAO), Italy

AIDAB                        Australian International Development Assistance Bureau (changed to Australian Agency for International Development - AusAID in 1995), Australia

AIFM                           ASEAN Institute of Forest Management, Peninsular Malaysia

ANAFE           African Network for Agroforestry Education (ICRAF), Kenya

ANU                            Australian National University, Australia

ANUTECH     commercial consultancy company of the Australian National University, Australia

APAFRI          Asia-Pacific Asociation of Forestry Research Institutions (partially replaces FORSPA, secretariat with FAO-RAPA), Thailand

APDC                         Asian and Pacific Development Centre, Malaysia

APFC                         Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission (FAO/RAPA), Thailand

APICA                        Association pour la promotion des initiatives communautaires africaines, Cameroon

APO                            assistant professional officer

ASAL                          arid and semi-arid lands

ASEAN          Association of South East Asian Nations, Malaysia

ASRU                         Applied Statistics Research Unit, University of Kent, UK

ATIBT                         Association Technique International des Bois Tropicaux (France)

ATSAF                       Arbeitsgruppe Tropische und Subtropische Agrarforschung (Council for Tropical and Subtropical Agricultural Research), Federal Republic of Germany

ATSC                         Australian Tree Seed Centre (CSIRO Division of Forestry), Australia

AusAID           Australian Agency for International Development (formerly, AIDAB), Australia

AUW                           Agricultural University Wageningen (Dutch acronym LUW), The Netherlands

AVHRR          advanced very high resolution radiometer (NOAA), USA

BAD (or ADB or AfDB)

Banque africaine de développement, Côte d'Ivoire

BAIF                           Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation, India

BARC                         Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, Bangladesh

BBSRC                      Biology and Biotechnology Science Research Council, UK

BCIS                           Biodiversity Conservation Information System (IUCN), UK

BCSD                         Business Council for Sustainable Development, Switzerland

BES                            British Ecological Society, UK

BESO                         British Executive Service Overseas (DFID), UK

BFT                             Bois et Forets des Tropiques (journal)

BGCI                           Botanic Gardens Conservation International, UK

BGCS                         Botanic Gardens Conservation Secretariat (IUCN), UK

BID (or IDB)   Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo / Interamerican Development Bank, Washington, D.C., USA

BIO-REFOR   Biotechnology Assisted Reforestation, Japan

BIOTROP       SEAMEO Regional Centre for Tropical Biology, Indonesia

BIT (or ILO)    Bureau international du travail / International Labour Office (UN), Switzerland

BMZ                            Bundesministerium für Wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit, Federal Republic of Germany

BNF                            biological nitrogen fixation

BOS                            Stichting voor Nederlandse Bosbouw Ontwikkelings Samenwerking, The Netherlands

BRAHMS       Botanical Research and Herbarium Management System (OFI), UK

C&I                              criteria and indicators (of good forest stewardship or sustainable forest management)

CABI                           Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (NAC, formerly, Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux), UK

CAD                           computer aided design

CAF                            Chinese Academy of Forestry, People's Republic of China

CAFOD          Catholic Fund for Overseas Development, UK and other countries

CAM                           computer aided manufacturing

CAMCORE    Central America and Mexico Coniferous Resources Cooperative, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

CAMPFIRE    Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources, Zimbabwe

CARDI                        Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Barbados

CARE                         Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere, New York, NY, USA

CARICOM      Caribbean Economic Community, Guyana

CARIS                        Current Agricultural Research Information Service (FAO), Italy

CASS                         Centre for Applied Social Sciences (University of Zimbabwe), Zimbabwe

CASSM          Centre for Applied Statistics and Systems Modelling, UK

CAZRI                         Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, India

CATIE                         Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, Costa Rica

CBC                           Committee of Center Board Chairs / Chairpersons (CGIAR)

CBD                           Framework Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCED'92), Canada

