Forest resources of Latin America
Exploitation of forest resources
Production and marketing of new wood species
Integration of forest industries
Organization of forest services
Training of personnel
The Forest inventory
Forest legislation
THIS interim respecting the forest resources of Latin America covers the region extending southward from the United States-Mexico boundary to Cape Horn, including those islands of the Caribbean for which estimates are available. Here are to be found the largest reserves of unexploited forests remaining in the world.
Unfortunately, the state of our knowledge respecting the nature and extent of the forests of the region is unsatisfactory. In order to prepare the table appearing at the end of this page it was necessary to draw upon many sources of information which varied widely in completeness, accuracy, and data. The table does, however, give a preliminary basis for discussion.
Latin America comprises an area of nearly 2,100 million hectares and is inhabited by about 150 million people. Forests cover 40 percent of the total area of the region, or about 824 million hectares. There are, then, 5.5 hectares of forest per inhabitant.
It is estimated that about 10 percent of the total forest area is of too poor a quality to be classed as a future source of forest products other than fuel. Consequently, not more than 740 million hectares can be classed as "productive" forest. It is not yet possible to estimate, for the region as a whole, how much of the productive forest area can now be reached by commercial operations and how much should still be classed as inaccessible. Neither can we estimate, as yet, what proportion of the forests should be reserved for such purposes as the protection of watersheds.
Available information indicates that about 97 percent of the productive forest is composed of broad-leaved trees, 2 percent of pure coniferous (softwood) type, and 1 percent of mixedwood. Applying these percentages to the productive forest area, we arrive at the following distribution:
|
Forest type |
Million hectares |
|
Broadleaved |
718 |
|
Conifers |
15 |
|
Mixedwoods |
7 |
|
Total |
740 |
1 SOURCES: 1. FAO Forest Inventory Questionnaire 1947 2. Periodic Reports from Governments to FAO. 3. Informal reports to FAO. 4. International Institute of Agriculture Yearbooks. 5. U.S.D.A. Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations. 6. U.S.D.C. Industrial Reference Service. 7. Miscellaneous references.
The broadleaved forests contain a very great variety of tree species, but only a few, such as the valuable mahogany and greenheart, enjoy established positions in world markets. Other species have found limited markets within Latin America itself, but there remain a great many tree species for which no markets exist and which cannot yet contribute anything to the prosperity of the countries in which they stand.
The physical difficulties of extracting and transporting logs from many of the broadleaved forests are great and the costs of production high. Costs are further increased when it is only possible to harvest two or three dozen trees of selected species from a square kilometer of forest.
Before the broadleaved forests of Latin America can make their full contribution to the wealth and well-being of their owners, much research must be undertaken to determine the qualities and uses of many tree species, and a great effort must be made to develop suitable markets for these "new" timbers.
The relative scarcity of coniferous (softwood) species is a striking feature of the forests of Latin America. This lack has important implications because the greatest demand on world markets is for coniferous wood. Furthermore, domestic demand for conifers is likely to increase sharply as industrialization develops within the region. There is only one-tenth of a hectare of natural coniferous forest per inhabitant, and roughly one-half of all the coniferous forests are concentrated in southern Brazil. However, some additional supplies of coniferous timber can be obtained from the limited area of mixedwoods.
It is evident that most of the population must always depend on broadleaved species for all their wood and that many new industries will have to adapt broadleaved species to their use or to rely perpetually on softwoods imported from abroad.
It is equally evident that all the softwoods that can be grown in Latin America will eventually be needed within the region. There may be a short period, while coniferous forests now idle are being opened up, when a limited surplus of coniferous timber may be available for export to other continents; but, as local markets develop, such exports are likely to become very small or to cease.
These estimates of forest areas do not include lands which formerly bore forests but are now barren. Many such areas exist and should be replanted as soon as possible, in order to protect the soil and to secure crops of timber from a resource that now lies idle. The planting of conifers, wherever conditions are suitable, is recommended as a means of relieving the shortage of coniferous timber.
More positive information respecting the extent, nature, and possibilities of the forests of Latin America is urgently needed. Only eight of the republics of the region have been able to reply to FAO's forest inventory questionnaire. Among these only one, Chile, possesses sufficient information to make possible an estimate of the relationship between current growth and current drain in the forests In Chile it has been shown that forest devastation is proceeding at an alarming rate; but, now that the government knows the facts, it is in a position to undertake remedial measures.
Forest inventories are urgently needed in all countries, partly to establish new commercial possibilities and partly to determine whether or not the forests are being depleted.
Until recently, the difficulty of access to many of the forests of Latin America has made their examination both slow and expensive. Now, however, remarkable progress in perfecting the technique of aerial forest surveys has changed the situation, and it is hoped that many new inventory projects will be undertaken in the near future. This procedure has already been commenced in some countries, including Argentina and Venezuela.
The Forestry and Forest Products Division of FAO will be glad to secure competent technical advice on forest survey methods for countries which desire it. Furthermore, the Division is preparing a list of commercial air survey companies qualified to undertake aerial forest surveys and this list will be at the disposal of Member Governments.
FILL use should be made of the forest resources of Latin America on a rational basis each country acting in accordance with its possibilities. It is worth briefly outlining the general reasoning in favor of this view.
1. Firstly, an increase in output is called for, principally as a means of satisfying growing domestic demands but also as a contribution towards world wood supplies.2. More intensive and better organized exploitation would permit reduced production costs, which should bring forest products within the reach of a greater number of potential consumers.
3. Large-scale planned exploitation of mixed tropical forests and a greater utilization of their products is the only economical means of introducing intensive silviculture and of altering growing stock, now without great value, into a permanently balanced forest of higher value. Carefully managed exploitation of pure or almost pure virgin stands, by draining off annual growth not only derives revenue from capital hitherto unproductive, but also improves the health of the growing stock.
4. Lastly, large-scale undertakings can only be based on intensive exploitation. Mechanization and industrialization economize in labor, which is offer scarce and costly, and lead to improved working conditions and a rise in standard of living.
It must be clearly realized that it is no use stepping up production unless certain other conditions are fulfilled. Timber from the forest and products of industrial plants must be marketable. That is, they must satisfy the technical requirements of users and there must be definite markets to absorb them. Products must be able to reach manufacturing centers, a fact which implies a program of public works and the provision of means of transportation. Research determines whether a particular wood is usable in one way or another.
The commercial production of timber and wood products recognized as usable is not just a matter of organizing markets. Comparative costs of production are the determining factor. It is, in fact, essential that forest products should reach trade channels of distribution at prices which can compete successfully with commodities already well known and accepted and which are also within the means of a new class of consumer with limited purchasing power. All efforts must therefore be directed to reducing costs at various phases of exploitation, conversion, and transport, by improved methods and sound utilization, although not to such an extent as to preclude proper silvicultural management.
FOREST PRODUCTS RESEARCH
To know whether a wood is usable in one way or another, its properties must be perfectly understood. In theory, the elements of detailed research should be as follows:
First, as in all forestry matters, comes knowledge of the forest itself. There are two particular aspects to this study:
1. Knowledge of each of the principal species comprising the forest. This is a problem of botanical identification, particularly important in mixed growing stocks.2. Understanding of the forest composition by quality and quantity, in particular the proportion of each of the principal species, so as to determine whether a particular wood which research has judged to be useful can be exploited and marketed in sufficient volume.
Second, the wood properties of each species must be evaluated, covering the following points:
(a) physical and mechanical properties,
(b) technical qualities, and
(c) chemical composition.
These two general lines of inquiry will establish a certain number of essential facts, mainly of theoretical importance. They must be supplemented by a third series of investigations covering industrial application, designed to disclose
(a) possible end-uses,
(b) working qualities for mechanical industries,
(c) use for chemical conversion, and
(d) possibilities and need for preservatives.
Research and testing. can be classified more exactly along scientific lines into three broad categories:
1. Biological - including botanical and forestry research, wood anatomy, and preservation against insects and fungi;2. Physical - including principally tests of physical, mechanical, technological, and working properties;
3. Chemical - comprising study of wood, various forest products, and important industrial and commercial products from the chemical point of view.
This brief outline of research requirements shows clearly the complexity of the work needed for each species. In temperate regions the number of species is! relatively small and, more particularly in Europe, the different kinds of wood have been put to various uses since olden times. Since only a limited number of species have had to be dealt with and empirical knowledge has guided the way, it has been possible to carry out recent scientific research and testing fairly rapidly, yielding results of interest very quickly.
In Latin America the problem is much more complex. Forest types vary widely and the growing stock is in some cases very mixed. Today, only a few species are commercially recognized.
