Industrial Roundwood Research Articles

A gravity model analysis of trade regulations on wood products exports: Evidence from Cameroon, Ghana, and the republic of Congo

The study assesses the impact of the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreement (FLEGT VPA) and the Lacey Act Amendment (LAA) on the export quantities of wood products from Cameroon, Ghana and the Republic of Congo using the panel gravity Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) technique. The results indicate that FLEGT VPA had a negative and significant impact on industrial roundwood export quantity from all three countries. Similarly, its effects on the export of sawnwood and wood-based panels are also negative, except for Cameroon. On the other hand, the impact of LAA appears to be mixed. These results are validated by applying an alternative Driscoll-Kraay robust standard error estimation method.

Environmental performance evaluation in the forest sector: An extended stochastic data envelopment analysis approach

This study addresses the global concern about undesirable outputs in the Forest Sector. We propose two innovative models, namely a directional weak disposable DEA model and an extended stochastic DEA model, to measure environmental efficiency. These models make a significant contribution to the field by specifically assessing the uncertain environmental efficiency of the forest sector. We validated our proposed models by conducting an empirical application using the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) forest sector dataset. The study examines important outputs such as above ground biomass stock, export unit prices of industrial roundwood, wood removals (desirable outputs), and CO2 emissions from wildfires (undesirable output). The results demonstrate that our novel stochastic weak disposability DEA model outperforms traditional approaches when the second scenario is applied. Specifically, the average technical efficiency (TE) score decreases to 0.92, and the number of efficient units reduces to 27, representing an approximate improvement of 55 %. Furthermore, the reduction rate of CO2 emissions is 4.09 % lower than the benchmark. Hence, our extended novel stochastic weak disposability DEA approach enhances the assessment of efficiency and inefficiency in decision-making units, contributing to the mitigation of risk and uncertainty. It also improves overall environmental performance in forest management.

Prospects for commercial tree farming in Colombia

Over the next few decades, the area of planted forests required to satisfy worldwide demand for fiber, timber, and environmental services will need to increase by tens of millions of hectares (Mha). As no single nation can accommodate this expansion, planting sites in multiple countries must be identified. One prospective location is Colombia, which boasts nearly 26 Mha of land suitable for commercial tree planting, fair-to-excellent growth rates for major industrial species, good professional expertise, seaports on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, and low-to-moderate land prices. Yet, despite these outstanding assets, tree plantations in Colombia cover only 542 thousand hectares (ha), with almost 90 percent located in three distinct regions: the Andean, Orinoco, and Caribbean. Constraints to commercial tree farming in Colombia include cultural preferences for non-wood products in construction and domestic applications, low capacity for processing industrial roundwood, and lack of reliable wood supplies needed for firms to scale up operations. While land prices are attractive in the remote Orinoco Region, they are considerably higher in more accessible regions, such as the Andean and Caribbean, which are closer to markets, mills, and ports. These factors along with security problems, low levels of formal land titling, and property rights issues in rural areas can complicate operations and add risk to investments in plantation forestry. With land for tree planting at a premium and increasing global demand for wood, fiber, and carbon sequestration, Colombia’s plantation sector stands to profit, provided it can successfully address the barriers to its growth.

Can On-Farm Wood Meet the Global Wood Supply and Save Tropical Forests? A Systematic Review

Global wood supply is faced with an annual escalating scarcity threat by population growth and increased wood demand. Natural forests, a chief source of wood, are under pressure from massive deforestation and degradation, whereas plantation forests are faced with challenges of land tenure and competition from other land uses. This systematic review aimed to point out the contribution of on-farm trees to global wood supply and tropical forest conservation. The study adopted the Sample-Phenomenon of Interest-Design-Evaluation-Research type framework to identify relevant literature. Both grey and peer-reviewed publications were considered. Of the 3800 publications identified, 42 substantially met the inclusion criteria and were selected for data extraction. A huge imbalance was evident in the wood supply and demand that forest production could not satisfy alone. On-farm trees were observed to be a significant alternative source of wood supply in South Africa, India, and Kenya, supplying 27, 36, and 70 per cent of total apparent consumption, respectively. Where importation reliance was low and a low forest production rate, on-farm trees contributed more than 50% of the total apparent consumption. China had a high reliance on importation. On-farm trees contributed at least a supply of 8% of total apparent consumption. On-farm trees were the chief source of wood fuel. On-farm trees contribute substantially to the supply chain of industrial roundwood, woodfuel, and sawn wood, reducing the need to infiltrate the forests. Where the full potential of on-farm trees is inadequately exploited, on-farm trees can sustainably contribute to the wood supply chain and save tropical forests

