BY THE STAFF DIVISION OF FORESTRY AND FOREST PRODUCTS
The remedy for the world-wide forest products deficit lies in better national policies; carrying out these policies requires adequate personnel. A few months after it was established, the Forestry and Forest Products Division of FAO undertook a questionnaire survey on the status of employment in forestry, its development as contemplated by various countries, and the resources of those countries for training personnel.
Although some valuable results were obtained, tile first experimental survey demonstrated the difficulties involved in a project of this kind. The survey covered 65 countries. From those countries which administer territories outside the mother country, individual replies were requested for each of the territories, or at least for all of them taken together. About 50 replies have been received. In addition, in the case of some territories under British administration, a number of tables could be completed with data obtained from the Empire Forestry Handbook. However, all the information collected covers only 66 percent of the productive forest land of the world. This low figure is due primarily to the fact that the U.S.S.R. has not replied to the questionnaire, and the forest land of that country alone is more than 25 percent of the world total.
The data received are presented in tabular form below, with some discussion of each table. In these tables the various countries have been grouped so as to bring out particularly significant data.
Table 1 (A) shows in detail the reported numbers of personnel now employed in forestry management work, including both the personnel with advanced technical training and those with subprofessional training.
It is obvious that only a comparison between the number of foresters and the area of productive forests is of real interest. However, in such a comparison, it must be remembered that, for the whole world, 46 percent of the total area of productive forests is still considered inaccessible. Nevertheless, even in inaccessible forests, which are reserves for the future, at the least some form of protection against fire should be established, even though it may be lacking now.
Hence, if we take the total of productive forests into consideration, as is done in Table 1 (A), it appears that on a world-wide scale there is one forestry technician per 104,000 hectares of forest land, and one subordinate forestry employee per 32,000 hectares, whereas Denmark has one forestry technician per 1,700 hectares and one subordinate employee per 900 hectares.
The underdevelopment of the countries of the Southern Hemisphere in this field, with the exception of the Pacific area, is striking. It is brought into relief in the first four columns of Table 1 (B). Europe and North America together have 82 percent and 84 percent respectively of the technicians and subordinate forestry employees of the reporting countries.
In column 5 of Table 1 (B), there is striking variation in the proportions between the numbers of subordinate employees and the numbers of persons employed in a technical capacity; this discrepancy is even more strongly marked in government services. In Europe, the northern countries have, in government services alone, an average of 2 subordinate employees to each technical officer, and the proportion is the same in North America. For other European countries, there are 6 subordinate employees to each technical officer. Asia, particularly because of the organization of the Indian Forest Service, and North Africa and the Middle East, also have a comparatively high proportion of the one to the other. These proportions appear to be in direct relation to the density of population and no doubt also to the attitude of the inhabitants toward the forests. The countries whose forests are relatively scarce and comparatively easy of access feel the need of stricter supervision of their forest stands.
The last three columns of Table 1 (B) also furnish certain information on this subject, but hasty conclusions should be avoided. Densely populated countries are generally poor in forests, or else the forests are beyond the reach of the centers of population, so that no very definite relation between the number of inhabitants and the number of forestry officials can be expected. Nevertheless, these columns are indicative of the interest shown by various regions in the conservation and management of their forests. This interest is particularly marked in the Northern Hemisphere, but there are comparable figures for the Pacific region which clearly indicate developing attention to forestry in that area.
Finally, considering Europe alone in Table 1 (A), it may be seen that privately owned forests are somewhat more neglected than public lands. Still, one question in the survey seems to have been sometimes misunderstood: some European countries probably have included timber industries technicians whereas the words " foresters employed in industries, " used in the questionnaire, were intended to apply to technical and subprofessional personnel employed by industrial owners of forest lands or to those with cutting licenses, in order to assure good management of their forests.