We cannot, under these circumstances, immediately undertake a complete study of all species. Even if means were available, it would still be necessary to restrict investigations to certain species only and, even for these, to the more urgently important aspects, such as:
(a) botanical identification, on which all other testing is dependent and which is most important commercially;(b) density of air-dry wood, which can be used to provide an estimation of mechanical qualities;
(c) seasoning properties and immunity to attack by insects and fungi.
If large-scale extraction and industrial undertakings are to be encouraged, as they should be, initial developments must be based on species already recognized. Plans for further expansion will have to take account of results yet to be revealed through research.
How should forest products research be organized in Latin America?
1. The simplest and quickest method would appear to be to entrust the necessary work immediately to foreign institutes of established reputation, having the specialists and proper equipment required. The obvious advantages are the ease and speed with which the work could be carried out. The disadvantages are that this arrangement could only be provisional and individual forest services would have difficulty in orientating research in the right direction. Lastly, the results obtained would be incomplete. Only samples easily transportable and not perishable could be worked on by this method. Freight charges on bulky or heavy specimens would be very costly. Nor should it be forgotten that certain kinds of research have to be undertaken in the actual tropical environment where production, conversion, and utilization are to be carried out.2. In a region as vast as Latin America, local conditions must vary greatly. Countries have different needs, interests, and plans, and their own peculiar problems. It might be wise to advocate the creation of proportionately sized research institutes in each country with major forest resources. The advantages will be shown later, but the considerable disadvantages of this course must be noted: Each such establishment requires a staff of research specialists and technicians, and these need long training and are hard to find throughout the world. Costs of founding and running a complete institute may be too heavy for individual governments. Also, to take an extreme example, the subsequent division of work between neighboring countries might lead to competition which, though at first healthy, might later mean quite unnecessary duplication of effort and expenditure, completely out of proportion to the results obtained.
3. At the first meeting of FAO's Subcommittee on Unexploited Forests, delegates of different countries suggested the creation of a common forestry institute, including research laboratories and higher educational facilities, for the whole of Latin America. Such an institute could focus its program of research on problems directly touching the majority of countries, and could collect a sufficiency of personnel, equipment, and funds to undertake serious work. All the same, certain disadvantages already noted as relating to the first method still attach to the problem of the administrative organization of such an establishment. These include the necessity of working only with samples, the difficulty of studying- problems peculiar to certain countries, and the impossibility of undertaking research in particular environments.
4. The following plan, if attacked boldly. should satisfy the double aim of combining the advantages of the above methods and of avoiding as far as possible their disadvantages.
(a) First, the creation of a central forest research and training institute for all the countries of Latin America, limited in functions but serving as a documentation center and having laboratories and experiment stations capable of undertaking research, within the three broad categories given above, with transportable samples. The documentation center would collect, study, collate, and send out to the different countries all information, from local sources or from abroad, which has any bearing on Latin-American forestry or forest products. The laboratories would carry out research work requested by the different countries, in conformity with a general program laid down by a council comprising representatives of the governments participating in the work of the institute. Results obtained would be publicized in accordance with the decisions of this council.(b) Working in close harmony with this institute, each country having important forest resources should establish a subordinate local station, whose particular role would be to keep contact with the documentation center, to gather together and send off samples for study by the central institute, and to undertake research in particular environments and all other research of specific value to the government concerned.
It is obvious that such a project would take a considerable time to get properly started. In the mean time this period of planning and getting things started should not be wasted and interim aid in carrying out the basic work of inventorying should be requested from all countries with research facilities. alone the lines suggested in the first method, while at the same time opportunities should be taken of building up laboratory personnel.
A project of this or a similar nature must be given effect if the countries of Latin America want to achieve an increasing and more intensive forest output. It will necessitate not only financial support by each government but valid international co-operation. FAO's Division of Forestry and Forest Products is at the service of member countries and can in particular help in collecting all relevant information concerning the setting-up of research services and the establishment of initial working programs. FAO can also serve as an intermediary for the exchange of information between all countries and the obtaining of indispensable technicians.
ORGANIZATION OF EXPLOITATION OF FOREST RESOURCES
The products of forest exploitation can be divided into three broad categories.
1. Timber and. the principal commodities for which operations are primarily designed.2. Incidental products of the system of silvicultural treatment in force. These have great importance in forests of mixed composition, and comprise, in general, secondary species, often unknown to commerce and up to now rarely put to use, especially in sparsely populated countries. For the most part they are not marketable without treatment or processing. Quite apart from any considerations of silviculture, management should always aim at making use of them so as to spread costs of harvesting over as great a volume as possible, since costs are likely to be prohibitive if borne by only the main crop.
3. Logging waste. This is mostly put to use in heavily populated countries where wood is scarce, but in undeveloped countries is often considered of insufficient value to warrant transport charges to consumption centers and is abandoned at site. Such waste material can be converted into assets by setting up local industries, located near extraction areas, where waste can be transported at low cost and can subsequently, in the form of finished or semifinished products, provide something to be credited against the over-all cost of exploitation.
In undeveloped countries, forest exploitation, to be economically feasible, must be intensive and aim at extracting the maximum amount of all three of the above categories of products, for silvicultural, economic, and social reasons.
In pure virgin forest, comprising pure stands or a limited mixture of species, there is an excess of over-mature timber and one must initially take out a considerable volume so as eventually to obtain a maximum sustained yield. On the other hand, selection cutting in mixed tropical forests, instead of getting the growing stock into better shape, leads on the contrary to "creaming" and even to the complete elimination of the most valuable species and so to the impoverishment of the forest.
The vast scale on which exploitation of forest resources must be undertaken in these countries makes necessary a big program of public works and communications. It is obviously more economic that the considerable expenditure involved, added to the actual costs of extraction, should be spread over as great a volume of output as possible.
Commercial considerations demand that one should at all costs avoid burdening the market with small stocks of a great variety of species. Stocks of each species should be adequate for making up commercial lots and should be regularly replenished in proportion to current demand. This is particularly important with new species in which the trade has taken the trouble to interest itself and which it desires to procure in regular shipments. All this is, of course, impossible except by intensive methods of exploitation.
Finally, unexploited forest tracts are often regions lightly populated. Small-scale extraction, often with poor equipment, tends to absorb an amount of labor disproportionate to the yields obtained. Large-scale operations, well planned and furnishing big returns, can on the contrary support mechanization, thus economizing in manpower and permitting reasonable conditions of work for labor. This scale of project alone can reap all the social and economic advantages of mechanization.
In conclusion one may add that modern forest extraction operations must, directly or indirectly, be closely integrated with dependent industries. Feeding an industry always requires large quantities of raw material. As we shall see later, various industries must themselves be integrated so as to ensure to the utmost an economical utilization of all the products of the forest.
How should exploitation in Latin America be organized so as to attain these-results?
1. Above all, too great a dispersion of effort must be avoided and a general survey of all forested areas must determine which are the ones most worthwhile exploiting from the economic viewpoint. Such a survey may be too wide in scope for individual countries to carry out and should be a cooperative endeavor, so as to ensure the best concentration of effort. In this way, a certain number of natural regions may be determined, offering the best conditions for forest exploitation. Choice of regions should be based on the following considerations:(a) The existence of extensive forest tracts, easily accessible. Determination of the relative value of the growing stock should take into account commercial requirements and existing knowledge in the realm of research.(b) The tracts should be served by a considerable network of extraction routes, either natural or capable of being easily developed, so as to reduce the amount of public works necessary. They should be located near enough to the main centers of local consumption and not too far from outlets for exportable products.
(c) The presence of a sufficient population to provide the minimum manpower required, bearing in mind mechanization. Failing this, the region should be capable of affording reasonable conditions (climate, food, and accommodation) for planned immigration.
2. When a natural region has been selected which fulfills to the greatest extent the conditions laid down and which will serve as an important productive area, undertakings within the area must be carefully planned.
(a) First, a detailed plan of operations must be drawn up, including the actual distribution of undertakings on the ground, in relation to the location of resources and the possible natural or artificial extraction routes. The program of industrialization must be closely tied in with this plan.(b) On the basis of this plan, a minimum of public works must be started at once.
(c) Subsequently, a choice of extraction agencies, either public or private, must be made and the initial stages of exploitation set in motion.
(d) General rules and regulations covering exploitation must be laid down for each natural region, in keeping with the provisions of forest law and fixing conditions which will fit in with the silvicultural system of management to be imposed and which will provide for a continuous minimum output sufficient to pay off the capital invested, whatever may be the economic circumstances of the moment.
(e) Finally provision must be made for co-ordination of all extraction operations. Profitable competition between enterprises may certainly be allowed to play its part but unnecessary competition between the requirements of local industries and export demands should be eliminated. Output therefore must be controlled so as to ensure a fair distribution between competing consumers. At the same time it is a good thing to encourage co-operation between businesses, say in the field of purchase of raw materials (group purchases), in maintenance of equipment (co-operative workshops and depots), and in the management of undertakings of common interest (transportation services, public works, etc.).