Overview of Global Long-Distance Road Transportation of Industrial Roundwood

The aim of the study was to provide a comprehensive overview of global long-distance road transportation of industrial roundwood. The study focused on the maximum gross vehicle weight (GVW) limits allowed with different timber truck configurations, typical payloads in timber trucking, the road transportation share of the total industrial roundwood long-distance transportation volume, and the average long-distance transportation distances and costs of industrial roundwood. The study was carried out as a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was sent to timber transportation logistics experts and research scientists in the 30 countries with the largest industrial roundwood removals in Europe, as well as selected major forestry countries in the world (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Türkiye, the United States of America and Uruguay) in February 2022, and closed in May 2022. A total of 31 countries took part in the survey. The survey illustrated that timber trucking was the main long-distance transportation method of industrial roundwood in almost every country surveyed. Road transportation averaged 89% of the total industrial roundwood long-distance transportation volume. Timber truck configurations of 4 to 9 axles with GVW limits of around 30 tonnes to over 70 tonnes were most commonly used. The results indicated that higher GVW limits allowed significantly higher payloads in timber trucking, with the lowest payloads at less than 25 tonnes, and the highest payloads more than 45 tonnes. The average road transportation distance with industrial roundwood was 128 km, and the average long-distance transportation cost in timber trucking was €11.1 per tonne of timber transported. In the entire survey material, there was a direct relationship between transportation distance and transportation costs and an inverse relationship between maximum GVW limits and transportation costs. Consequently, in order to reduce transportation costs, it is essential to maximise payloads (within legal limits) and minimise haul distances. Several measures to increase cost- and energy-efficiency, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in road transportation logistics, are discussed in the paper. On the basis of the survey, it is recommended that up-to-date statistical data and novel research studies on the long-distance transportation of industrial roundwood be conducted in some countries in the future.

Quantifying additionality thresholds for forest carbon offsets in Mississippi pine pulpwood markets

Concerns over the additionality of carbon sequestration achieved through voluntary carbon market have threatened offset market credibility and stability. There is an urgent need to examine additionality in a dynamic market context. To this end, our analysis focuses on the extent to which deferred harvests of pine roundwood as an offset source can achieve additionality under changing roundwood prices across a large wood-producing region. Specifically, we consider the potential for offset market activity itself and for unexpected demand shocks to adjust carbon baselines as they each have an impact on the relative prices observed for industrial roundwood. We use a bioeconomic model of the roundwood market to simulate harvest activity and estimate the economically feasible levels of carbon storage across four wood-producing basins in Mississippi. We then present estimates of the expected changes in carbon storage under a given change in timber prices and demonstrate how this information can be used to approximate the optimal reaction curve for an offset broker, dealer, or verification program manager seeking to ensure additionality with credits they exchange. The optimal reaction curve consists of a response to a change in the roundwood price state by either approving supplementary harvest deferral contracts or by restricting the supply of new contracts, depending on the direction of the observed price change. Alternatively, the results suggest that contracts could be structured to facilitate payment conditional on realized timber price outcomes, rather than solely on evidence of a delayed harvest.

