ANDRÉ LAFONDANDRÉ LAFOND is vice-dean, Faculty of Forestry and Geodesy, Laval University, Quebec, Canada. An expanded version of this paper is to be issued in due course as a separate FAO report.
THE AFRICAN CONTINENT can be divided into two zones according to the main languages used - French and English. Within the English speaking zone, the eastern zone is by far the most extensive, but the western zone also has considerable areas of closed forest. The French-speaking countries can be divided into four zones: the countries around the Mediterranean sea, those of the savanna and Sahara, the western equatorial basin and the countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
It has been estimated that about 1 700 professional foresters and close to 10 000 technicians will be required by all these countries by 1985 if an overall forestry programme is to be established to meet the FAO Indicative World Plan provisional targets for forestry and forest industries development.
The French-speaking countries, where the most important area of closed forest is concentrated, are those where the needs for both professional foresters and technicians are more urgent.
It is suggested that in the English - speaking countries, in addition to the existing forestry faculties in Nigeria and Liberia, another should be established in Uganda¹ and a fourth in some southern country. In the French speaking zone, two faculties of forestry are urgently needed; one in Cameroon or Ivory Coast and the other in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Another faculty should be established in the Maghreb.
¹ This is now being established with Norwegian assistance and the first course is scheduled to start in July 1970.
As regards technical schools, development of the existing institutions and better equipment are certainly required to achieve the 1985 targets. For the English speaking countries, a technical school should be established as soon as possible in Ethiopia, while in the French-speaking countries technical schools should be established as soon as possible in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and perhaps another in Congo (Brazzaville). The savanna school in Bouaké should be strengthened to meet the needs of the savanna countries. The existing technical schools should be improved and extended to take care of future needs. It is estimated that about $45 million will need to be invested in the coming 15 years to build the schools and train the required number of students.
This money will have to come mainly from multilateral or bilateral assistance agencies. In the meantime, development of the existing forest policy should continue, with external help for administration, forest inventory, the preparation of management plans and the development of plantation and nursery techniques for tropical environments. Money should also continue to be invested in infrastructure and in the opening up of large areas which are not at present accessible to the industry. It is hoped that a cellulose and pulp and paper industry can be established during the same period to meet the increasing needs of Africa for these materials.
This study is an attempt to synthesize the data accumulated on forestry education in Africa and to evaluate the needs for the development of forestry education at the professional and technical levels in Africa in the light of present and future requirements in forestry and forest industries.
SOURCE MATERIAL
Several studies have recently been made by FAO on the problems of forestry education in Africa. In 1963, J.Q. Williamson, Director of Education in the Forestry Commission of Great Britain visited 14 English speaking African countries - Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rhodesia, Sierra Leone, Southern Rhodesia, the Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Arab Republic and Zambia - and J.J.E. Dosne visited 6 French-speaking African countries - Cameroon, Congo (Brazzaville), the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Guinea and Ivory Coast - to prepare reports on the problems of forestry education in these countries. During 1965 and 1966 H.A. Hilmi of FAO visited several countries, including Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, the Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. During October and :November 1968 André Lafond visited 5 French-speaking African countries (Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Ivory Coast) and Ghana. In 1965 and 1966 Professor Eino Saari reported on forestry education and training requirements in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. Several general reports on forestry problems in Africa have also been published, the most important being Timber trends and prospects in Africa, published by FAO in 1967.
LIMITATIONS
For the purposes of this study, all: the countries of Africa have been considered except Angola, Mozambique, Rhodesia and South Africa.
On the other hand, there are serious limitations in the availability of information on resources, personnel requirements and the future development of teaching facilities. However, an effort has been made to estimate the personnel needed by the different countries for the development of future plans for forestry education in Africa as they were available by the end of 1968. It may happen that information is incomplete on some projects, like the possible development of a forestry school in North Africa or the building of a large forestry technical school in Cameroon.