TABLE 1 (A). - PROFESSIONAL FORESTERS EMPLOYED (NOT INCLUDING INSTRUCTORS)
TABLE 1 (A). - PROFESSIONAL FORESTERS EMPLOYED (NOT INCLUDING INSTRUCTORS) Concluded
In any case, only the North European countries have more forest technicians and many more subprofessional assistants employed in private forests than in public forests. However, the area of private forests is 72 percent of the total productive area, so that private forests have only one technician for 26,000 hectares and one subprofessional for 6,000 hectares, while in public forests there is one technician for 11,000 hectares and one subprofessional for 5,600 hectares. But this disequilibrium between private and public forests is much more important for the other reporting European countries. There, private forests cover 60 percent of the total productive area, and if private forests have one technician for 11,000 hectares and one subprofessional for 3,600 hectares, public forests would have one technician for 3,300 hectares and one subprofessional for 550 hectares. Obviously, in many European countries, governmental services have some supervision over private forests. However, it remains true that these figures signify a considerable relative backwardness in the development of privately owned forests though, from this point of view, important progress is noted in Scandinavian countries.
TABLE 2 (A). - TRENDS FOR THE FUTURE
Increases considered necessary for 1948 (professional foresters of government services only)
|
Regions |
Present number |
Increases provided for |
Rate of increase in relation to the present figure |
|
Percent |
|||
|
Europe |
4,447 |
845 |
19 |
|
North America |
4,617 |
699 |
15 |
|
Asia |
1,407 |
176 |
12 |
|
Africa |
306 |
58 |
19 |
|
North Africa and the Middle East |
160 |
140 |
87 |
|
Pacific Area |
252 |
87 |
35 |
|
Latin America |
315 |
155 |
49 |
|
Total |
11,504 |
2,160 |
19 |
In North America, Canada has a relatively small proportion of private forest lands (12 percent). On the contrary, in the United States, it is 72 percent and, even so, while public forests have one technician for 12,000 hectares and one subprofessional for 6,000 hectares, private forests have only one technician for 70,000 hectares and one subprofessional for 35,000 hectares Consequently, relative backwardness is much more important here than in Europe.
Questions regarding the increase in the number of foresters were raised to ascertain the forest policy trends in various countries. Although there were widely divergent interpretations of these questions, it is possible to form an idea of these tendencies for the major regions of the world from these tables, in which all countries appearing in Table 1 (A) are included.
All these countries seem to be anxious to develop or to organize their present forestry services. This observation remains valid even in the countries poorest in forest resources, for example, those of the Middle East. Of course, circumstances may arise which prevent countries from bringing their plans to fruition. Nevertheless, under the most favorable circumstances, there will be in 1950 approximately one forestry officer on the average for every 78,000 hectares of productive forests
Progress on privately owned forest land will probably be slower than in the government services. However, in many regions, the planned rate of increase in employment is similar.
The purpose of the question was to determine, for each country, the number of foresters considered necessary to administer all of its forests in accordance with forestry principles.
This question was interpreted in various ways. Perhaps it should have been specified whether it applied only to productive forests or only to accessible productive forests. Probably lack of precision in the question is responsible for the wide differences shown in Table 3 (A) regarding the areas a forester can handle under regular management - from 7,000 hectares for Europe to 467,000 hectares for Latin America and 644,000 hectares for Africa.
TABLE 3 (A). - ESTIMATE OF THE NUMBER OF FORESTERS NECESSARY FOR TOTAL MANAGEMENT OF FORESTS
Nevertheless, the differences are still striking when the reporting countries are restricted, as in Table 3 (B), to some of those where difficulties could scarcely be found in the definition of the areas involved, and where a high standard of forestry methods has already been reached. While Denmark considers that one forester is needed for 1,700 hectares (about the same as it has now), Sweden considers one for 21,400 hectares sufficient, the United States one for 23,900 hectares, and Australia one for 37,500 hectares.
It would be impossible, of course, for the United States, as an instance, to contemplate a basis similar to Denmark, since that would involve a technical staff: of 112,000 foresters, while the present number is only 6,295. Hence, it must be recognized that the kind of management a country can aim for is conditioned not only by the perfection it has reached in silvicultural techniques, but also by its general economic conditions, involving such factors as the development of roads and means of transportation, the density of population, and the expansion of markets.
However, it is too easy to say that everything depends on "intensity of management. " What, exactly, does this mean? Would the perfection be relative to management, and also, consequently, to silvicultural care? Are proper management and silvicultural care merely relative ideas? If "very intensive" management is necessary to obtain from the forests their maximum yield, must the countries owning large forest areas be content to resign themselves to obtaining smaller yields per hectare? Or are there radically different conceptions of management?
At least, this part of the questionnaire draws attention to the problem, the importance of which is obvious to any forester.