CBD                           Coffee berry disease

CBO                           community based organization

CCT                            Correlated curve trend

CCT                            Centro Científico Tropical / Tropical Science Center, Costa Rica

CDB                           Caribbean Development Bank, Barbados

CDC                           Commonwealth Development Corporation, UK

CDM                           clean development mechanism (Kyoto protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change)

CD-ROM        compact disk - read only memory

CDS/ISIS       Computerized Documentation System/Integrated Set of Information Systems (UNESCO), France

CEC (or EC)  Commission of the European Communities (the civil service of the EU), Belgium

CENARGEN  Centro Nacional de Recursos Genéticos (EMBRAPA), Brazil

CENRAD       Centre for Environment and Renewable Natural Resources Management Research and Development, Nigeria

CEO                           Chief Executive Office

CFA                            Commonwealth Forestry Association

CFD                            Caisse Française de Développement (formerly, Caisse centrale de cooperation économique - CCCE), France

CFDT                         Committee on Forest Development in the Tropics (FAO), Italy

CFTC                         Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation, UK

CG (or CGIAR)Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, Washington, D.C., USA

CGNET          a computer-based messaging system operated for the CGIAR by CGNET Services, Inc., California, USA

CHOGM         Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

CI                                Conservation International, Washington, D.C., USA

CIDA                           Canadian International Development Agency, Canada

CIF                              carriage, insurance and freight (shipping terminology)

CIFOR                        Center for International Forestry Research (CGIAR), Indonesia

CILSS                         Comité permanent inter-États de lutte contre la sécheresse dans le Sahel, Burkina Faso

CIMMYT         Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (CGIAR), Mexico

CIP                              Centro Internacional de la Papa (CGIAR), Perú

CIRAD                        Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement, France

CIRAD-Forêt The forestry branch of CIRAD; formerly Centre Technique Forestier Tropical (CTFT), France

CIRAF                        Centre international pour la recherche en agroforesterie (= ICRAF), Cameroon

CIS                              Commonwealth of Independent States (formerly, the USSR)

CIT                              countries with economies in transition (World Bank terminology)

CITES                         Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

CNPq                         Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Technológico, Brazil

CNRS                         Centre national de la recherche scientifique, France

CoD                            International Convention to Combat Desertification in Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification (1994)

COFO                         Committee on Forestry (FAO), Italy

COMSEC      Commonwealth Secretariat, UK

CONSEFORH           Conservación y Mejoramiento de Recursos Forestales de Honduras, Honduras

COP                           conference of parties (to an international convention)

COPR                         Centre for Overseas Pest Research (now integrated with NRI), UK

COST                         (programme of) European Cooperation in the Field of Scientific and Technical Research (EC), Belgium

COW                          committee of the whole (group meeting)

CP                              Cultures pérennes (département du CIRAD), France

CPATU           Centro de Pesquisa Agropecuaria do Trópico Úmido (EMBRAPA), Brazil

CPGR                         Commission on Plant Genetic Resources (FAO), Italy

CPMR                        common property management regime

CRDI (or IDRC or CIID)

Centre de recherche et de développement international, Canada

CRS                            Catholic Relief Service, Maryland, USA

CSA                            Canadian Standards Association

CSC                           Commonwealth Science Council, UK

CSD                           (United Nations) Commission on Sustainable Development, New York, USA

CSE                            Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, India

CSERGE       Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment, UK

CSIR                           Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa

CSIRO                        Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia

CTA                            Centre technique de coopération agricole et rurale (Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation), ACP-EU Lomé Convention, The Netherlands

CTBA                         Centre technique du bois et de l'ameublement, France

CTFS                          Center for Tropical Forest Science (STRI), Singapore

CTFT                          Centre Technique Forestier Tropical (now CIRAD-Forêt), France

CTVM                         Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, UK

DAAD                         German Academic Exchange Service, Federal Republic of Germany

DANCED       Danish Cooperation for Environment and Development Programme, Denmark

DANIDA         Danish International Development Agency, Denmark

DB                              database (a collection of files electronically linked by a DBMS)

d                                  diameter (of a tree) at breast height (1.3 m above ground level on the uphill side of the tree) (IUFRO definition). Often known as dbh.