DEFINITION OF ZONES
Africa can be divided into different zones according to the point of view considered and the purpose. Recently, division into large zones on the basis of ecological formation has been proposed by Gutzwiller² with the object of ascertaining the potential productivity of the land for forest products or afforestation. These proposed zones are as follows:
² African Forestry Commission, Second Session, Lomé (Togo), 20-25 January 1969.1. Maghreb. Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia.
2. Savanna and steppes. Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Dahomey, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Portuguese Guinea, Senegal, Sierra Leone, the Sudan, Togo, Upper Volta.
3. West African coast. Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone.
4. Equatorial Africa basin. Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo (Brazzaville), the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon.
5. East African plateau. Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Territory of the Afars and Issas.
6. Plateau of southern Africa. Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Rhodesia, Swaziland, Zambia.
7. Madagascar zone. Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles islands.
The distribution of dense forest and savanna woodland varies considerably from one zone to another; close to 80 percent of all the dense forest is included in the Equatorial Africa basin, where 148 million hectares of dense forest are found, out of 193 million hectares for the whole of Africa. This large area of forest is a less densely populated area than the Savanna zone where most of the population is established.
From the standpoint of forestry education development, another division of Africa may be considered), since other parameters than the ecological one come into the picture: mainly, the two basic languages, French and English, used as the educational language and their distribution according to the regions of Africa. From this standpoint, Africa can be divided into six regions. First, on the basis of language: countries where English is the predominant language, and those where French is predominant.
The English-speaking countries can be divided into two groups: east Africa including: Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, the Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, United Arab Republic, Zambia; and west Africa including: the Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
The French-speaking countries can be grouped into four main regions:
1. dense forest countries of western Africa;
2. countries of the Sahara and other savanna countries;
3. Maghreb or North African countries;
4. countries bordering the Indian Ocean, such as Somalia, Madagascar, Reunion and Seychelles islands.
The French-speaking countries in densely forested west Africa include: Cameroon, Congo (Brazzaville), the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Ivory Coast. The Sahara countries and other countries where savanna is the dominant formation include: Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Dahomey, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Upper Volta. The Maghreb countries of north Africa include: Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.
According to Timber trends anal prospects in Africa, it is estimated that the forests of Africa cover some 683 million hectares or 23 percent of the land area. The largest areas of forest are found in west Africa with an important area in east Africa, since 407 million hectares of forest are found in west Africa compared with 251 million hectares in east Africa. The comparison of the total forest area and closed forest or Mediterranean forest compared to the total area of the country may give a good indication of the needs for the forestry education (Table 1).
TABLE 1. - TOTAL FOREST AREA AND TOTAL CLOSED FOREST AREA COMPARED WITH TOTAL AREA OF REGIONS
|
|
Total area of regions |
Total forest area |
Closed forest |
||
|
Million hectares |
Percent |
Million hectares |
Percent |
||
|
English -speaking region |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Eastern |
969,2 |
136,6 |
14,1 |
7,8 |
0,8 |
|
Western |
135,7 |
53,1 |
39,1 |
17,6 |
13,0 |
|
French-speaking region |
|
|
|
|
|
|
West Africa |
399,8 |
206,0 |
52,0 |
150,2 |
38,0 |
|
Savanna countries |
600,8 |
73,7 |
12,3 |
2,4 |
1,9 |
|
Maghreb |
299,8 |
8,6 |
2,9 |
1,6 |
0,6 |
|
Countries bordering Indian Ocean |
123,4 |
19,2 |
15,5 |
9,8 |
7,9 |
From Table 1 it is obvious that the needs for forestry education in the different countries must to some extent follow the pattern of the distribution of the forests in the regions. For instance, all the western countries of Africa, whether French- or English-speaking, are the ones where the greatest proportion of land is covered by forest, with 39.1 percent in English-speaking countries and 52 percent in French-speaking countries. This represents the most important area of closed forest yet there is no French-speaking forestry faculty in the same region, while there are two English-speaking forestry faculties.