Effect of Different Levels of Inorganic Fertilizers on Growth and Yield of Beetroot under Poplar Based Agroforestry System

Agroforestry play crucial role in satisfying the need for industrial round wood and reaching the national aim of bringing one-third of total country’s land under forest/tree cover. The risk of losing money on crops due to poor monsoon conditions is mitigated, and farmers receive a steady stream of additional income as a result. Beet root is a highly productive, popular root vegetable grown mainly for its fleshy, enlarged roots prefers moderately cool condition. Furthermore, it could make a significant impact on the national initiative to double farmers' income growing agricultural crops under with spatial and temporal management. Present experiment was laid out to assess the effect of different levels of inorganic fertilizers on growth and yield of Beetroot under Poplar based Agroforestry in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with ten treatments and three replications viz. T0 – (70:110:70 kg NPK / ha), T1 –(100:110:70 kg NPK / ha), T2– (130:110:70 kg NPK / ha), T3–(160:110:70 kg NPK / ha), T4 – (70:130:70 kg NPK / ha), T5 –(70:150:70 kg NPK / ha), T6– (70:180:70 kg NPK / ha), T7– (70:110:80 kg NPK / ha), T8– (70:110:90 kg NPK/ha), T9–(70:110:100 kg NPK / ha). Findings of experiment show that fertilizer Treatment has a significant influence on the growth and yield of Beetroot. The yield parameters of beetroot were significantly affected due to different inorganic nutrient management and comparatively higher tuber yield (307.67 q/ha) was recorded in Treatment T6 (70:180:70kg NPK/ha).

Estimation of the Overmature Wood Stock and the Projection of the Maximum Wood Mobilization Potential up to 2100 in Hungary

The demand for woody biomass as a key raw material of the developing circular bioeconomy is expected to increase. This has led to the need of increased timber productivity and the search for new procurement methods, new assortments, and innovative supply chains. Timber is regarded as a climate-friendly resource, which can contribute to climate change mitigation through long-term carbon storage and through the substitution of fossil products and fossil fuels. Thus, it is of high importance to assess the amount of timber that can be harvested without compromising sustainability concerns. In this paper, we examined the amount of the wood stock accumulated in overmature stands in Hungary. We define overmature stands being those stands where the actual age of the stand is over its cutting age prescribed by the forest authority. According to our results, 11.5% of the standing volume in Hungary is overmature, and the wood stock of overmature stands has increased by more than 250% in the last 40 years. The importance of the overmature forests is enormous, as they represent an unused wood stock reserve, which could be available to meet the growing demand for timber. In our study, we also conducted a simple yield table-based projection on the maximum amount of timber available for harvest in the period 2020–2100 based on the data of the national forestry database and the cutting ages prescribed by the forest authority in the forest management plans. According to our results, even without new afforestation, more timber becomes available for harvest annually in the 2020–2100 period than the level of the average harvests of the last five historic years. In the 2020–2050 period, an additional 56% of timber is projected to become available for harvest as a maximum. This means a maximum additional potential of 4059 thousand m3, even without the harvesting of the stands, which were already overmature in the starting year of the projection. In the first part of the projection period, industrial wood available for harvest is forecasted to be above the average historic level of industrial wood production. However, in the second part of the projection period, the industrial wood yield shows a decreasing tendency and even drops below the 2017–2021 average. The decreasing availability of industrial roundwood in the second part of the projection period points out the importance of innovation in the wood industry. The inclusion of drought tolerant species, which are nowadays less used for industrial purposes seems inevitable in the production of high-quality wood products.

Fossil-fuel consumption and CO2eq emissions of cut-to-length industrial roundwood logging operations in Finland

