The logging industry and management of natural forests: tropical timber and the forests of Central Africa in the face of market trends.

Abstract

The world rough lumber (logs) harvest (exclud-ing wood fuel) is estimated at 1 578 million m 3 (FAO, 2011). The extraction of timber from the natural forests of all the COMIFAC countries, again according to FAO, amounts to approximately 16 million m 3 , or just 1 % of world production 2. Of this volume, 5 million m 3 of rough-lumber equivalent are exported (taking all products together), which represents just 0.3 % of world rough lumber production. Volumes exported and destinations Asia-essentially China-accounts for over 50 % of rough lumber equivalent 3 volumes exported. The European and Asian markets are mainly supplied by Cameroon and Gabon. The inter-African market accounts for less than 10 % of the volume exported (about 0.4 million m 3 of rough-lumber equivalent by Gabon and Cameroon). Informal sawn wood, estimated at more than an additional 0.2 million m 3 per annum, constitutes a substantial share of supplies to neighboring countries in the subregion.