VOLUME OF WOOD
The overall volume of the forests in Africa is not known although inventories have been made on portions of the most important areas in forested countries. But most of the inventory has yet to be carried out in west Africa, and it is expected that, even by using modern inventory techniques, it will take many years before it is completed, owing to the high cost of such large-scale inventory work and lack of trained personnel. It is realized that, as has been the case in other countries with large forest areas, intensive inventory usually reveals more wood than a rough estimate.
GROWTH AND POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
Although there are several permanent sample plots in some countries, figures on the growth of tropical forests are not available, and it is very hard to determine what would be the potential production of such forests.
TIMBER PRODUCTION AND USE
It can be said that, because of population increase in Africa, the forest area has a tendency to decrease markedly. For instance, it is estimated that in west Africa the area covered by the forest is only 60 percent of the original. The same is true of the Mediterranean forest in north Africa.
Table 2 gives a summary of wood removals from the main regions of Africa, as compiled for Timber trends and prospects in Africa.
TABLE 2. - WOOD REMOVED IN THREE REGIONS OF AFRICA, 1961
|
|
Logs |
Roundwood |
Fuelwood |
|
Thousands of cubic metres |
|||
|
East Africa |
1600 |
4800 |
90000 |
|
West Africa |
8000 |
5000 |
80000 |
|
North Africa |
100 |
350 |
4350 |
It should be observed that these statistics for wood removal are for the 1959-61 period and that logging has since increased considerably in most countries of Africa, particularly in western countries like Cameroon, Gabon and Ivory Coast. So this should be considered as minimum. However, to give an idea of the impact of the population on the destruction of forest area, it has been estimated that in Ivory Coast each farmer clears some 4 hectares of forest in the course of his life. In so doing he is destroying a volume of wood which is much larger than what he could use during the same period of time.
MAN - MADE FOREST
As a compensation for wood utilization in Africa, manmade forests appear to be a solution that may be of determining importance in savanna countries where forest stands yield only a low amount of wood per unit area. It would appear that the largest area of plantations occurs in the countries of east Africa, including Madagascar, which in 1962 had the largest plantation area with 165 000 hectares, followed by Kenya with 93 000 hectares, and Rwanda and Burundi with 67 500 hectares. In west Africa plantations are not as large, as most of this area is already covered by dense forest. The total area of man - made forest in west Africa is 182 000 hectares, mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Plantations are continued and expanded very actively in Gabon and also in Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria. In west Africa the effect of man-made forests has yet to be felt, whereas in east Africa, mainly in Kenya and Madagascar, plantations are yielding an increasing amount of industrial timber. It should be noted that in east Africa coniferous species are being planted; but in west Africa very few conifer plantations have been made and these are only at an experimental stage. Most plantations are of okoumé, limba, cassia and eucalyptus.
FUTURE USE
It is expected that forest logging will increase considerably in future and there exist plans in many African countries for the development and the establishment of the pulp and paper industry. Expanded use is being made of the tropical forest basin mainly in Cameroon, the second and. third sections of Gabon, and in the Central African Republic. Plans to open the equatorial section of' the Democratic Republic of the Congo are also being considered. In. closed tropical forest countries it should be borne in mind that one of the main tasks would be to utilize a greater portion of the closed forest and also to try to find uses for many of the tropical species which :have good technological properties. However, it is likely that African woods will in future meet stiffer competition on the international market from woods coming from Asia, or South America. On the other hand, there might be an expanding market in North America for good quality African timbers if they were better known by the North American wood industry.
More wood could also be used in local construction where sometimes materials are imported from distant countries while good timber is left unused in the surrounding forest. The establishment of a larger panel industry using tropical species and of large pulp and paper industries does not appeal to lie in the immediate future. However, the wood is there but it seems to be linked with the expansion of the market, since the world pulp and paper industry has a production capacity larger than the market can absorb. Furthermore, several technological problems have to be solved before establishing large modern pulp and paper industries that can efficiently utilize the tropical species of Africa. This, however, would be a long - term solution for the more complete use of the timber resources of tropical forest.