The aim of this study was to measure and model the fuel consumption of cut-to-length (CTL) logging machinery in cutting and forwarding under Nordic harvesting conditions, and to clarify which factors had the greatest effect on the fuel consumption. In addition, the total annual fuel consumption and CO2eq emissions were calculated for CTL logging operations in Finland in 2020. The data were collected during a long-term follow-up study on the fuel consumption of harvesters and forwarders conducted between March 2018 and April 2019. The fuel consumption data were obtained from a total of 16 harvesters and 13 forwarders equipped with digital flow metres featuring an accuracy of ± 1% of the fuel volume measured. The engine power of the forest machines explained most of the hour-based fuel consumption. Correspondingly, the harvesting conditions of the forest stand best explained the cubic-metre-based fuel consumption. The fuel consumption of CTL logging operations (cutting and forwarding) averaged 1.4 L m−3 in final felling, and 3.1 and 2.2 L m−3 in first and later thinning, respectively. There was a large variation in the cubic-metre-based fuel consumption between individual machines, both for harvesters and forwarders. The total calculated fuel consumption in Finnish CTL operations in 2020 was 126.6 million L, with the calculated CO2eq emissions totalling 334,209 t (i.e. 5.7 kg m−3). Several measures to accelerate fuel and energy efficiency and reduce CO2eq emissions in CTL logging operations are discussed in the paper.

Fuel consumption of a high-capacity transport (HCT) vehicle combination for industrial roundwood hauling: a case study of laden timber truck combinations in Finland

ABSTRACT In this case study, the fuel consumption of a laden (i.e., the laden portion of the transport cycle) 92-tonne (92 t) high-capacity transport (HCT) timber truck combination was measured, modeled and compared to that of a normal 76 t timber truck combination in Finland. Fuel and CO2 emission savings, as well as potential resulting cost savings were also calculated for a future scenario where HCT (92 t) timber trucks are commonly utilized instead of normal (76 t) timber trucks for industrial roundwood hauling from wood terminals to mill yards. The data were collected during a long-term follow-up study in 2019 and 2020. The results revealed that the average payload weight was 27% higher for the HCT 92 t timber truck combination than the 76 t truck combination. Fuel consumption (using all two indicators, L 100 km−1 and mL tkm−1) for timber hauling with both laden vehicle combinations was higher in wintertime than summertime. The laden HCT 92 t timber truck combination had 8–11% lower fuel consumption (in mL tkm−1) than the 76 t truck combination over transport distances of 100–300 km. The calculations showed that there is a significant potential to achieve fuel, CO2 emission and cost savings using HCT vehicle combinations. On the basis of the study, it can be recommended to increase the number of energy-efficient HCT vehicle combinations in timber hauling. Consequently, lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions and higher environmental performance of industrial roundwood transport can be achieved.

Estimation of carbon stocks in harvested wood products of buildings in Japan: flux-data method and direct inventory method

In this study, carbon stocks in harvested wood products (HWPs) of buildings in Japan were estimated using the direct inventory method, which is highly accurate, and the flux-data method, which was proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and is commonly used worldwide. We analyzed the differences between the estimated results and the respective reasons. The results indicate that the flux-data method greatly underestimated the carbon stocks in HWPs of buildings in Japan. In 2019, the values estimated by the flux-data method were only approximately 64% of those estimated by the direct inventory method. The half-lives of HWPs and the estimated continuous rate of change in industrial roundwood consumption proposed by the IPCC were likely the main causes of this difference. As for the decay function, the first-order decay, which is a default function proposed by the IPCC, was considered reliable for the estimations, because the decay function was not the main cause of the obtained difference.

COMPETITIVIDADE BRASILEIRA DAS EXPORTAÇÕES DOS PRODUTOS FLORESTAIS, DE 2008 A 2018

ABSTRACT This article aims to analyze Brazil’s global competitiveness in the exportation of forest products from 2008 to 2018. Data on importation and exportation were obtained from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - FAO, while Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA), Contribution to Trade Balance (CTB), and Terms of Trade (TOT) were the indicators used to measure international trade. The main results show that Brazil has a positive trade balance for forest products, mainly for wood pulp exports. Brazil’s RCA for forest products was classified as moderate to strong. As for the forest product groups, it was strong for wood pulp, weak to moderate for wood panels, weak for paper and paperboard, weak to nonexpressive for timber, and non-expressive for industrial roundwood and wood fuel. Based on Brazil’s CTB, all the forest product groups have a comparative advantage, except wood fuel. Brazil’s TOT was strong for wood panels, timber, industrial roundwood, wood pulp, in order from most to least expressive. In conclusion, Brazilian exports have comparative advantages and are competitive in the international market.