3. Once each extraction scheme has fallen into place within the over-all coherent plan, initiative must rest chiefly with the directors of the various operations. Public authorities have still a role to play in lending assistance and in exercising control. Help can take the form, for instance, of guaranteeing recruitment of labor; of according facilities for the acquisition of equipment; even, in case of necessity, of providing financial backing. Control should not take the form of negative interference. Rather the aim should always be to improve production. Each enterprise must be required to draw up an exact plan of exploitation, in conformity with the general rules and regulations laid down, and forest services should closely superintend the carrying out of its provisions.
If exploitation is well planned, and if expanding forest output is matched by a considered schedule of equipment and industrialization, the resulting production should be assured of being placed on the market.
ESTABLISHING WOOD INDUSTRIES
The importance of industrialization is self-evident:
In most cases, it is a prime requisite of a rational exploitation of the forest resources of an undeveloped country.
Necessity and Importance of Industrialization.
In considering the planning of exploitation, we have seen that it is not only necessary to extract and use the principal timbers, but also the incidental products of the silvicultural methods of treatment and the waste resulting from harvesting the main crop.
In countries where resources are limited or the population is heavy, practically the whole forest output can find a sale in the form of roundwood or after crude conversion by local woodworkers. In undeveloped and sparsely populated countries, on the other hand, if the poorer quality materials are to help towards the high costs of development, they must be converted into products of value, in the form of finished or semifinished commodities.
The cost of handling very big logs generally precludes transportation over long distances. Apart from this, these big logs are used in industries where the value of the finished product is low in proportion to the cost of the raw material. They should not, therefore, involve any unnecessary expenditure and should be converted as close as possible to extraction routes.
All industrial conversion offers the advantage that it increases values while at the same time it decreases the volume or weight of products by the elimination of manufacturing waste. The resulting economy in costs of transport, though relatively little for certain commodities, is very considerable for others. Sawing permits a 50 percent reduction of the volume of the rough log, and chemical conversion even more. A product which must bear costly transportation charges for long-distance hauls is therefore better converted at source, so that subsequent expenses can be spread over manufactured commodities of greater market value.
Certain species, in particular softwoods and woods rich in starch, are quickly attacked after felling by insects and fungi and are rapidly rendered unusable, especially in tropical environments. It is difficult and expensive to treat them with preservatives in the log stage. They can only be rendered immune if they are treated after being cut up or if cutting and treatment are done immediately after extraction. These kinds of timber can therefore only be dealt with by setting up local industries. They must otherwise be abandoned at site.
We have given here the principal reasons why industrialization is a necessary adjunct of forest exploitation. Other beneficial consequences may be briefly noted.
The social advantages are obvious. A certain number of prime commodities can be offered at low prices to local consumers, whose well-being and standard of living is thereby affected. Forest industries provide work for the population, while-mechanization at all stages makes this work congenial and leads to more technical opportunities of a higher grade.
From the economic point of view, if wood products destined for export can be increased in value through prior industrial conversion, trade balances will be improved and countries will be enabled to acquire greater amounts of foreign exchange for other commercial activities, a point of some import under present conditions.
To a certain extent, trade with other countries in manufactured wood products is always easier to arrange than trade in raw materials. Certain species, new to commerce and little known, may not be acceptable as rough logs to countries whose industries are not equipped or adapted to work them. Where special manufacturing methods are called for, special industries should be located near sources of supply rather than be spread all over the world.
Industrial Programs - Integration of Industries
There is one main fundamental principle. We must strive towards the most complete forest utilization possible. With this end in view, we can divide timber and its by-products into three broad categories: rough products destined for export, raw material for primary mechanical industries and raw material for chemical and semichemical industries. Timber in the round should only go for export when it is of sufficient value in the rough to bear the whole cost of marketing.
Mechanical conversion industries (saw mills, plywood plants, etc.) have the advantage of being simple. Techniques are in general straightforward. Costs of installation and working are relatively small and only a reasonable number of engineers and technicians are demanded. There is the drawback, however, that they are exacting in the quality of raw material required.
Chemical industries are much more complex. Installation is expensive, many specialists are required, markets fluctuate and are difficult to forecast, and techniques are still being evolved. There are, however, two instances where they may be important - when they can produce commodities in short supply on domestic or world markets and when they can enable full use to be made of all the species which go to make up the average tropical forest. This last is impossible of achievement with purely mechanical industries.
A program of industrialization should be based on:
1. Material factors (value and composition of the forest, capital, and technicians available), technological knowledge, and technical possibilities.2. Current demand or, where a demand is still to be created, the financial prospects which will vary according to the species concerned.
The mixed composition of certain forests, the necessity of getting the maximum out of them, and the limitations of individual types of plants, all demand a planned integration of industries of various kinds for each natural region so that all the products of the forest may be utilized to the greatest advantage.
Is it possible to devise and set in motion in Latin America so detailed and comprehensive a plan of industrialization and equipment?
Techniques in certain industries are not readily applicable to Latin-American conditions, especially in the matter of the treatment and manufacturing processes needed for little-known tropical woods. The commercial possibilities of certain finished products or by-products are still not established. It would be better, therefore, as a first step, to restrict action to setting up a maximum of the least complex and most remunerative industries. The installation costs of these industries can be quickly paid off, a factor which will further developments at a later stage. At first it will be necessary to leave certain categories of secondary timbers and logging waste rather than seek to put them to use by imperfect methods. The best course would be to concentrate on the setting-up of pilot plants for perfecting techniques, working out the right provision of raw material experimenting on routine functioning, and determining the correct end-uses of the products. After all these preliminaries have been determined, the second phase will be the execution of the complete plan of industrialization.
Such industrialization projects, even if carried out only on a small scale, will necessitate vigorous action. Apart from the research involved, considerable capital investment and a supply of technicians will particularly have to be looked for.
The nations of Latin America will, to a large degree, need to call on international organizations and on certain foreign countries for assistance. The interest of the latter, whose aid is essential, can obviously not be aroused except on the basis of carefully planned and coherent programs.
NEW wood species, that is, woods not now used commercially, fall into two categories: those which are growing in regions which are already being extensively exploited; and those in regions which have not been exploited or which have merely been selectively logged for certain species usually of high value such as cedar, mahogany, teak, and greenheart.
The nonutilization of the first group of species in forests already subject to logging operations is usually found to be due to such factors as relatively bad form of trees; smaller size; and the presence of defects causing degrade, unsatisfactory service, or other results which make conversion or use relatively uneconomic. However, as stands of virgin timber of favored species become depleted, formerly unwanted species often take on new value. On the west coast of North America, hemlock formerly was regarded as an inferior species, as trees were smaller and more defective than those of douglas fir, and the moisture content of the wood was considerably higher. These factors militated against its utilization except as a secondary species. Now, however, all classes of sawn lumber are produced from hemlock, it has been covered by commercial specifications for lumber and plywood and without question has become a very important source of wood products.
FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO ACCEPTANCE
What factors have contributed to the comparatively recent acceptance of hemlock in American and international lumber markets? In large measure it is due to the development of methods of conversion, processing, and marketing which are properly adapted to the particular qualities of this wood. Extraction of hemlock logs from the forest is integrated with logging for Douglas fir and spruce for sawmills, veneer mills, and pulp mills. Consequently, the roads and other extraction facilities are utilized to the maximum, resulting in a minimum cost per unit for logging of all species for all products. This is good from the points of view of both economy and forestry. Before conversion, logs are graded according to size and quality, provision being made for the sale of peeler logs and their utilization for plywood, and pulpwood is directed to pulp mills.
In the sawmills, logs are converted into lumber, being cut into sizes and graded in accordance with the grading rules which apply to this species in the United States of America and Canada respectively. As a result, hemlock lumber is marketed in a uniform condition as to size, grade, and moisture content, all of which factors, together with the regular availability of large supplies, have appeal to the buyer in normal times as much as in periods of short supply.
Advertising literature which makes rational and not extravagant claims for the properties and uses for which the species may be employed is also valuable in furthering acceptance in local and world markets. Other countries have had similar experiences in successfully establishing the value of woods formerly regarded as worthless.
PROBLEMS OF OBTAINING ACCEPTANCE
Utilization of woods from relatively unexploited regions in the tropics in South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa, which constitute the second class, has been freely discussed as a means of building up the standard of living and industrialization of tropical countries and assisting in reducing the current shortage of lumber in the world.