Rehabilitation of depleted lands and watersheds will also be a major task since repeated destruction by fire of the vegetation in tropical Africa leads to the destruction of soil fertility. In savanna countries large plantations of adapted species will have to be established at least to meet the need for fuelwood since it is here that the largest concentrations of populations are found. Watershed management has also a great importance in the semiarid areas where reforestation and water control becomes of key importance to populations, agriculture and grazing.
RESETTLEMENT AND LAND REFORM
Land tenure and the pattern of land ownership are important problems of forestry development in Africa considering that the customary tenure is tribal control of the land and that the development of forest management policy is based on stability of tenure and control of forest operations over a long period of time. The establishment of forest reserves is very important both for the maintenance and development of game management as well as for the control, introduction or extension of bush fallow, which has resulted in the destruction of vast areas of forests. The same problem is also found in the savanna countries where uncontrolled burning of the savanna after each rainy season results :in the destruction of forest regeneration and, sometimes, in the degradation of the soil. In many countries of Africa, pasture management is also linked with soil conservation and the conservation of forest lands.
Any long-term policy for the rational use of the land will require the training of local specialists and technicians to understand the problems of their country and the ability to solve them. Furthermore, there is a tendency in Africa as elsewhere for the agricultural population to congregate around large towns and an ever-increasing number of rural people are deserting the land for the better living conditions which they hope to find in the cities. Perhaps one extreme example of this situation is the tremendous increase in the population of Kinshasa where numbers soared from around 300 000 to close to 2 million inhabitants from 1958 to 1968.
National parks, wildlife and recreation
Park management, game reserves and tourism in Africa will become increasingly important as the countries achieve political stability and attract investments to develop tourism in Africa. Already, interesting results have been obtained particularly in east Africa and this might be just the beginning of an important trend. However, much of the attraction of Africa for tourists comes from the conservation of its natural resources, the organization of the forest reserves and efficient wildlife management which can also contribute to raising the protein content in the human diet.
In short, a basic condition for the development of all the natural resources of Africa is the proper training of all personnel.
All levels of forestry education should be integrated into a system designed to achieve optimum development and use of the forestry environment. Education of the public at large should also be included in this system. In many areas where the rural population traditionally lives in the forests and has toward the forest environment relations that are deeply anchored even in their religious traditions, it might be impractical to try to develop a policy that would contrast abruptly with these traditions. Even with a very good group of technicians the best forest policy will not mean very much, if the people do not understand its importance and do not agree, at least to some extent, to cooperate in its application. The development of a forestry education system for Africa should consider education at the professional and technician levels and the training of guards, foremen and skilled workmen.
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION IN FORESTRY
Professional education should be understood as university training in all the forest sciences: not only silviculture but also management, logging and wood processing. It should be understood that this education will be at university level and that the student will be granted a university degree. Forestry faculties should be integrated into a university as much as possible, so as to take advantage of other teaching taking place on the campus.
Modern forestry includes not only the physical and biological sciences but also the human and social sciences, economics and engineering. It should be remembered that the development of large forest areas supposes considerable use of engineering and also a careful regard for efficiency and the best method of management, taking into account the social problems of the people living in or near the forest who are liable to be affected by the application of large management plan and intensive logging.
