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JEHU ONYEKWERE NNAJI 1
The art and science of managing forests has brought about a wide range of environmental and socio-economic benefits.
Forestry which is the gateway to the numerous benefits accruing from forests has employed some tools in its operation to help realize the target goals and objectives which in turn lead to progress in all forests operations.
The most major tool used in actualizing target goals and objectives is POLICY. The need for forest and the utilization of forest products are so relevant in the sustenance of life that a great deal of caution is employed to create harmony between the two and this is achieved by means of appropriate legislation and policy formulation.
This means the provision of an effective buffer between forest policies and short-term governments. The comprehensive forest policy must take into account the need of related organizations- wood users, importers and exporters while taking cognizance of the need to maintain a healthy and stable bio-diversity.
According to the New Zealand institute of Forest Policy; "Forestry is the art and science of managing forests so as to secure a wide range of environmental and socio-economic benefits."
Forests have being lost or degraded as a result of some but not limited to the following reasons:
For whichever reason that is adduced, the fact is that logging and deforestation have presented untold hardship on ecology and life.
In the tropics, logging is commonly followed by deforestation and agriculture which in turn degrade the soil precluding subsequent continuous cultivation and pasturing. Agriculture persists on the best sites leaving the poorer ones to the forests.
Considering the scenario above, there is need for forest plantations. The need for forest plantations was recognized decades ago by Champion (1949). He pointed out that there a re millions of hectares of land that should be afforested as soon as possible for society's benefit. He further stated that although the technology to restore forests may be based on incomplete understanding of the underlying principles, the work must proceed in the light of existing experience.
The extent of forest plantations in the tropics will be determined by the degree to which they can compete with other land uses, meet growing demand for wood, out produce alternative wood sources and protect the environment for future generations.
Forest plantations have attracted more interest and investments than the management of natural forests, primarily because of their high productivity potential.
Earl (1972) described how emphasis on commercial gain has led to shorter tree rotations and even-aged, pure stands (plantations). He foresaw that wood for fuel will be increasingly in demand for at least fifty (50) years, even if an infinite source of pollution-free energy can be found.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (Anon.1981g) summarized the need for forest plantations as follows:
The decline of sustainability in forestry and of sustainable forest management and conservation and the U-turn back to willful and wanton resource mining have been possible because the governments disempowered their forest services who in response became and de-motivated. Politician took over control of timber licensing and privately participated in the concession system.
Politically correct and fashionable beliefs during the 1980's insisted that the tropical rainforest was too fragile an ecosystem and too difficult to regenerate for timber to be managed sustainably, and therefore should be left untouched. Any forestry or logging intervention, so it was preached, might trigger a cascade of events towards eventual ecosystem collapse such a cascade has never been observed and is most unlikely to occur. But the axiomatic dogma of fragility and the do-no-touch doctrine have helped the strategy of the major timber importing countries to fend off the re-introduction of well known and proven practices of orderly and accountable harvesting, sustainable management and reliable control. The timber miners won breathing space and time, the destruction of rainforests continued unabatedly.
The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) deals with much more than timber. ITTO is an intergovernmental organization with 57 member governments, more than half of which are tropical countries that together contain about 80% of the World's tropical forests.
The agreement under which ITTO operates was perhaps the first international agreement to embody the principles of sustainable development. It recognizes that a sustainable tropical timber trade- an important element in the economic development of many tropical countries- will be based on the sustainable management of the tropical forest resource. Since its beginnings, ITTO has therefore focused on three key areas of work: encouraging the further processing of tropical timber in tropical countries; bringing transparency to the tropical timber trade; and improving the standard of forest management.
ITTO has developed several policies agreed by all its members, for the sustainable management of natural tropical forest, including guidelines for the conservation of biological diversity in production forest and criteria and indicators for the monitoring of trends in forest management.
ITTO recognizes the need of involving local people in both the process of forest management and its rewards; at least 50% of its portfolio of field projects has a strong community focus.
Totally protected areas are also an important element of sustainable forest management at the landscape level. ITTO is currently funding projects to establish and manage about 11 million hectares of totally protected areas and their buffer zones in the tropics. Many of these are transboundary, taking advantage of ITTO's ability to bring countries together.
The organization's sustainable forest management oriented projects include pilot initiative in sustainable forest management over about 3 million hectares. ITTO is also developing a significant program in reduced impact logging training, including a training school in Guyana and plans to establish similar schools in several other tropical countries. It has backed up this policy work with a sweeping program of projects with total value over ITTO's lifetime of 230 million US dollars. At any one time, the organization employs through this program about 500 forestry and conservation professionals in the tropics.
A very large amount of the tropical forest estate has been degraded by logging, agriculture and other agents. The organization is currently finalizing new guidelines for the management of secondary forests, the restoration of degraded forests and the rehabilitation of degraded forest lands.
Recently, steps has been take to address illegal logging and illegal trade including global work to increase the transparency of the trade, a new field project in Indonesia and provision of funds to assist government wishing to strengthen their forest law enforcement Capacity.
Given that producing and processing timber often requires a lot land and capital which poor people don't have and that past investments in forestry and conservation has less impact than hoped, it is imperative to study forest because;
1. Bruenig E. (1998). Sustainable Forestry, Environment and Society. Botanica 48: 1-13.
2. Champion H. G. (1949). Biology and Technique of Afforestation. In: Proceedings, World Forestry Congress; 1949; Brasilia, Brazil. 1: 14-20.
3. Earl D. E. (1972). Does Forestry need a new ethos? Commonwealth Forestry Review.2(151): 82-89
PERIODICALS/JOURNALS
1. Commonwealth Forestry Association Newsletter, June 2002
2. International Society of Tropical Foresters Newsletter, December 1999
1 NIGERIA