Fuel Consumption, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Energy Efficiency of Wood-Harvesting Operations

The EU’s climate and energy framework and Energy Efficiency Directive drive European companies to improve their energy efficiency. In Finland, the aim is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035. Stora Enso Wood Supply Finland (WSF) had a target, by 2020, to improve its energy efficiency by 4% from the 2015 level. This case study researches the use of the forest machine fleet contracted to Stora Enso WSF. The aims were to 1) clarify the forest machine fleet energy-efficiency as related to the engine power; 2) determine the fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wood-harvesting operations, including relocations of forest machines by trucks; and 3) investigate the energy efficiency of wood-harvesting operations. The study data consisted of Stora Enso WSF’s industrial roundwood harvest of 8.9 million m3 (solid over bark) in 2016. The results illustrated that forest machinery was not allocated to the different cutting methods (thinning or final felling) based on the engine power. The calculated fuel consumption totalled 14.2 million litres (ML) for harvesting 8.9 million m3, and the calculated fuel consumption of relocations totalled 1.2 ML, for a total of 15.4 ML. The share of fuel consumption was 52.5% for harvesters (cutting), 39.5% for forwarders (forest haulage), and 8.0% for forest machine relocations. The average calculated cubic-based fuel consumption of wood harvesting was 1.6 L/m3, ranging from the lowest of 1.2 L/m3 for final fellings to the highest of 2.8 L/m3 in first thinnings. The calculated fuel consumption from machine relocations was, on average, 0.13 L/m3. The calculated carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 eq.) emissions totalled 40,872 tonnes (t), of which 21,676 t were from cutting, 16,295 t were from forwarding, and 2,901 t from relocation trucks. By cutting method, the highest calculated CO2 eq. emissions were recorded in first thinnings (7340 g CO2 eq./m3) and the lowest in final fellings (3140 g CO2 eq./m3). The calculated CO2 eq. emissions in the forest machine relocations averaged 325 g CO2 eq./m3. The results underlined that there is a remarkable gap between the actual and optimal allocation of forest machine fleets. Minimizing the gap could result in higher work productivity, lower fuel consumption and GHG emissions, and higher energy efficiency in wood-harvesting operations in the future.

Estimating global land system impacts of timber plantations using MAgPIE 4.3.5

Abstract. Out of 1150 Mha (million hectares) of forest designated primarily for production purposes in 2020, plantations accounted for 11 % (131 Mha) of this area and fulfilled more than 33 % of the global industrial roundwood demand. However, adding additional timber plantations to meet increasing timber demand intensifies competition for scarce land resources between different land uses such as food, feed, livestock and timber production. Despite the significance of plantations with respect to roundwood production, their importance in meeting the long-term timber demand and the implications of plantation expansion for overall land-use dynamics have not been studied in detail, in particular regarding the competition for land between agriculture and forestry in existing land-use models. This paper describes the extension of the modular, open-source land system Model of Agricultural Production and its Impact on the Environment (MAgPIE) using a detailed representation of forest land, timber production and timber demand dynamics. These extensions allow for a better understanding of the land-use dynamics (including competition for land) and the associated land-use change emissions of timber production. We show that the spatial cropland patterns differ when timber production is accounted for, indicating that timber plantations compete with cropland for the same scarce land resources. When plantations are established on cropland, it causes cropland expansion and deforestation elsewhere. Using the exogenous extrapolation of historical roundwood production from plantations, future timber demand and plantation rotation lengths, we model the future spatial expansion of forest plantations. As a result of increasing timber demand, we show a 177 % increase in plantation area by the end of the century (+171 Mha in 1995–2100). We also observe (in our model results) that the increasing demand for timber amplifies the scarcity of land, which is indicated by shifting agricultural land-use patterns and increasing yields from cropland compared with a case without forestry. Through the inclusion of new forest plantation and natural forest dynamics, our estimates of land-related CO2 emissions better match with observed data, in particular the gross land-use change emissions and carbon uptake (via regrowth), reflecting higher deforestation with the expansion of managed land and timber production as well as higher regrowth in natural forests and plantations.