The forestry course should be organized with the cooperation of all the other disciplines, but it should be separate from the agricultural course. Modern forestry is sufficiently developed and has enough problems, particularly in tropical countries, to require the allotment of the whole time available in order to give the students proper training. It could be considered as a working hypothesis that a forestry faculty should develop along the lines of three sections or departments: forest environment, i.e. land classification, soil fertilization, biology and ecology; techniques of silviculture and management, dendrometry, statistics, legislation, logging; and wood processing, the organization of work, the planning of industries, sawmilling, panels and pulp and paper industries, and also wood chemistry and timber physics. A four-year course would be required for degree in forestry or its equivalent. It might well happen that in special cases a preparatory year would be needed to give an adequate background before teaching in forestry could begin. It should also be considered that a general background at undergraduate level should be given to forestry students, rather than too specialized teaching. Experience in many countries with large tracts of virgin undeveloped lands is that the forestry engineer is expected to have varied capacities and to respond to urgent needs in isolated locations without much help.
POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION
Postgraduate teaching is closely related to the development of research and it is very hard to conceive a modern faculty of forestry without any research being carried out by the teaching staff. However, this must come as a second step in the development of education and it might be profitable for many of the students to carry out their postgraduate work either totally or in part outside their country, in specialized schools in Europe or America. However, care should be taken to maintain good relations between teachers in African schools of forestry and those in other countries to ensure that these students devote their time to problems of interest to their own country, so that they can use their knowledge to contribute to the development of forestry on their return home. Too often, postgraduate students left to themselves study in too narrow or too specialized fields requiring, for instance, equipment that they will not have when they return so that it becomes difficult for them to adapt themselves.
One of the biggest challenges in forestry education is the education of the public, since so many facets of forestry development in Africa may depart from the traditional methods of land use. Specialists well versed in conditions in different countries and in the traditions of the inhabitants should be trained to help in obtaining a better general understanding of forest policy, whether it is the preservation of the savanna against fire, the care of plantations or forest management policy.
Forestry is a natural science which is behind agriculture as regards a backlog of accumulated knowledge, and this holds true even in the most developed countries, where intensive forestry has been practiced for many years. Where tropical forests are concerned this is equally true and, although much worthwhile work has been done and there are at present many research projects in Africa, further research is required on a number of practical forestry problems.
New methods have to be developed, for instance in forestry inventory, adapted to the special conditions of the African forest and taking into consideration the numerous species involved and the complexity of the structure of these forest stands. The dendrometry of the African species has to be studied more closely and an evaluation made of the rate of growth of the tropical forest, its dynamics and the relation between the soil and the growth of the forest. Where plantations are concerned, it seems that the relationship between trees and the fertility of the soil is most important. It is sometimes possible to observe marked deficiencies in plantations in Africa and there are serious problems in some areas of strong competition. The effect of the use of silvicides applied to the tropical forest would also be interesting. However, it is to be expected that at the beginning external help will be required to organize research and produce some of the solutions, until a sufficient number of well-trained national foresters at doctorate level are ready to organize such research. There is no doubt that the present pattern of forestry education in Africa as a whole does allow much for such development in the immediate future.
FORESTRY EDUCATION AT TECHNICIAN LEVEL
Forestry can only be practised effectively with a sufficient number of well-trained technicians. It is variously estimated that four to ten technicians are needed to work for one professional forester, according to the area and the problems under consideration. In most African countries it seems that the number of technical schools is adequate for the time being, but most of them should be developed in such a way that more young men will be attracted by this career.
In future one very important trend in development should be the preparation of technicians trained for forest logging and timber processing, in sawmilling, the organization of timber sales, wood classification and mensuration. Eventually, with the possible development of the pulp and paper industry, specialized technicians for these industries would also be required for their proper development and functioning.
At the level of forest guards, foremen or skilled labourers, much more work should be done, although there are already several interesting projects all over Africa which seem to be giving excellent results. It should be remembered that in many cases courses at this level should be given in local languages; this might help to attract more people, and so increase more rapidly the supply of skilled labour essential to a developing country.
Forestry extension work with the general public should be undertaken by the forestry schools, so that foresters and forest technicians would be closer to the people educate them in forest or savanna protection, afforestation and a general understanding of forestry and its value to their growing prosperity. Education by audio-visual means, television, radio and films should be widely used. This would require the use of special films and other documentation to illustrate the main practices of forestry and their purpose.