In these regions, despite the natural occurrence of large volumes of standing timber, the consumption per caput of lumber, paper, and other manufactured forest products is low and, furthermore, in some tropical countries, a large percentage of these products is imported from other regions. The following are important reasons why this situation exists:
1. World consumption of lumber for construction and packaging traditionally demands coniferous woods, whereas tropical forests are largely composed of broadleaved trees.2. With limited exceptions, tropical forests are composed of literally hundreds of different species. The identification of many of these has not been clearly established on either a national or international basis. As a result, many different woods are called by the same name and the same wood may be known by several distinct names in different localities. This uncertainty of identification and the confusion of nomenclature, especially when unknown woods are described as varieties of cedar and mahogany, etc., sometimes with intent to deceive potential buyers by making them believe that the wood has similar properties and will be good for the same purposes, is very misleading and has led to widespread distrust of new woods.
3. Climatic conditions are conducive to the rapid onset of decay of logs before conversion into lumber and drying are completed. and insect damage is prevalent both before and after conversion into lumber.
4. Exploitation in such areas is generally highly selective, being limited to a few species which, over a long period, have been found to give satisfactory service. Most of these species command high prices and are used for special purposes, as furniture, veneers, and panelling, especially on export markets.
5. Many trees of other species often of good size and form are not logged because they are not acceptable for lumber, as manufacturing techniques have not been adapted to their peculiar woodworking characteristics and other wood-using industries have not been developed.
6. Cost of extraction and transportation is usually high as a direct result of the factors mentioned in paragraphs 4 and 5 and because roads and railways are not available. Further, as freshly felled logs of many tropical species are heavier than water, floating and rafting cannot be applied even where suitable waterways are available.
7. There is little or no integration of industries using logs as basic raw materials.
Importance of Reducing Costs
The basic requirement for effective marketing is availability of a technically satisfactory product at a price which attracts potential buyers. Logging, transport, and manufacturing methods must, therefore, be such as to result in minimum costs commensurate with the quality of the product. To this end, attention should be given to the advantages of integration of various phases of mechanical and chemical utilization in local conversion and to the possibility of sale of logs for export, so that the most economic exploitation, according to quality and suitability for various purposes, and the maximum economic utilization from each unit of forest area will be possible.
Governments and private enterprises contemplating development of forest industries in tropical forests will, of course, give ample consideration to the future as well as the present. Operations should be established on a sound basis, primarily to meet normal demands at home and perhaps also some export capacity in selected items. Any tropical country which becomes self-sufficient in forest products indirectly helps importing countries throughout the world.
LUMBER PRODUCTION AND MARKETING
The largest proportion of lumber is normally required for construction and packaging, such material commanding lower prices than lumber for furniture and other specialized purposes. The limited market at high prices for these uses is, however, quite stringent in its demands. For successful exploitation to be built up in tropical areas, which are predominantly broadleaved, it will be necessary to de part from the world-wide custom of using coniferous woods for construction and packaging. It will be wise also to consider exporting high-grade material at good prices where local demand for such products is relatively small. Situations are envisaged in tropical regions where it may actually be cheaper to import softwood than to produce hardwood from native resources, unless a satisfactory export market can be found for high-priced products at the same time. Economic conditions and exchange problems may be important factors in determining the extent of local production.
It is obvious from the above that successful utilization of a wide range of woods from an unexploited tropical forest region, or one which has already been selectively logged for species of high value, is no easy task. In the first place, there may be no machinery available for conversion of logs into lumber, veneer, fiberboard, or other manufactured products, or, if available, this machinery may not be the most suitable for economic conversion, because it is inefficient, is erected in an unsuitable locality, or for some other reason.
CONFUSION IN NOMENCLATURE
The confusion which exists in the nomenclature of trees and woods of tropical forests constitutes one of the greatest problems associated with attempts to introduce new tropical woods to the world's market. Equally important is the problem of identification of trees, logs, and wood from tropical forests, as to the inexperienced eye many trees have similar form and appearance, and repeat orders for logs or lumber from tropical regions have frequently been filled with woods quite different from the original consignment.
Grouping of Species
There is a growing trend towards accepting for certain uses parcels of timber which are comprised of several species whose properties are generally similar and suitable for those uses. Encouragement of this trend along rational lines will greatly assist the development of utilization of tropical forests. An example of the type of grouping is that adopted during the war in Australia, where lists of woods suitable for various purposes, including building frames, furniture, flooring, boxes, cases, and other general purposes, were widely employed. For different parts of Australia, lists of suitable woods readily available were tabulated for the various uses.
As most species were produced within the geographic region for which the lists were prepared, only two or three species were included for many uses in western Australia, whereas in North Queensland 20 or 30 species from tropical jungle regions were suggested. It is interesting to note that the British Empire Forestry Conference held in England last year has urged the extension of the principle of grouping, for marketing purposes, of woods suitable for similar uses.
In areas where such grouping is not acceptable and for export markets, especially where woods are required for specialized purposes, it is desirable for producers and/or merchants to realize that buyers and consumers of lumber have largely been accustomed to purchasing the particular grade and species they desire and are reluctant to change.
To meet such demands it will be necessary, there fore, for producers and merchants to organize cooperative groups for marketing woods produced in limited quantities at a number of sawmills. Such a coordinated effort will help to satisfy buyers' demands that regular supplies of reasonable volume should be available.
PHASES OF INVESTIGATION
It is difficult to decide the most logical order in which investigations should be made to determine the potential production problems to be overcome. It is therefore proposed to deal with various stages in conversion from the standing tree to the manufactured product.
Felling
While it will be logical to follow the simplest method of felling with axes and saws, it may, as the result of experience, be found desirable first to ringbark or sap-ring some species, as is practiced with teak some time in advance of actual felling. The economies of using mechanical saws and other modern equipment should be investigated. As a means of reducing insect damage and blue stain, ringbarking at the crown some time before felling may be found desirable in some species. The use of chemicals in conjunction with ringing operations may be advantageous in facilitating removal of bark or preventing of insect attack.
Logging
It is a good rule immediately after felling to remove logs from the stump for conversion or for storage in a place conveniently near the converting plant. Exceptions arise, such as the effect of weather conditions, excessive rain making roads and tracks impassable, and the desirability of leaving the logs to lie in the forest to permit resorption of starch as a means of preventing subsequent attack by Lyctus and other insects whose chief food is starch in wood. If logs are to be stored, total immersion in water is best, but successful storage in dumps over which water sprays are operating has been demonstrated in Victoria, Australia, where logs from trees killed by forest fires in 1939 have scarcely deteriorated through eight years. The question of whether or not bark should be removed from logs which will be in the forest for some time is a debatable one. It can only be determined by experience with the particular species and in any particular area. Susceptibility to attack by pinhole borers is reduced or enhanced according as logs are barked in some instances and vice versa. If logs cannot be extracted and converted immediately after felling, consideration might be given to the benefits of coating the log surface with suitable insect repellents and with retardants to staining or decay organisms. End-coating to reduce or prevent deterioration of the ends will certainly be beneficial.
The use of powerful caterpillar tractors and other mechanical devices for logging makes possible the extraction of full lengths of tree trunks in many areas. This extraction is especially advantageous if a range of products is being manufactured, as it contributes towards the maximum utilization of standing trees. Disadvantages from a forestry management point of view are that full-length logging frequently results in damage to young standing timber and destruction of regeneration.
For large-scale operations it is probable that mechanical equipment will be most economical. However, the feasibility of using water transport or some more primitive transport method which might prove more economical for a particular phase of extraction should not be overlooked.
Log Grading
Logs should be graded according to quality and size to ensure their best utilization and the best recovery from each, on the basis of either the variety of integrated industries to be supplied from the forest or the availability of an export market for special types of logs. The best quality logs should be allocated for peeling into veneers, the next quality for sawmilling, and lower grades for some phase of chemical utilization for paper, fiberboard, etc., or for sleepers, mine timber, destructive distillation, charcoal, or fuel. Special attention might be given to the preparation of flitches from stumps, crotches, burls, or figured logs which will command high prices for veneer manufacture.
Lumber Manufacture
In tropical forests it is generally best to convert logs as soon as possible after they are felled. While a large variety of sawmill equipment may be used to produce lumber, the important factors, apart from the economy of the manufacturing operations, are the production of lumber in standard sizes which are acceptable to local consumers and in export markets. Similarly, attention must be given to the proper grading of lumber produced and to offering it for sale in grades and sizes which, if other properties are satisfactory, will command a market at home or abroad.
Lumber Grading
Grading of lumber in accordance with reasonable grading rules, which take cognizance of requirements of the consumers and the capacity of producers to manufacture from logs obtainable, and regular supply of material graded to specification are essential steps for successful marketing. Satisfactory specifications covering finish grades for special purposes such as furniture, panelling, and flooring, and utility grades for general building, packaging, and other purposes not so specific in their requirements, should be set up and complied with. Such grading requirements are neither easy to establish nor maintain without experience. However, without a reasonable aim in this direction production and marketing will be unstable. International co-operation in the establishment of grading rules for forest products from countries with similar forests has promise as a further method of promoting marketing of new woods.
