February 2010 E LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN FORESTRY COMMISSION TWENTY-SIX SESSION Guatemala City, Guatemala, 24 28 May, 2010 Information Note for Participants Place and dates 1. At the kind invitation of the Government of the Republic of Guatemala, the 26 th Session of the Latin American and Caribbean Forestry Commission (LACFC) will be held in Guatemala City, Guatemala, from 24 to 28 May 2010, at the Barceló Guatemala City Hotel, 7ª Avenida 15-45 Zona 9, at 2.5 km from International La Aurora Airport and at 4.5 km from the historic city of Guatemala. The hotel contact person is Mrs. Claudia Álvarez, Sale Executive, Phone: 00 (502) 2378-4043, Fax: 00 (502) 2320-4003, Email: guatemalacity.ventas7@barcelo.com, Internet address: www.barcelo.com 2. Participants should fly to Internacional La Aurora Airport. Those participants wishing to be met at the airport should send their flight number, date and time of arrival, in advance, to Mrs. Claudia Alvarez and to the organizers, who will arrange for transfers to the hotel. 3. The Opening Session will take place at 09:00 hours on Monday 24 May. Communications 4. All correspondence related to the Session should be addressed to the Secretary of the Commission, as follows: Mr. Carlos Marx Carneiro Secretary of the Commission Senior Forestry Officer Phone: (56-2) 923-2214 FAO Regional Office for Latin America and Fax: (56-2) 923-2101 the Caribbean Email: Carlos.Carneiro@fao.org Santiago, Chile For reasons of economy, this document is produced in a limited number of copies. Delegates and observers are kindly requested to bring it to the meetings and to refrain from asking for additional copies, unless strictly indispensable. Most FAO meeting documents are available on Internet at www.fao.org
2 5. Correspondence related to hotel reservations and reception at the airport should be addressed to: Edwin Oliva Programa Forestal Nacional 7ª. Avenida 6-80 zona 13, Ciudad de Guatemala Phone: 00 (502) 2321-4520 Fax: 00 (502) 2321-4520 Email: eoliva@inab.gob.gt Rafael Rodríguez Programa Forestal Nacional 7ª. Avenida 6-80 zona 13, Ciudad de Guatemala Phone: 00 (502) 2321-4520 Fax: 00 (502) 2321-4520 Email: apfn@inab.gob.gt Claudia Álvarez Ejecutiva de Ventas Hotel Barceló Guatemala City 7a. Avenida 15-45 zona 9, Ciudad de Guatemala Phone: 00 (502) 2378-4043 Fax: 00 (502) 2320-4003 Email: guatemalacity.ventas7@barcelo.com Registration 6. Registration for participants will take place on Sunday, 23 May, from 17:30 to 19:00 hours, and on Monday, 24 May, from 08:30 to 09:00 hours, at the Barceló Guatemala City Hotel. Participants are kindly requested to return the Enrolment Form located at the end of this document, before 23 April, 2010. Lodging 7. Rooms have been reserved at the Barceló Guatemala City Hotel (the same venue as LACFC 26). The rate for participants in a single room is USD 115 per night per participant, including the 22% tax, breakfast buffet, lunch buffet and two daily coffee breaks for the days of the event. The Barceló Hotel kindly provide transport airport/hotel/airport for the participants. Languages and documentation 8. The working languages of the Commission meeting will be Spanish, English and also French if a French-speaking Member Nation participates. Simultaneous interpretation and documents will be provided in these languages accordingly. Documents will be distributed to Member States before the session and participants are kindly requested to bring them to the meeting, as there will only be a limited number of copies available. Documents will also be available at the Web site of the FAO Regional Office: http://www.rlc.fao.org/es/comisiones/coflac/2010/defaulte.htm