REQUIREMENTS OF FORESTRY AND FOREST INDUSTRIES
There are no very large forest industries in Africa. Most of the wood is not processed locally but is exported to be processed, mainly in Europe. The total production of a well-forested country like Gabon is less than the amount of wood logged by a single large company in eastern Canada. There is no single large cellulose or paper plant in Africa. Most of the technicians employed in the logging, processing and marketing of wood are expatriates. The same is true as regards the personnel for the administrative services and the development of management or afforestation policies, as well as for the inventory of the resources.
The situation is much more serious in the French speaking than in the English-speaking countries, although the number of foresters and forest technicians required in both groups is very large if rational forestry practices are to be developed in Africa during the next 15 or 20 years.
Table 3, based on forestry targets for 1985 laid down under the Indicative World Plan for Agricultural Development (IWP), shows the actual number of tecnicians in the English-speaking and French-speaking groups of countries in Africa and the estimated number that would be required by 1985.
It will be seen that in the 15 French-speaking countries considered there are 40 professionals as compared to 260 in the 9 English-speaking countries, and only 360 technicians compared with 1 500. The requirements for both groups of countries are about the same, with 960 professionals required by 1985 for the English speaking countries, as compared with 870 in the French speaking countries, and 4 950 technicians in English speaking as compared with 4 650 in the French-speaking ones.
TABLE 3. - PRESENT AND ESTIMATED NUMBER OF FOREST TECHNICIANS IN AFRICA
|
|
Present |
Required by 1985 |
||
|
Professional |
Technical |
Professional |
Technical |
|
|
English-speaking |
|
|
|
|
|
(9 countries) |
260 |
1500 |
960 |
4950 |
|
French-speaking |
|
|
|
|
|
(15 countries) |
40 |
360 |
870 |
4620 |
¹ Figures are subject to revision pending replies to an FAO questionnaire which has been despatched to the various forest services concerned.
Thus in the French-speaking group the number of professional staff needed is 22 times the present figure, and that of technical personnel close to 13 times. In most cases a significant number of professional posts in the French-speaking group are now occupied by expatriates and most -of the forest services are operating below their approved establishment strength.
EXISTING INSTITUTIONS AND FUTURE NEEDS
Professional level
In the English-speaking countries, there is already a department of forestry at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, which offers a complete professional course for English - speaking students and is playing a very important role in the training of professional foresters for English-speaking countries mainly of west Africa including the English - speaking part of Cameroon. Training facilities are also available at the College of Agriculture and Forestry at the University of Monrovia, Liberia. In English-speaking east Africa there is a forestry school at professional level now in its development stage in Uganda.
In the French-speaking countries, on the other hand, there is no professional school at university level. However, the Cap Esterias School in Gabon is being developed to give training at the :level of ingénieurs des travaux, a three - year course after the baccalauréat.
Technical level
In the whole of Africa there are at present only 12 technical schools giving some forestry training. In the English-speaking countries there are 8 technical schools; in Ghana and in Nigeria, and in Kenya, Malawi, the Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. In the French speaking countries, there are altogether four technical schools, in Cameroon, Gabon and Ivory Coast - and one in Madagascar, in conjunction with an agricultural school. There is a school of wildlife management in Tanzania, and a similar school is being established at Garoua, Cameroon, for the French - speaking countries.
The combined output of all these schools is 210 technicians - 170 for the English-speaking schools and 40 for the French-speaking group. The potential output of these schools is estimated at 300 technicians a year.
Future needs
In the immediate future it is considered that at the professional level there is an urgent need for the establishment of two forestry schools in French-speaking countries: one in Cameroon or Ivory Coast and the other in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the English - speaking area plans are already prepared to expand the present facilities in Nigeria and Uganda.
