The Need to Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say

John A. Helms ….. California, USA Renate Prüller …... Vienna, Austria Brian D. Haddon … Ottawa, Canada H. Gyde Lund ……. Virginia, USA

Introduction

The Situation

 Multiplicity of definitions makes it impossible to understand what is meant  Particularly important in compiling national and international statistics and in negotiating multinational agreements  Effective communication necessitates saying clearly what you really mean

Examples

 Plantation  Forest Health  Sustainable Forest Management

Addressing the Problem through Terminology Management

Concepts and Issues of Terminology Management



Terminology

-- a structured set of concepts and their designations; the infrastructure of specialized knowledge 

Terminology management

-- manipulating terminological resources for specific purposes, e.g., -- dictionaries -- databases -- finding multilingual equivalencies -- creating new terms in technical writing 

Three key components of terminology management

– interoperability, harmonization, and standardization

Interoperability

 “to be interoperable, one should actively be engaged in the ongoing process of ensuring that the systems, procedures and culture of an organisation are managed in such a way as to maximise opportunities for exchange and re-use of information, whether internally or externally” (Miller 2000)  There is more to ensuring interoperability than using compatible software and hardware  Semantic interoperability -- a host of issues that become more pronounced as individual agencies and processes use different terms to describe similar concepts or even use identical terms to mean very different things

Harmonization

 Involves comparing and matching concept systems in one language, among languages, or among subject fields  Possible only if the underlying concepts are practically identical  Expert Meetings

First Meeting

-- start process to review, improve, and interrelate forest-related definitions, especially: biome-specific terms, degradation, devegetation

Second Meeting

– 1) options for harmonizing forest-related definitions 2) proposals to implement options 3) establish future agenda

Standardization

 The consistent use by all parties of preferred terms and their standard definitions "Standard" = "substantially uniform and well established by usage in the speech and writing of the educated and widely recognized as acceptable and authoritative"  Requires strict adherence to prescribed terms and definitions used in specific contexts  Unlikely to be feasible for many terms and definitions  May be possible and desirable in some cases, e.g., the Kyoto Protocol (KP) and its Marrakech Accord (MA)

Role of IUFRO in Terminology Management

 Promotes international cooperation in forest terminology issues, glossary work, and management through o

SilvaVoc

– clearinghouse for multilingual forest terminoloy o

Working Party 6.03.02

– Trends in Forest Terminology  Encourages participation of forestry experts in defining terms  Raises awareness of terminological issues and importance of using the right terms for corresponding concepts  SilvaTerm database usually shows several definitions for controversial concepts  Contributes to international initiatives for harmonizing forest-related definitions e.g.,

Expert Meetings

Example 1: Plantation

Several pathways to provide information on the concept and related (synonymous?) terms such as forest plantation, plantation forest, planted forest, man-made forest o The SilvaTerm database presents a IUFRO coordinated definition, together with the FAO referenced definition as used in FRA o The database entry on

plantation

also presents a link relating to papers and more information addressing the issue of the broad scope and vague meaning of the plantation definition o Important work is in progress on a global level: CIFOR-led initiative on collaborative work on a typology of planted forests

Example 2: Forest Health

 Working Party 6.03.02 led web-based discussion list and compiled views and issues  Need global definition – need to compile key definitions and consider harmonization?

Example 3: Sustainable Forest Management

Concept evolving and changing over time –  Shift from a production-orientation to a more integrated and holistic approach of natural resources management  See references to literature in the Bibliography section of the SilvaVoc homepage  In Europe the most cited definition is from the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE 1993)

Conclusion

 Using the right terms and definitions requires effort – quality counts  Terminology work cannot take place in an ivory tower – need efficient cooperation for harmonization  Cooperation in harmonization a basis for standardization?

 IUFRO’s role in encouraging international cooperation can only be successful with sufficient participation and support by the forestry community - all of us must become aware of the problems all of us can contribute by trying to really

say what we mean and mean what we say

Discussion What can YOU do?

1.

Be certain of saying exactly what you mean and meaning exactly what you say

2.

Be critical with your colleagues through the peer-review process

3.

Support and contribute to IUFRO’s efforts in terminology use and management

4.

Use IUFRO for information and as a clearinghouse for appropriate terminology