Seasoning
One of the most important manufacturing phases to ensure that lumber will behave satisfactorily in service is to dry it to prevent stain, decay, shrinkage, or warping. Unless green lumber cut from some woods is dried immediately, it may have to be dipped in antiseptic solutions to prevent reduction in quality through the growth of staining organisms. Adequate attention must be given to the establishment of suitable air-drying yards and/or kiln drying plants so that lumber may be satisfactorily seasoned at the lowest cost and with a minimum of degrade.
Preservation
One of the greatest problems of the use of wood in the tropics is the prevalence of termites and other wood-destroying insects and of climatic conditions conducive to decay. Investigation of the durability of various woods and their potential uses will provide a guide to the establishment of preservation plants, to the best types of treatment and preservatives, and to the number and location of the plants.
ORGANIZATION OF MARKETING
The development of production which is being advocated has two principal aims:
1. Increasing supplies for expanding local markets.
2. Providing exports to countries which require wood imports.
Organization of marketing must be directed towards these goals. A basic general requirement is that by intelligent publicity new woods of Latin America must be made known and appreciated. Such publicity should be based on results of research and the understanding of requirements.
Conditions for marketing will vary for different products. Distribution and sales of logs for common and certain specialized uses and of primary finished products which must be sold as cheaply as possible should be organized, so that unnecessary transactions and transport are avoided and movement from centers of production to conversion plants or centers of consumption will be as direct as possible. This problem is, then, one of organizing distribution in domestic markets of Latin America.
For the more valuable products, precious woods in the round, certain finished products and, generally speaking, for all products destined for overseas trade, the selling market must be organized especially in the large ports to which the majority of the production will be transported. These must be well serviced with personnel (special wood-exporting agencies, experts, and brokers), equipment (storage sheds, yards, and handling facilities), facilities for moving timber (railroads, roads, and waterways) and shipping facilities (ships, loading equipment, etc.).
If efforts are to be rewarded with success, the development of industries involving the use of new woods as raw material requires certain basic information concerning their properties and qualities, the application of sound technical methods to manufacture, the training of personnel in production and merchandising phases, and finally, the practical employment of these woods for purposes for which they are technically suitable.
THERE has too often been a tendency to regard the forests of underdeveloped countries as "mines" to be exploited without thought of replacement or regard for the results of their disappearance. Moreover, extraction has been limited to the kind or size of timber or other product worth taking out under the economic conditions of the moment.
More developed countries have long been forced by scarcity of wood to look on forests from a different point of view. But, even so, utilization has rarely been carried to its ultimate degree.
The wood shortage is now world-wide and may become more acute as the result of expanding economies which will necessarily give rise to even greater wood demands. On the other hand, advances in modern techniques permit a higher ratio of finished products to be obtained from the raw materials of the forest and also provide means of using much of the logging and manufacturing waste, which was formerly a dead loss.
A tendency toward complete wood utilization is now becoming apparent in certain European countries and the idea is being looked upon with increasing favor in North America. It implies setting up groups of complementary wood-conversion industries. conveniently situated near the source of raw material.
This idea can logically be carried further. Tracts of wood-growing country can be set aside and managed on a sustained-yield basis over a virtually unlimited period, so that every year they can feed a certain optimum grouping of industries with determined quantities and kinds of wood products. This might be called "timber-farming" and the wood-growing tracts "forest farms." The volume of the crop, as also the quality, could be modified from time to time according to the technical requirements of industries and trends in world economic conditions. On a well-balanced "farm," there should be little or no waste
This idea is not altogether in the realm of fantasy. It is not unreasonable to assume that it will in the future win out everywhere against the concept of crude exploitation. All world-wide problems of wood utilization can be considered from this point of view.
DISTRIBUTION OF "FOREST FARMS"
It has been said that the most effective way to encourage the growing of trees is to develop profitable reasons for cutting them down. The composition of the optimum grouping of forest industries will vary for different parts of the world. It must depend on the potentialities for production and consumption, which may be assessed by a study of current and future trends. Ultimately the most suitable distribution and location of "forest farms" throughout all the regions of the world might be determined.
Ideally, the industrial layout should include plants for mechanical and chemical conversion. sawmills and plywood factories, fiberboard and similar plants, pulp and paper plants, resin plants, plastic plants, wood hydrolysis installations, plants for distillation and tanning agents. In practice, of course, local factors will determine what plants will suffice for utilizing the forest crop available. Industries need not necessarily all be located in one place but may be dispersed, so as to permit the best use of transportation facilities and the best distribution of raw materials.
It is obvious that in many regions suitably located installations of the kind required must already exist. A theoretical plan of development, however, will reveal any gaps that may exist and indicate what remains to be done. In less advanced regions, a blueprint of the optimum integration of industries must form the backbone of developments to be undertaken.
Side by side with the setting up of industries, transportation facilities, power plants, machinery, and chemicals will be needed to permit each "forest farm" to operate with reasonable economy. From the sum of these requirements it is possible, for a given region, to deduce the over-all capital investment required.
OPTIMUM SIZE OF "FOREST FARMS"
Knowing how many plants of each kind are desirable, it will be possible to define what might be the extent and limits of the "forest farm." An immediate tendency might be to make the "farm" co-extensive with a geographic region having a natural outlet for the whole area; for instance, a river basin. But, III certain easily accessible regions, well served by communications, the question of a natural outlet and of natural boundaries would assume less importance, and the area of forested land capable of sustaining the grouping of industries would be determined by research and inventories.
National frontiers will, of course, have a bearing on the size of "forest farms.'' Development of timber resources may also be only one element amongst many inter-related factors, such as increased agricultural development. Circumstances, therefore, will determine different solutions as to the nature and size of a "forest farm."
SILVICULTURAL PROBLEMS
Timber has to be grown before it can be turned to practical use. Each "forest farm" therefore will pose problems of silviculture, the solution of which will have a direct bearing on the success of the enterprise.
The first consideration is to preserve the productive forest capital. The second is to produce the maximum quantity of all the kinds of wood that the dependent industries can fully use.
The fulfillment of these two conditions calls for the adaptation of silvicultural methods to the demands of the dependent industries, or the adaptation of industrial methods to the produce furnished by the forest, or for a compromise between the two.
There is a large field here for co-operation between the forester and the manufacturer, a co-operation too often neglected in the past, to the detriment of the interests of both.
PERSONNEL
A survey is required of the total labor force necessary for the permanent working of each "forest farm" and its dependent industries, including forest workers, transport workers, and industrial manpower. In underdeveloped countries, new settlers may be required and they must be assured stable living conditions, with at least a minimum of amenities. Such a survey might assist countries in determining problems of new settlement and immigration.
An adequate supply of engineers, foresters, chemists, and other technicians is also needed, and the numbers required can be determined by detailed studies. For certain countries, this might justify the drawing up of educational and training programs, which in actual practice are seldom framed for specific requirements.
CONCLUSION
Plans as ambitious as this are obviously long-term projects. The idea, however, seems to provide the most logical means yet devised of assuring a rational management of the world's forests and a rational utilization of their produce, so as to secure to all peoples reasonable supplies of timber and other wood commodities.
The work of FAO already covers a wide field of action. This plan might serve as the co-ordinating link between the work of FAO and its affiliated bodies, the regional Commissions for Forestry and Forest Products, and among member countries themselves.
For instance, FAO's Technical Committee on Wood Chemistry might be prepared to advise on an ideal layout of chemical industries for a given region, taking account of the constant advances in this branch of utilization. It might advise on the location of industries and suggest market openings. It might also draw attention to the research needed to improve production.
The Technical Committee on Mechanical Wood Technology might be prepared to offer similar advice and suggestions in its own field. The Technical Committee on Forest Management could suggest ways of correlating silvicultural methods with the requirements of industries. The Technical Committee on Education might advise on the evaluation of technical personnel needed for the management of a "forest farm" and the utilization of its produce in a given region. All these Technical Committees can obtain the assistance of many experts from all parts of the world and their advice would carry great weight.
The Standing Advisory Committee could advise FAO on how to digest all the information gathered and the most suitable form for transmitting it to interested countries. It is of course up to countries themselves, having all the facts at their disposal, to define their own "forest farms."
The idea of "forest farms" should be expressed in national forest policies. Regional forest policies should evolve in the same way. Regional Commissions for Forestry and Forest Products, on the pattern of the European Commission, would have an important part to play, in facilitating exchanges of views and securing close co-operation with neighboring countries.
The ultimate co-ordination, on a world scale, of the various aspects of the integration of forests and industries would fall perhaps to the permanent Council of FAO and the annual Conferences of FAO. Here, indeed, is an opportunity for a planned approach to a practical project.