At the technical level it is hoped to :reach a total of 4950 technicians by 1985 in English-speaking countries; the present annual output should be raised to 385 which means an additional output of 215 each year. In the French - speaking countries much greater efforts will be required to provide trained manpower if the targets for 1985 are to be reached. The output of technicians will have to be raised from the present 40 to 410 a year, an additional annual output of 370.
A new school will have to be established in Ethiopia to train some 40 technicians starting in 1971, if the targets are to be reached. For the remaining English speaking schools only minor expansions of the existing facilities would be required. In the French-speaking countries, on the other hand, the production of technicians must be increased markedly, and it is suggested that in Cameroon there should be an annual output of 35 technicians. (It should be noted that there is a proposal to train around 100 technicians a year at a new school to be built in Cameroon with bilateral aid). In Gabon production should reach some 83 technicians a year, in Ivory Coast 95 and in Madagascar 33. A school will need to be established in Congo (Brazzaville) with an output of 21 technicians a year, and at least two schools in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with an output of 40 technicians per year. In the Central African Republic about 18 technicians a year will be required. Chad, Dahomey and Togo together will require some 19 technicians a year, and the savanna countries (Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Upper Volta), 27. It is suggested that the Bouaké School for Savanna in Ivory Coast should be expanded to satisfy the needs of these countries.
QUALITATIVE STANDARDS
Preparation of teachers
A course on teaching methods and techniques for instructors at technical level forestry schools was organized by FAO in Sweden in May/June 1967 in cooperation with the Swedish International Development Authority. This course dealt with educational and physiological psychology, educational measurements, and teaching methods and techniques. A series of courses was also given on teaching aids, more particularly audio-visual methods. These were followed by demonstration lessons and teaching practice. A similar course for French-speaking instructors was organized during July/August 1967 at Nogent-sur-Vernisson, France. It is expected that these courses will be continued in order to raise the standards of instructors at technician level and to acquaint them with the most modern methods of teaching.
At university level most instructors will have to be expatriates, and the requirement should be what is usually expected from a university professor.
SALARIES OF TEACHERS
Apparently the question of having a sufficiently high salary for teachers in the forestry technical schools is a fundamental problem, and it should be studied very carefully for each country. External financial assistance may have to be provided during at least the first years to ensure the quality of the teaching.
EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES
It seems that most of the technical schools will require investments for better equipment and that in many cases the facilities will have to be improved so that adequate teaching programmes can be developed. In some instances even the most elementary modern equipment is lacking, and this certainly does not help in improving the quality of the teaching.
ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS
If useful technicians are to be trained, requirements for technical schools should be such that a student will be accepted only after 11 to 12 years of general education depending on the system of education adopted in the different countries.
At university level, students will be accepted after 12 to 13 years' general education, or the equivalent of the baccalauréat in the French-speaking countries. In many instances, it appears that they would have to have one year in fundamental sciences before they could start on forestry sciences.
As a personal opinion, the author does not favour admission on the basis of competitive examinations because he thinks that students should be selected on the basis of their ability to follow a curriculum of forestry sciences rather than on their ability to succeed in matters which might be of less importance for the practice of forestry.
PRESENT STATUS AND FUTURE NEEDS BY COUNTRIES AND SUBREGIONS
In the English-speaking countries of west Africa the planned expansion of the present facilities in Nigeria and the strengthening of tile forestry school in Monrovia should be enough to meet the need for professional foresters for the immediate future. However, postgraduate work could be gradually developed to deal with the main problems met in these countries. The same is equally true for the technical forestry schools in Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone which will have to be expanded to meet the 1985 targets.
In English-speaking east Africa, the proposed Department of Forestry at Makerere, Uganda, should be able to meet most needs. However, another faculty of forestry should be established later in a more southern region to take care of the vast programme of afforestation needed in these areas as well as the management of tropical forests. As far as the technical schools are concerned, it is mostly a problem of expansion and strengthening rather than the creation of new schools, except in Ethiopia which needs a technical school.