In many cases, questions relating to the number of foresters serving as instructors seem to have been misinterpreted. The purpose of the questionnaire was to determine the number of specialized teachers now teaching in forestry schools. Some European countries reported very low figures which obviously do not correspond to reality.
The number of engineers or officers who were graduated with degrees in 1946 fell off considerably, as compared to the average for the years 1935-1939. This decline was due primarily to the decrease in the number of such graduates in North America, and the cause was obviously the disruption of school curricula and attendance caused by the war.
On the other hand, the anticipated number for 1950 will be more than 2½ times greater than the average for 1935-1939 and over 3½ times that of 1946.
In Table 4 (B), an effort was made to find out whether these expected increases would provide the number of foresters estimated to be needed. If planned increases are carried out, the total number of forestry officers would be augmented from 16,562 to 22,195 within three years. It might be estimated roughly that the losses due to the retirement or decease of foresters in three years would amount to 9 percent of present staffs, or 16,652. Therefore, the number of foresters to be graduated from the schools would have to make good a deficit of 22,195 - 16,652 (1 - 0.09) = 7,124. Given the fact that, over those three years, the average yearly number of foresters to be graduated will be equal to the average number for 1946 and 1950, the figure will equal
which is fairly close to the anticipated need.
TABLE 4 (A). - TEACHING STAFF AND GRADUATIONS
|
|
Number of teachers |
Number of engineers or foresters receiving degrees per annum |
Number of students graduated per professor |
||||
|
Present |
Estimated for 1950 |
Average for 1935-1939 |
1946 |
Estimated for 1950 |
1946 |
Estimated |
|
|
Europe |
217 |
230 |
335 |
454 |
749 |
2.1 |
3.3 |
|
North America |
286 |
612 |
923 |
322 |
2,042 |
1.1 |
3.3 |
|
Asia |
303 |
480 |
89 |
129 |
543 |
0.4 |
1.1 |
|
Africa |
9 |
19 |
15 |
23 |
30 |
2.6 |
1.6 |
|
North Africa and Middle East |
0 |
12 |
3 |
1 |
152 |
|
12.7 |
|
Pacific Area |
9 |
18 |
10 |
16 |
65 |
1.8 |
3.6 |
|
Latin America |
16 |
44 |
29 |
43 |
45 |
2.7 |
1.0 |
|
Total and Averages |
840 |
1,415 |
1,404 |
988 |
3,626 |
1.2 |
2.6 |
TABLE 4 (B). - EXPECTED GRADUATIONS IN RELATION TO ESTIMATED NEEDS
Although this cheek, approximate though it be, is sufficiently satisfactory for the world as a whole, Table 4 (B) makes it clear that no such balance can be anticipated for all parts of the world. In particular, the educational policy followed by certain countries of Europe is clearly inadequate to provide for the increase in the number of foresters required in 1950.
Table 4 (A) shows that the increase anticipated for 1950 in the number of teachers does not correspond exactly to the increase in the number of persons taking degrees. These increases are not necessarily proportional, of course. But it is striking that North America, where the number of students taking degrees in 1950 will be more than twice the average of the years 1935-1939, is more than doubling the number of its teachers. On the contrary, for the entire world there will only be a 69 percent increase in the number of teachers as compared to an anticipated increase of 158 percent in the number of students taking degrees during the same period. It is true, however, as shown in the last two columns of Table 4 (A), that the proportion of the number of students taking degrees to the number of teachers was widely divergent among the various regions in 1946, and this proportion would therefore be reduced to more closely comparable figures for 1950.
In a general way, the number of graduates per teacher seems very low.
Finally, many countries have no forestry schools of their own and must depend on the courses their students take abroad in order to increase the number of their foresters.
These tables show that many countries wish to send students abroad, either to acquire degrees or to take advanced courses.
The opportunities in this field are, generally speaking, entirely inadequate to the demand, which leads to the conclusion that countries without forestry schools should organize some as soon as possible, in order to guarantee the development of their forestry services.
However, there are some opportunities open and it is probable that full advantage is not being taken of them.
Among the countries accepting foreign students, however, only the United States has indicated that a certain number of scholarships are offered by various government and private organizations. For countries wishing both to accept foreign students and to send some of their own abroad, a system of reciprocal exchange could be organized.