1. ROLE OF FOREST AND THEIR PRESENT STATE IN LATIN AMERICA
A FOREST service may be defined as a body whose function it is to conserve, to transform, or to create the forest domains necessary to a country, so that the inhabitants can be assured in the greatest measure the utilities of every kind which forests are capable of providing.
It is not necessary to enlarge on the importance of this role, which derives from the importance of tile forest itself. It is sufficient to recall that forest utilities are of two sorts. The one sort is tangible, in the shape of forest products, principally timber. The other cannot be expressed in terms of money. It comprises the public utilities derived from the acknowledged influence of forest lands on climate, soil protection, and regulation of water flow. All of these add to the wealth of a country and some may be necessary to its survival. A forest service has three-fold attributes: research, administration, and policing. No one of these should fall within the competence of any other organization.
Such a service is indispensable for acquiring the intimate knowledge necessary for a forest's administration, beginning with the extent of the forested land, its effect on the physical economy of the country, and its composition. But that alone is not enough. The forest is a complex association, with closely interdependent elements. Man's interference, in taking out the riches of the forest, upsets this delicate equilibrium. It may cause the disappearance of the more valuable species, a complete change in the composition of the growing-stock, and even the utter ruin of the forest. In order to keep man's intervention within reasonable bounds, and even turn it to advantage by reconstituting and improving the forest, it is necessary to understand the natural laws which determine this equilibrium. These depend on varying conditions of soil, climate, and elevation, and on the diversity of species in tropical forests. Their study is a long-term proposition involving steady and complex research, which can only be carried out by specialists.
Forest administration must be built upon the findings of research, surveys, and forest inventories. It should therefore be in charge of the same personnel, or at least of those in the same service.
The administrative functions of a forest service are not solely concerned with getting the most products out of the forest. They must particularly include protection against the numerous forest hazards, especially fire. There is also the task of building up new forests, to ensure the perpetuation of timber resources or to put into use the poorest soils, and the job of remedying the ills of every kind which are a natural consequence of forest denudation. The pressing needs for reforestation make it clear that a forest service can be of undoubted use, even in the most poorly forested countries
Forest administration cannot be practiced without forest laws to guard against abuse by man and to guide exploitation in the right direction. It is up to governments to enact such laws, on the advice of technical foresters, but they can obviously only be given effect by forest services. The exact nature of police powers to be delegated to a forest service may vary widely. They should clearly provide, however. the power of giving evidence about infringements of forest laws.
A considerable staff is required to carry out all these tasks. Although the importance of these tasks is generally admitted, few countries have provided their forest services with sufficient personnel. The numbers required need not necessarily be in direct proportion to the forest area. But, taking such a proportion as a rough guide, it appears that Latin America still has a long way to go.
PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE FOREST ADMINISTRATION
Forest administration is the organized process by which forest policy and forest law are applied to the forests of a country to produce the benefits and returns desired. Therefore, both policy and law need to be set up as first steps. These define the jobs of forest administration on more or less general lines. Operating administration translates general aims into specific action, in accord with the nature of the forest itself and by using all available information.
Forests are usually far-flung, are more or less remote from seats of governments, are highly variable in their problems-and the ways in which they can be effectively managed, and are readily subject to many forms of abuse and trespass. Thus it is for higher leadership of the administrative body - the forest service - to define the methods and objectives of field administration as applied to variable conditions, and to assign categories of tasks and responsibilities to those who actually carry them out. The forest service sees to it through field inspection that plans and programs are put into effect. It pays constant attention to co-ordinating work in different areas and assigning men to tasks for which their abilities are best adapted.
Actual administration should be entrusted to men "on the ground," who live and work in and near the forests. These men need to have the authority to settle most, of the day-to-day questions on the spot, following general policies, without reference to higher authority. This decentralization of authority' should be in balance with the responsibility assigned to field officers by policy and law. Field - as contrasted to central office - administration is always necessary. Without it, even with very good policy and law, plans for management and protection are not carried out.
Field officers who are entrusted with the authority to match their responsibilities should be fully competent. Work well and impartially done is a sure way to command the respect and support of local people directly affected by forest administration and of others less directly affected.
Since forest administration demands a knowledge and understanding of biology and economics, of human beings and natural phenomena, competent administrators are made and not born. Honesty, industry, knowledge of woodcraft, etc., are essential attributes but in themselves do not make an administrator. To them must be added the teachable skills called forestry. A fully adequate job comes from fully trained men. The level required may be less exacting in early stages of forest administrations, but cannot be overlooked at any stage.
Trained officers must necessarily seek careers. Conditions of employment must attract men of high-level ability to obtain the needed training, and must hold them after they have prepared for forest administration. The essential conditions include assurance of tenure for efficient service; a promotion system based on merit; a salary level equal to that of competitive employment opportunities; clear assignment of duties; authority sufficient to the responsibilities; and leader ship which commands and holds respect. (liven these, forest administration is alive and positive, since it attracts and holds good men. Failing these conditions, administration is form rather than substance.
These correct principles of sound forest operating administration - definition of tasks, decentralization of authority, smooth flow of authority, professional officers, definite leadership, etc., connote an organization of generalists rather than of specialists - of line rather than staff. For certain parts of the total job of forest administration, specialization of function is desirable even in the earlier stages. Thus, for example, basic forest inventories can best be done by specialists. As silviculture begins, facts about behavior of different species, growth, regeneration, etc., are needed and such research can best be entrusted to specialists. The need for other sorts of facts also arises as forest management and administration develop.
The assignment of fact-gathering functions to specialists should never obscure or break up the flow of operating authority from legislative body to minister to chief of service to field officers. The function of specialized staffs is to serve and strengthen the line. Recommendations should come from specialists, decisions from generalists.
LATIN America needs 500 professional foresters, including 40 professors, and 750 sub-professional foresters by 1950, if forestry in government service, universities, and in private industry develops at its present rate. If Latin America continues to assure the proper management of its magnificent forest resources, the sound development of its local wood-using industries, and the justifiable growth of its universities, the region needs over 1,000 professional and over 2,000 sub-professional trained foresters, including 70-odd professors for schools now in existence.
These figures did not come from any sortilego or fortune teller. They were submitted to FAO's Division of Forestry and Forest Products by 10 of the 20 Latin-American governments in answer to a questionnaire on training and educational requirements. If replies had been received from the other 10 governments, the figures undoubtedly would be much higher.
How many foresters are at work in Latin America now? Replies from 12 countries indicate 300 professional and 450 sub-professional foresters, many of whom would like to have considerably more training than they received in their universities.
Can the universities of Latin America supply the need? The countries which replied to this question stated that in 1950 they hope to graduate about 40 professional and 70 sub-professional foresters. But it is more than a question of numbers of students and graduates. The quality of training is also important if each country's foresters are to be properly prepared for work in government service or private industry, to assure the proper handling of this highly important resource - forests and timber - for the maximum benefit of the people. Most of the agricultural schools and universities, until recently, gave only a few courses in identification of trees and wood specimens, instead of complete training in all phases of silviculture, management, mensuration protection, policy, finance, and products technology. Several countries are beginning to realize the importance of more complete training and are reorganizing the teaching of forestry in their universities. It will, of course, take time to convince government officials and university administrators of the importance of securing the services of competent professors, of providing sufficient financial support to strengthen the forestry schools, and, above all, of assuring their permanence.
Recognizing that an increase in forestry education will take considerable time, at least five countries who replied to the specific question stated that they wished to send a specified number of students abroad to study forestry or to have technicians from other countries visit them to give instruction and to do research and consulting work. Returning students and visiting technicians will greatly strengthen the newly reorganized forestry schools in the various countries.
This brings up the question, of course, as to whether each country should have a forestry school, or whether a few larger universities or even one large training and research center could best provide the necessary facilities. FAO's Technical Committee on Unexploited Forests, on which were represented a number of Latin-American countries, meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1947, discussed this question. The committee's recommendation was:
"That FAO take the initiative in organizing a forestry institute with research laboratories in the common interest of the Latin-American countries which urgently need such an institution, and with teaching facilities for the professional training of foresters; that pending the setting up of such an institute, FAO continue to use its good offices to have urgent work for Latin America done in existing laboratories of member countries able to undertake it, and to assure that those countries accept for training in their forest schools and laboratories the forest technicians of Latin America. "
With regard to the establishment of a Latin-American Forestry Institute in which research and educational facilities would be centralized, there are a number of alternatives:
1. Among the larger Latin-American universities which already have well-established science departments and research facilities, one might be persuaded to include such a school.
2. The Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Science in Costa Rica might be willing to provide the necessary facilities.