DBMS                        database management system

DFID                           Department For International Development (formerly Overseas Development Administration - ODA, 1967 - May 1997), UK

DFSC                         DANIDA Forest Seed Centre, Denmark

DG                              Director General

DGIS                           Directorate-General for International Cooperation, The Netherlands

DGPS                         differential global positioning system (improvement of accuracy of the Coarse Acquisition code from GPS satellites operated by the United States Department of Defense, by radio broadcast of local-area corrections from ground-based stations or acquisition of time signals from other geostationary satellites)

DIDC                          Department for International Development and Cooperation (formerly FINNIDA until 1997), Finland

DM                              dry matter

DNA                            deoxyribosenucleic acid

DSE                            Deutsche Stiftung für Internationale Entwicklung, Federal Republic of Germany

EAAFRO        East African Agriculture and Forestry Research Organisation (extinguished in 1977), Kenya

EBRD                         European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Luxembourg

EC (or CEC)  Commission of the European Communities (the civil service of the EU), Belgium

ECART           European Consortium for Agricultural Research in the Tropics (ATSAF, CIRAD, GTZ, IICT, KIT, NRI, NRIL)

ECOSOC       United Nations Economic and Social Council, Switzerland

ECOWAS      Economic Community of West African States, Nigeria

ECTF                          Edinburgh Centre for Tropical Forests, UK

EDF                            European Development Fund (EU), Belgium

EDI                              Economic Development Institute (converted to the World Bank Institute in 1999), Washington, D.C., USA

EFI                              European Forest Institute, Finland

EIA                              environmental impact assessment

ELC                            Environmental Liaison Centre, Kenya

EMBRAPA    Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria, Brazil

ENDA                         Environnement et développement du tiers monde (NGO), Sénégal and Zimbabwe

ENGREF        École nationale du génie rural, des eaux et des forêts, France

ENSO                         El Niño - Southern Oscillation (climatic perturbation)

ERR                            economic rate of return (on investment)

ESF                            European Science Foundation, Federal Republic of Germany

ESNACIFOR Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Forestales, Honduras

ET                               evapotranspiration

ETFRN                       European Tropical Forest Research Network, Federal Republic of Germany

EU (EEC)       European Union (formerly, European Economic Community), Belgium

EWC                           East‑West Center, Hawaii, USA

FAC                            Fonds Aide Coopération, France

FACE                         Forest Absorbing Carbondioxide Emission Foundation (Stichting FACE), The Netherlands

FACT                          Forest, Farm and Community Tree Network (FACT - Winrock International), Arkansas, USA, replaced the network of the Nitrogen-Fixing Tree Association (NFTA) in January 1996

FAO                            Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Italy

FAO/FOR       Forestry Department of FAO, Italy

FAQ                            fair average quality (timber grade)

FAQ                            frequently asked questions (Internet terminology)

FAS                            free alongside (shipping terminology)

FAZ                             Forestry Association of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe

FCCC                         Framework Convention on Climate Change (secretariat), Switzerland

FCCD                         Framework Convention to Combat Desertification (secretariat), ?

FCGB                         Forestry Commission of Great Britain (incorporating the Forestry Authority), UK

FD                               Forest or Forestry Department

FE                               Forest Enterprise, UK

FGR                                                    forest genetic resources

FINNIDA         Finnish International Development Agency, Finland (changed to DIDC from 1997)

FLORES        Forest Land Oriented Resource Envisioning System (CIFOR)

FOB                            free on board (shipping terminology)

FOCUS                      name/acronym of the (AFRC) national agricultural research projects database in the UK

FoE                             Friends of the Earth, NGO

FOFIFA          Centre international de la recherche appliquée au développement rural, Madagascar

FORIG                        Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, Ghana