GFPMX: A Cobweb Model of the Global Forest Sector, with an Application to the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The GFPMX projects forest area and stock, consumption, production, imports, exports, and prices of industrial roundwood, fuelwood, sawnwood, wood-based panels, wood pulp, and paper and paperboard in 180 countries, and currently from 2018 to 2070. The core principle of the model is the cobweb theorem, according to which markets are not necessarily in equilibrium, but take some time to adjust to shocks—such as demand shifts—leading to oscillatory dynamics of prices and quantities. This paper presents the model’s structure and the estimation of its parameters from international statistics on production, trade, forest area, and forest stock. This is followed by an application of the GFPMX to the impact on the global forest sector of the economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Worldwide trends in methods for harvesting and extracting industrial roundwood

ABSTRACT Globally, almost 2 billion cubic meters of industrial roundwood are harvested yearly. Two of the most common methods of harvest and extraction are cut-to-length (CTL) and full-tree or tree-length (FT/TL). The aim of this study was to compile data on annual volumes of industrial roundwood harvested by the main methods in forestry countries. To quantify the effect of potential explanatory variables, the data were subjected to linear regression analysis, using shares of roundwood volumes harvested by fully mechanized CTL and/or FT/TL as response variables. Generally, high diesel price and Gross Domestic Product appear to favor CTL, while high shares of steep terrain (>20°) in forest land decrease the leve l of both mechanization and CTL, and low Social Security Rate (SSR) favor FT/TL. Two models were created for CTL, one with an R2 of 0.64 and another more complex with an R2 of 0.75. A separate model for mechanization (CTL and FT/TL together) showed an R2 0.57. The CTL models could potentially be used to predict shares of roundwood volumes harvested by CTL in countries not included in this study. Predictions for countries with large harvested volumes, e.g. China and India, are presented here, but they require validation, as does the model’s applicability for countries with small harvested volumes. Countries with less than 10% of steep slope forests are almost exclusively mechanized according to the model. For FT/TL, the proposed model is probably not sufficiently robust for prediction, but it highlights SSR as one important explanatory variable.

Globalisation Impacts on Timber Consumption in Slovakia

Research background: Globalisation is nowadays phenomenon which affects all economic sectors. The pros and cons of globalisation can also be observed in the case of forestry and forest-based complex in Slovakia. Timber trade and market follows the theory of derived demand, which means that demand for wood depends on the demand for final products. We can observe a significant impact of globalisation on changes in the use of wood from traditional to new ecological and sustainable use. Since 1993 the consumption of industrial roundwood in Slovakia has increased by almost 185%. Purpose of the article: The aim of this study is to examine the impact of globalisation on the consumption of coniferous and non-coniferous industrial roundwood in Slovakia, and to determine the relationship between the consumption of industrial roundwood and trends of globalisation trends in Slovakia. Methods: The development of KOF globalization index was analysed in the period 2003 to 2018. In addition, the development of the consumption of coniferous and non-coniferous industrial roundwood was examined. The correlation analysis and linear regression were used to analyse the relationship between the KOF globalisation index and development of consumption of coniferous and non-coniferous industrial roundwood in Slovakia. Findings & Value added: The results of correlation analysis show statistically significant relationship between globalisation and the development of consumption of industrial roundwood in Slovakia. We can conclude that the development of globalisation has more significant impact on consumption of non-coniferous industrial roundwood than on consumption of coniferous industrial roundwood.