3. The Hylean Institute of the Amazon, soon to be created, might be a suitable organization for this purpose.
Perhaps professional training could be provided at one place and sub-professional training at a number of smaller centers in several countries.
All of these alternatives, obviously, would require ample financing, and the several governments would have to contribute towards a Forestry Institute.
With regard to the exchange of students, there are a number of arrangements already in operation between European and Latin-American countries, as well as with the United States of America. France and other European countries have indicated to FAO that they are willing to accept students from Latin- American and other countries in their universities, but financial arrangements must be made in most cases by the students themselves, their governments, or by other sources.
A number of universities, philanthropic organizations,' and government departments in the United States of America provide financial assistance to students of forestry and it is hoped that forestry agencies of the various governments will increasingly avail themselves of such possibilities.
There have also been important instances of private individuals or companies in tile wood-using industries in a number of countries who have financed the training of promising young technicians in England, Italy, France, Sweden, and the U. S. A. Every effort should be made to develop such interest and to take advantage of these opportunities.
It should be clear that there is now, and will continue to be for some time to come, a serious need for more well-trained professional and sub-professional foresters. Existing schools in Latin America need to be strengthened greatly if they are to provide this training. Inasmuch as not all governments can afford a complete forestry school, the recommendation should be considered of setting up a Latin-American Forestry Institute. This might be done at a large established university or in connection with certain inter-governmental projects such as the Turrialba Institute or the Hylean Amazon Institute. Financial support from each of the Latin-American governments must be assured for this purpose. In the meantime, all governments should take advantage of existing fellowships and scholarships in agriculture and forestry now offered by governments, philanthropic organizations, individuals, universities and colleges in various countries, and by companies in the wood-using industries.
No one of these measures is sufficient by itself. Advantage should be taken of all the opportunities, and the interest of government officials should be aroused to the importance of strengthening forestry education for the welfare of the people of Latin America.
THE forest resources of a country are a valuable asset which, if they are wisely managed, can make important contributions to the national wealth for all time to come. On the other hand, they can easily be destroyed by reckless and unplanned exploitation. The first essential in planning forest management is the preparation of an inventory of the forest resources. Until this is done, the authorities responsible for forest administration must work, as it were, in the dark.
A forest inventory should determine the extent of forest areas, the volume of standing timber, and the distribution of forest ownership. It is also essential to determine the relationship between annual growth and annual fellings plus losses from natural causes.
It must be remembered that absolute accuracy is not possible because of the difficulties of precise measurement and because changes constantly take place within the growing forest. Fortunately, absolute accuracy is not necessary and some degree of approximation will suffice for practical purposes. In highly developed countries where all forest lands are intensively used, a high degree of precision in inventory methods may be necessary and its relatively- high cost may be justified; but in countries where the forest resources are in an early stage of development, a lower degree of precision may suffice. In either case, the forest inventory should be repeated periodically, and more intensive methods can be undertaken in the less highly industrialized countries when changing conditions warrant.
Because the more intensive methods are much more expensive than those of less precision, it is important when planning an inventory to determine what degree of precision is justifiable in view of the economic conditions in the country concerned. In some countries it may be desirable to use one standard of precision in the more accessible forests, and a lower standard in those which are more remote.
INVENTORY METHODS
The two principal methods used in making a forest inventory are surveys on the ground and aerial photogrammetry. A third method, useful in connection with the small but important forests occurring on farms, consists in the collection of statements from individual farmers in the course of an agricultural census.
Ground surveys permit the collection of more de tailed information on the kinds, volumes, and ages of trees in the forest than is possible by aerial methods. On the other hand, aerial surveys provide forest maps which are far more accurate than those which can be made at any reasonable cost by ground methods. Hence, it is a common practice, when inventories of large forest areas are made, to use the two methods in conjunction.
In very small forests every tree can be measured. In larger forests ground survey methods for the preparation of maps depend on information noted by survey parties which traverse the forest along lines running in directions and spaced at intervals determined in advance. Information regarding the kinds, volumes, and ages of trees, and other descriptive data, are based on a system of sampling. In one widely-used system small plots are established at regular intervals along the lines traversed, and the trees and other vegetation within each plot are measured and recorded. Subsequently, the records from all the plots within a given forest type are averaged and these averages are applied to the whole area of that particular type to determine total volume of timber, distribution of age classes, etc.
Two types of aerial photographs, usually referred to as verticals and obliques, have been successfully used for forestry purposes. In vertical photography the camera is pointed directly downward from the aircraft and in oblique photography it is pointed forward and downward. Thus, the vertical photograph is, in effect, a map or plan of the area shown on the print and the scale depends on the height of the aircraft and the focal length of the lens used. If the latter conditions are the same, the oblique photograph covers a larger area, but there is a progressive distortion from top to bottom of the print which reduces its value for map purposes. Vertical photographs are preferred for original mapping, but oblique photographs, which are much cheaper, have been used with good success in periodic reinventories of forest areas previously mapped by vertical methods.
The scale of photographic prints has an important bearing on the amount of forestry information which can be read from them. Enlargement of scale increases visible detail but, because the area covered by a large-scale photograph is small, the use of a large scale means relatively high cost. For general guidance, it may be said that a scale of 1 to 16,000 has been found satisfactory for most forestry purposes, but some preliminary forest inventory work has been done at scales as small as 1 to 25,000.
From a national point of view, it may be very advantageous to use a single series of aerial photographs for multiple purposes, such as topographic mapping; geologic, waterpower, and mineral investigation; surveys of agricultural and grazing lands; and forestry. In certain countries the scale of 1 to 16,000 has proved to be an acceptable compromise in meeting the special requirements of different users.
To countries in which present knowledge of the extent and nature of the forest is small, aerial photography, together with a limited amount of sampling work on the ground, offers by far the quickest and cheapest way of obtaining the information requisite to the early stages of forest management.
However, the compilation of maps from air photo graphs requires the establishment of a certain amount of ground control - that is, a series of accurately located points on the ground which can be identified in the photographic series. In some cases ground survey work already completed will be found to suffice, but in others establishment of further ground control points may be necessary.
Interpretation of forestry information obtainable from aerial photographs requires special skill. Provision must therefore be made for training selected forest officers in this art or, alternatively, for interpretation by a qualified air survey company.
In planning a program of air photography for forestry purposes, it is very important to determine correctly the kind of photographs which are to be taken. Contract specifications for vertical photography should include provisions covering the scale of prints, amount of overlap of adjacent prints, types of film and color filters to be used, flying altitude, focal length of lens, and other points. Advice on such technical matters should be sought from sources possessing accumulated experience in this field.
It is of interest to note that considerable progress has been made in certain northern countries in the estimation of timber volumes directly from air photographs. Up to the present, this technique does not appear to have been adapted to conditions found in tropical forests.
With respect to small forests on farms, attention is drawn to the fact that plans for the World Census of Agriculture in 1950, being submitted by FAO for the consideration of governments, provide for the collection of information respecting such forests from their farmer owners.
CLASSES OF INVENTORY INFORMATION
The four main classes of information required in an adequate forest inventory were mentioned briefly at the beginning of this paper. With respect to some of these, there is almost no limit to the amount of detail that can be collected. However, for countries whose forests are in an early stage of development, it is much more important to obtain general information of reasonable accuracy regarding the first three of these - areas, volumes, and ownership - than it is to obtain great detail with respect to any one of them. The following paragraphs indicate the amount of subdivision of information which is considered to be fundamental
The most important part of any forest inventory is the correct determination of forest areas. These areas should be subdivided, both on maps and written records, into " Productive Forests " and " Other Forests," the latter class comprising areas occupied by trees but unsuitable for forest management because of poor growing conditions. Forest areas should further be subdivided into the principal forest types or natural associations of tree species. As a minimum requirement, coniferous and nonconiferous forests should be segregated. If air photographs are available, it should be possible to introduce still further subdivision with very little additional effort and cost.
Estimates of timber volumes should be made separately for coniferous and nonconiferous species. In tropical forest light hardwoods should be separated from heavy hardwoods, if possible. The ideal condition is reached when separate estimates of merchantable volumes of individual species of economic importance can be made.
For preliminary purposes, it may suffice to describe the areas of forest ownership in broad classes - public, institutional, and private. At a later stage, the timber volumes or productive capacities in the different categories of ownership should be estimated separately.
The estimation of annual growth, or of potential annual yield, to be expected from large unmanaged forests is complex and difficult. This investigation will inevitably require time, but a program of research should be undertaken at the earliest possible moment.
POSSIBILITIES FOR INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION
In certain natural regions, such as the Amazon Basin, several adjacent countries possess parts of one great natural forest. In these circumstances, two or more countries may desire to map their own forests through aerial surveys, and very considerable economies might be possible if such countries entered into a joint contract with a single aerial survey agency. In general, one large survey project can be undertaken more cheaply than a number of small projects because equipment and personnel can be continuously employed for considerable periods of time in a single region.