3 Passports and visa 9. Participants attending the event should contact the Embassy or Consulate of the Republic of Guatemala in their countries regarding entry formalities. For additional information, participants are invited to consult the official Internet site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala: http://www.minex.gob.gt/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&itemid=142 The Government of Guatemala will bring support to official delegates of LACFC member countries who require a visa. Foreign exchange 10. The local currency in Guatemala is the Quetzal. Credit cards are accepted in different tourists sites, at commerce and at the Barceló Guatemala City Hotel. Airport tax 11. The airport tax when leaving the country is USD 30, which normally is included in the air ticket. The airport security tax is GTQ 20 or USD 3 at it may be paid at the airport when leaving the country. Field trip 12. On Thursday, 27 May there will be a field visit. It is recommended that participants wear light clothes for the day and take with them a sweater for the evening. General information about the country 13. Guatemala (from Nahuatl Quauhtitlan, between the trees ), officially the Republic of Guatemala is a country located in Central America with special characteristics and a native culture product of Mayan heritage. At the same time is a country of great natural beauty. Guatemala is located in a mountainous terrain, with great extent of forests, provided of Mayan ruins, lakes, volcanoes, orchids and exotic birds. Bordered to the west and north by Mexico, to the east by Belize and the Gulf of Honduras, on the southeast by Honduras and El Salvador, and south by the Pacific Ocean. The country has 108,889 km ². Its capital is Guatemala City, officially named Nueva Guatemala de la Asuncion and internationally known as Guatemala City. Its official language is Spanish, also has Mayan languages characteristic from each indigenous groups and the Garifuna and Xinka languages. 14. Guatemala City is the economic capital, cultural and governmental of the Republic, as well as the head of the Department of Guatemala. His full name is La Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción. The city is located in a valley in the central southern area of the country and has a wide variety of restaurants, malls, plazas, hotels and stores, galleries and museums (including a good collection of pre-columbian art). The climate is temperate in the city, although in the months of November to February the temperatures can drop. Some tourist sites in the city are: Casa MIMA, the Metropolitan Cathedral, Miguel Angel Asturias Cultural Centre, relief map, craft market, Indian Costume Museum, Miraflores Museum, Popol Vuh Museum, the National Palace, the Central Market, shopping centers, the zona viva, Cuatro Grados Norte, the Aurora zoo, Railroad Museum, among others. Climate The city of Guatemala is located at 1,500 meters above sea level and has temperate weather. For the month of May the average temperature fluctuates between 15 C and 26 C. Further information can be obtained from the following Internet site: http://espanol.weather.com
4 Electricity 15. Electric power in Guatemala is 120 V, 60 Hz and flat plugs. Guatemala uses the standard North American non grounded socket and you may need a Standard Grounded North American Adapter.
5 LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN FORESTRY COMMISSION 26 th SESSION Guatemala City, Guatamala, 24 28 May, 2010 FORMULARIO DE INSCRIPCION Please complete this form, either typed or in block letters, and send it by E-mail to the LACFC Secretariat: Nancy.Ayub@fao.org or by Fax: (56-2) 923-2136 before 23 April, 2010 Name: Surname: Country: Institution: Job title: Address: Phone: ( ) Fax: ( ) E.mail: Please make the following reservation at the Barceló Guatemala City Hotel, from to Single room: Double room: Arrival at: Internacional La Aurora Airport day: time: Airline: N of flight: Departure from: Internacional La Aurora Airport day: time: Airline: N of flight: Field trip participation: YES NO Enquiries may also be addressed to: 1. Edwin Oliva Phone: (502) 2321-4520 Programa Forestal Nacional Fax: (502) 2321-4520 Instituto Nacional de Bosques E.mail: eoliva@inab.gob.gt Guatemala City 2. Rafael Rodríguez Phone: (502) 2321-4520 Programa Forestal Nacional Fax: (502) 2321-4520 E.mail: apfn@inab.gob.gt 3. Nancy Ayub Phone: (56-2) 923-2215 Assistant Forestry Group Fax: (56-2) 923-2136 Oficina Regional de la FAO para América E.mail: Nancy.Ayub@fao.org Latina y el Caribe Santiago, Chile