Planted forests
Description of plantation resources
Introduction
In Burkina Faso, plantations have been used for non-industrial purposes for several decades including fuelwood, agroforestry, windbreaks, roadside plantations and shade (FAO, 1999).
Development of forest plantations
Plantation activity started after a drought in the 1970s. Its objective was to produce fuelwood for the urban population. By 1986 about 17 000 ha had been planted. Because of high costs, this effort was abandoned.
In 1977, plantations were begun by individuals and communities. Agroforestry was also started around this time. There was no system to collect data on the area of such plantations. Ownership data are not available.
Plantations have been established for a variety of purposes, including production of forest products, agroforestry, protection against erosion, windbreaks, roadside beautification, etc. (FAO, 1999).
In 1986 there was about 17 000 ha of government-owned plantations. In 1989, private plantations were estimated to be about 3 000 ha (DGEF, 1990).
Species composition
The main species planted are Eucalyptus spp., Cassia spp., Azadirachta spp. and Tectona grandis (FAO, 1999). These are mainly used as fuelwood. In addition, Azadirachta indica is used as medicine. Gmelina arborea is used as raw material for matches (DGEF, 1990).
Trend
Silvicultural techniques and knowledge are transferred to private individuals (FAO, 1999).
Issues
Estimation of area by various sub-national units is very difficult. Lack of data affects plantation management (FAO, 1999).
References
FAO. 1999. Les ressources forestières naturelles et les plantations forestières du Burkina Faso. By Compaoré, A. & Kaboreacute, C. In Programme d´évaluation des ressources forestières 2000. Rome.
DGEF. 1990. Rapport National. In Dixième Session du Congrès Forestier Mondial. Ouagadougou. Direction Général des Eaux et Forêts, Ministère de l´environnement.
DGEF. 1999. Rapport National sur le Secteur Forestier. By Ouedraogo, J. and Ouedraogo K. In workshop of Data Collection and Analysis for Sustainable Development in the ACP countries. Côte d´Ivoire, December 1999. Ouagadougou. Direction Général des Eaux et Forêts, Ministère de l´environnement.