A further opportunity for economy may be found through support of a regional research project which would study, among other forestry questions, the rates of growth in the forests of that region. It would obviously be inefficient for a number of adjacent countries to engage separate research staffs, all of whom would be working in a single region.
FUNCTIONS OF FAO
Acting in accordance with the recommendations of its annual conferences, the Forestry and Forest Products Division of -FAO is now engaged in compiling a new statement of the forest resources of the world. In this undertaking, it has used a specially designed forest inventory questionnaire which has the approval of two special international conferences on forest statistics. Because of this approval, the outline of basic inventory information indicated by the questionnaire can be recommended with confidence to countries planning inventories for the first time.
The Organization is at the service of its member countries and is prepared to furnish, or to secure, competent advice on inventory and other forestry problems for countries that request it. It will be glad to assist interested countries wanting to get in touch with competent experts or air survey companies in other lands, or wishing to make arrangements for special training for their own nationals. Similarly, FAO is prepared to give member countries all assistance possible in the organization of joint approaches to inventory problems.
THE welfare of a nation requires the maintenance and proper management of its forests. The forest policy of a country should express this public interest. Such a policy must be given concrete form through forest legislation which, in turn, must provide for the creation or strengthening of a government agency to formulate and enforce specific regulations, in order to ensure that the policy is carried out.
FOREST POLICY
Sound forest policy may differ from country to country but the general principle is virtually the same for all - achieving the greatest good for the greatest number for the longest time.
The principal objectives of a forest policy should be:
1. To maintain or create, and subsequently protect against natural enemies or human misuse, an area of forest adequate to conserve or improve a country's water and soil. So long as this aim is not fully achieved, the need to preserve or create forests must be given due consideration in agricultural development, since forests are a vital prerequisite to a healthy agriculture.
2. To devote to forest all suitable land which is uneconomic for cultivation or animal husbandry, either temporarily or permanently, and to protect such land against all abuse or accidents.
3. To prescribe treatment and management for all forests so as to maintain their productivity; to yield their owners as high a return as possible, in products or in income; to satisfy domestic needs for all types of forest products at a reasonable price; and at the: same time to provide a basis for permanent employment in forest operations and wood industries.
These primary objectives entail certain secondary objectives, such as improvement of public health, preservation of indigenous flora and fauna, protection of the countryside, and creation of tourist and recreational facilities.
The preamble to any forest code or fundamental legislative enactment must clearly set forth its aims. It may differ for each country, but should be basically in accord with these principles. It must be a precise statement of the objectives to be attained under given local conditions.
FOREST LEGISLATION
A comprehensive legislative enactment or forest law is necessary to carry out forest policy and protect the public interest.
Even though personnel and funds may initially be inadequate to administer a comprehensive forest code or act, a complete framework should be drawn up so that all the necessary elements can be gradually incorporated as circumstances permit.
Two points must be included:
(a) The enactment must define the administrative agency charged with carrying out its provisions and must make provision for the training of personnel. The agency should be independent and its attributes should not be split up amongst different administrative services or departments.(b) It must recognize and circumscribe a forest domain and define the various parts of which it is to be composed.
The forest domain should comprise all forests in existence at the time the forest law is drawn up, and should include such wasteland as it is expedient to devote to forest purposes. To determine the legislative treatment proper to these areas, they may be considered from three different viewpoints:
(a) Forests covered by the description above of the first objective of forest policy must be considered as essential and should be classed as "protection forests." Whatever their form of ownership, legislation must ensure their protection against all misuse. For other forests, on the contrary, legislation may be more flexible, since in some cases it may be more economic to devote forested land to growing agricultural crops rather than trees. Sometimes land may be better alternately cultivated and left fallow under a forest cover. Nevertheless, haphazard clearing of forests for cultivation should be controlled and the proper administration of woodlands coming into this category should be ensured.(b) Forests can be classified according to the relative urgency of bringing them under effective statutory control. This is particularly appropriate in underdeveloped countries embracing vast forest tracts. It would obviously be a mistake to impose strict regulations everywhere, since it might be out of the question to develop certain parts of the forest domain except in the very distant future. It is far more urgent to concentrate attention on areas of immediate importance. For instance, the forest law should initially apply to protection forests, already in existence or about to be created, and which are presently threatened. Thereafter it should apply to forests which, although not classified as protection forests, are already opened up for exploitation or will shortly be so. These latter might be classified as "reserved forests." Over remaining parts of the forest domain, which may still be extensive, it may be sufficient to define certain rights of usage, remembering that nothing is more useless than a law that cannot be enforced.
It is obvious that the forest domain, within the meaning of paragraphs (a) and (b) above, must be subject to change. Unclassed forests may be made into reserves as circumstances warrant and the forest service is expanded. Similarly, the need to dedicate an area as a protection forest may only subsequently become apparent. Legislation must therefore leave room for adjustments, but must establish definitely the procedure to be followed in classifying forests.
(c) Finally, the forest domain can be divided into national forests, comprising all areas belonging to the central government; forests owned collectively by states, provinces, communities, etc.; and privately owned areas. The legislation appropriate to each kind of ownership will vary, and again must differ according to whether or not the forests in question are classed as protection forests or reserved forests. Legislation must, in each case, define the jurisdiction of the central government and the exact functions of the forest service.
In this connection, attention should be drawn to three important points: (a) Whatever the form of ownership, a large number of forests are subject to certain rights of usage, of greater or less importance, which should not be ignored lest the whole economy of a region be thrown out of balance. Established either by title or custom, they may be cutting rights for certain requirements, grazing rights, or may be even more extensive. These rights must be defined and limited, and, in certain cases, will have to be restricted to certain areas or abolished outright. (b) The need to maintain or re-establish a forest cover may often necessitate that lands under collective or private ownership be subject to special regulations, considerably restricting vested rights. Legislation will have to determine such restrictions, the procedure for their implementation and, as the ultimate step, the compensatory terms or indemnities to be granted to the owners. concerned. These restrictions may, in certain cases, lead to expropriation, the procedure for which must be laid down in the same enactment. Conversely, it may be judged expedient to alienate certain tracts of national forests in the interest of the general economy of a region. The procedure for alienation should also be laid down by the Forest Law. (c) An individual owner or a whole community may, voluntarily or under compulsion, undertake forestry work, such as making plantations, which represents a long-term investment and which is more of a public than a private benefit. Legislation must in these cases require the government to provide indemnities and special advantages.
This classification will have certain consequences which the law will have to regulate. Independently therefrom, the law must lay down the principles of proper protection and exploitation for each of these classes of forest land. Lastly, it must define infractions of the law and establish penalties.
Forest Protection
Once the forest is protected against misuse by owners through this system of classification, it still must be protected against: (a) Natural hazards, such as fire, insects, and disease. Requisite legislation may vary greatly from case to case. Fire is by far the most serious hazard and legislation must be directed at both prevention and remedial measures. The use of fire within and near the forest must be controlled; defense measures and patrol must be made obligatory. Local residents should be required to assist in fire-fighting, proper fire-fighting services should be established, and other special arrangements should be made. (b) Unauthorized exploitation and damage caused, for instance, by unauthorized grazing.
At the same time, the law may also provide for nature preservation, protection of indigenous fauna and flora, and reservation of sites for public recreation or scientific research.
Rational Exploitation of forests
Legislation cannot go into details of the methods to be followed in every forest to assure regeneration and improve the growing stock. These methods must differ considerably from one kind of forest to another. But legislation must lay down, with no loophole for argument - and this is one of the most essential points of good forestry legislation - the principle of sustained yield. It must lay down the procedure to be followed to obtain this result. This will first call for the drawing up of a management plan to be applied over a given period of years and wherein will be the methods to be used in a particular case. The management plan will then be checked by trained and qualified technicians. After all these provisions have been complied with, then it becomes binding and enforceable under the law.
The forest law may contain a certain number of general provisions relating to cutting practices, such as sales in national forests, felling rotations, duration of exploitation, etc.
Investigation and Proof of Infractions
Legislation must finally determine: (a) the procedure for investigation and establishment of cases of infraction, as well as the responsibilities of the various law enforcement agencies; (b) the ensuing legal actions and proceedings once infraction has been established; (c) the nature of infractions and the penalties incurred.
STATUTORY REGULATIONS
Legislation cannot and should not enter into details of administrative application. This must vary from region to region; regulations will vary accordingly. They need not be considered in detail here. It is sufficient to stress that, whereas forest legislation is the province of the legislative branch of government, the regulations implementing this legislation emanate from the executive branch. The Forest Service as the appropriate executive agency must, therefore, be given the main responsibility for drawing up the regulations.