Professional education in forestry for French-speaking west Africa, where most of the tropical forest is found, is a much more serious problem. From the studies made during 1968 in this area, it is suggested that a professional school should be established within the universities either of Cameroon or of Ivory Coast, and also that another one should be established in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It is recommended that all technical forestry schools in French-speaking Africa be enlarged to increase considerably their potential output. Some means of inducing students to study forestry should also be considered, because this is a very serious problem. New technical schools should be established in the immediate future in Congo (Brazzaville) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where there is a very great need for technicians.
Forestry professionals required for the savanna countries could be recruited from among the graduates from Cameroon or Ivory Coast, when these faculties have been established. Technicians could be trained at the Savanna School at Bouaké, Ivory Coast, which could be developed and expanded to take care of these new needs. The school at Cap Esterias could also be expanded to graduate a greater number of technicians, thus meeting the needs in the immediate future of Central African Republic and perhaps also partly those of Congo (Brazzaville).
In the Maghreb, a forestry school should be established which could also be used to satisfy the needs of the Arab countries bordering the Mediterranean, which are at present utilizing the training facilities available in Iraq, the United Arab Republic and elsewhere.
In the French-speaking countries bordering the Indian Ocean, the technical school in Madagascar should be expanded and its programme reviewed, but professional foresters could obtain their education in west Africa for the time being. For the next five to ten years, postgraduate education may have to be obtained elsewhere until the forestry faculties are strong enough to develop a good postgraduate curriculum.
Continuing education in all these five regions could be. developed later, when a proper system of schools is well established and the immediate needs for professional foresters and technicians fulfilled. It should be underlined that there is a pressing need for technicians capable of organizing logging operations and with a good training in public or private administration.
At the level of guards, foremen and skilled labourers, there are already various FAO projects for the development of apprenticeship in several countries. These should be continued to ensure that skilled labour will gradually increase in Africa. It seems that the apprenticeship programmes are very satisfactory and they should be extended as the need is felt.
COST OF A SUGGESTED PROGRAMME
It can be estimated that the establishment of a complete modern faculty of forestry would cost about $1 million. This would include the cost of the buildings and the equipment for a faculty with at least three good departments, with a staff of 15 to 20 full-time professors and the capacity to produce between 30 and 35 students every year, six to seven years after its establishment. Training a professional forester at the university would cost about $3000 per year, while the average cost for training a technician would be $3500 for a two-year course.
In view of the present situation in most African countries, it would be very difficult for them to meet the cost of such an expansion in their forestry education programme. To train the 1700 professional foresters and 10000 technicians needed by 1985 would require the investment of about $45 million from 1970 to 1985. It is obvious that such a large sum cannot be raised by the African countries alone; they will need massive help from multilateral and bilateral aid agencies to reach the target of the Indicative World Plan for 1985.
Implementation of such a programme would result in the development of a forestry economy enabling many countries to take better advantage of their natural resources and contributing to their normal evolution and economic stability. Failure to recognize the necessity to invest massively in the development of forestry education in Africa would certainly result in more tension and in a strained economy.
Until such time as enough graduates become available, outside assistance should continue, mainly in administration, forest inventory and forest policy. A special effort should be made in the French-speaking countries, where development in logging has not been matched by a commensurate development in forest administration and management. At the same time, the present research programme should include more programmes initiated to ensure better use of the forest resources of Africa.
In some countries of west Africa, the situation seems comparable to the logging of the white pine stands in eastern Canada during the nineteenth century, which resulted in the almost complete disappearance of this industry after the virgin forest had been depleted without any attention being given to management. The consequences of continuing such selective felling in the tropical forest must be seriously considered. Already fears are expressed that in some countries the industry is ready to move away. This would undoubtedly result in serious economic problems.