TABLE 5 (A). - COUNTRIES WILLING TO ADMIT STUDENTS FOR TRAINING (ADVANCED COURSES)
|
|
Number of Students per annum |
|
Europe |
|
|
Bulgaria |
3 |
|
Finland |
5 |
|
France |
30 |
|
Greece |
5 |
|
Italy |
3 |
|
Sweden |
5 |
|
Switzerland |
10 |
|
Czechslovakia |
25 |
|
North America |
|
|
Canada |
45 |
|
United States |
106 |
|
Asia |
|
|
The Philippines |
3 |
|
Africa |
|
|
France (for its African territories) |
6 |
|
Pacific Area |
|
|
Australia |
2 |
|
New Zealand |
2 (after 1950) |
|
South America |
|
|
Brazil |
3 |
|
Total |
253 |
The other questions asked generally received very vague and incomplete replies, if any at all. A few points which may be of interest are mentioned.
Only 5 European countries, together with the United States and Australia, stated that they were prepared to send teachers and professional foresters on missions abroad. The United States did not specify the exact number of the latter; for Europe and Australia, the figures are:
|
Bulgaria |
2 |
professional |
foresters |
(and) 2 |
assistants |
|
Denmark |
12 |
" |
" |
|
|
|
Finland |
50 |
" |
" |
|
|
|
France (including "s African territories) |
15 |
" |
" |
25 |
" |
|
Italy |
6 |
" |
" |
10 |
" |
|
Sweden |
5 |
" |
" |
|
|
|
Australia |
1 |
" |
" |
" |
" |
As regards the number of teachers and foreign foresters requested for each country, there were only a few replies of interest:
|
Argentina |
requests |
|
50 |
professional foresters & |
100 |
assistants |
|
Iran |
" |
5 teachers, |
18 |
" |
20 |
" |
|
Chile |
" |
3 " |
6 |
" |
20 |
" |
|
Sweden |
" |
|
5 |
" |
" |
" |
|
Iraq |
" |
1 " |
3 |
" |
" |
" |
|
Peru |
" |
|
2 |
" |
" |
" |
|
France |
" |
|
1 |
" |
" |
" |
The Philippines and New Zealand have a limited number of professional foresters, but gave no exact figures.
TABLE 5 (B). - COUNTRIES DESIRING TO SEND STUDENTS ABROAD
|
|
For advanced degrees from 1948 to 1950 |
For refresher courses or advanced training without degrees |
|
Europe |
|
|
|
Austria |
3 per annum |
|
|
Finland |
2 per annum |
|
|
France |
|
3 per annum |
|
Greece |
5 per annum |
5 per annum |
|
Italy |
2 per annum |
3 per annum |
|
Luxembourg |
4 in 1949 |
|
|
Netherlands |
10 per annum |
|
|
Poland |
7 in '48; 9 in '49 and '50 |
38 in '48; 35 in '49 and '50 |
|
Czechoslovakia |
|
30 per annum |
|
North America |
|
|
|
Canada |
15 per annum |
5 per annum |
|
United States |
128 per annum |
|
|
Asia |
|
|
|
China |
14 per annum |
16 per annum |
|
India |
17 per annum |
|
|
Indonesia |
10 per annum |
|
|
The Philippines |
4 per annum |
4 per annum |
|
Siam |
2 per annum. |
2 per annum |
|
Africa |
|
|
|
Union of South Africa |
2 in 1950 |
2 in 1950 |
|
North Africa and the Middle East |
|
|
|
Iran |
30 per annum |
|
|
Iraq |
2 per annum |
7 Per annum |
|
Morocco |
2 per annum |
1 per annum |
|
Syria |
1 per annum |
1 Per annum |
|
Pacific Area |
|
|
|
Australia |
3 in '48-'49; 2 in '50 |
4 per annum |
|
New Zealand |
1 in 1950 |
4 per annum. |
|
Central and South America |
|
|
|
Argentina |
3 in '48-'49; 2 in '50 |
7 in '48; 6 in '49 and '50 |
|
Brazil |
10 in '48-'49; 4 in '50 |
|
|
Chile |
2 in '49 and '50 |
4 in 1950 |
|
Cuba |
1 per annum |
2 per annum. |
|
Peru |
3 per annum. |
|
|
Puerto Rico |
1 in '48; 2 in '49 and '50 |
|
|
Approximate Totals |
274 |
131 |