The Status of Wood Products Supply and Demand in Ethiopia: A Review

This review paper focused on the Ethiopian wood products demand and supply situation in the current and future time period. Fuel wood and industrial round wood products were considered in this review paper. The reviewed paper showed that the wood demand in Ethiopia growing fast due to increasing of purchasing power, economic growth, middle class, urbanization and construction boom. In 2015, the fuel wood demand estimated about 120.4 million m 3 RWE and industrial wood estimated approximately 8.4 million m 3 RWE. To meet the needs of the growing demand, a supply of 4.4 million cubic meters of industrial wood will need to close the gaps by the year 2033. Demand and supply gap of wood products showed high disparity and grow from time to time. The round wood gap estimated 1.8 million m 3 in 2013 and 4.4 million m 3 gap of supply by the year 2033. The total volume of wood products demand estimated 1.2 million m3 RWE in 2015 and 13.9 m 3 RWE by the year 2040. In the past years most of wood product supplied from woodlot and natural forest by logging while now it decreases and substitute by import products. In 2015, the country imported 3.006 million m 3 RWE of different industrial wood products. The imported products worth nearly USD 182.53 million and the domestic production was estimated about 5.43 million m 3 in 2015. The low level of industrial wood supply from domestic production is compensated by a large volume of imports. Between the years 2000-2013, the country has been imported 170,721.3 tons and estimate worth of 159 million USD and the import bill will reach 3 billion USD by the year 2035. The country also imported an average 65,680m 3 /year of different industrial wood products between the years 2007-2015. The main imported wood products were sawn wood, plywood and furniture. Ethiopia export small quantity of wood products. The trade balance between import and export showed that a negative trade balance between the years 2007-2015. The total estimated amount of import was 120,000m RWE and export about 35,000m 3 RWE. To narrow down demand-supply discrepancy and substitution of import volume, encouragement of investment is a crucial solution in forestry. Keywords: Demand, Export, Import, Supply, Trade balance, Wood product DOI: 10.7176/JESD/12-1-03 Publication date: January 31 st 2021

Holistic Development of Agroforestry in India and the Key Factors for Success

Agroforestry plantations currently meet nearly 90% of industrial round wood requirements of major wood based industries such as plywood and panel products and pulp and paper. Moreover agroforestry contributes immensely to dense forest and tree cover of India, carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation, increase in employment opportunities and government revenues and indirect conservation of natural forests. This paper discusses key factors that contribute to the success of major agroforestry projects, issues, constraints, opportunities and policy reforms required for holistic development of agroforestry in India and makes specific suggestions for consideration of government and the stake holders.

Prospects for Post COVID-19 Era Optimisation of the Forest Products Industry in Nigeria

COVID-19 pandemic has taught nations a number of lessons.. The lockdown by nations to slow the spread of the disease created a demand and supply shocks that led to drop in international trade and investment flows of 30% to 40% respectively. Nigeria is not immune from this development. The country also depends on importation of secondary raw materials for its industries. As a result of acute deforestation, the economic wood species in Nigeria have reduced significantly forcing the forest industries to rely on importation of raw materials such as Plywood, Medium and High Density Fibreboards, 0 OSR boards and a host of others as most of the particleboard and plymills have closed operation as a result of unavailability of prime wood species. The near absolute dependence on these raw materials led to disruption in the operation of the forest industries as a result of the lockdown in international trade occasioned by the CODID-19 pandemic. Production of most items in the sector has reduced significantly. For instance the sawmills operated at 28% of its installed capacity while the plymills and particleboard mills operated at below12% and capacity utilisation respectively.This development necessitates the need for adequate plans to be made for the post COVID-19 era optimisation of the forest industries in Nigeria. This can only be achieved through initiation of policy that will enthrone Public-Private-Sector-Partnership in sustainable production of industrial raw materials, most especially, roundwood in the country. The total availability of roundwood of 30cm in diameter and above is less than 300,000,000m 3 . Thus, Nigeria may run out of industrial roundwood in the next 5 years. As a result, Nigeria must enthrone adequate policies to ensure sustenance of its ndustries most especially, those that have to do with industrial roundwood and wood based panels production. Also adequate policy is required to promote programmes such as wood reuse, environmental planting, development and industrial utilisation of bamboo, formation of forest industry clusters and wood products certification. Keywords: Roundwood, clusters, plywood, certification, wood reclamation. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-16-16 Publication date: August 31 st 2020