This case study is one of a series of publications produced by the Forest Harvesting, Trade and Marketing Branch of FAO in an effort to promote environmentally sound forest harvesting and engineering practices. The purpose of these studies is to highlight both the promise of environmentally sound forest harvesting technologies as a component of sustainable forest management, and the constraints that must be overcome in order to assure widespread adoption of hose technologies. Logging operations, although well synchronised and productive within work cycles, occurred in a scattered and unsystematic scheme. Lack of harvest preparation, low recovery rates, and improper working techniques in felling and crosscutting resulted in low extraction intensity. Transport was the main bottleneck in operational efficiency. Poor road conditions and low load capacities of vehicles used in first (short-distance) transport and second (long-haul) transport prevented a consistent flow of raw materials and consequently held annual production volumes well below technological capacities. In order to guarantee operational, organisational, energy and financial efficiency, commercial timber harvesting should be confined to areas rich in commercially valuable tree species, and conducted by means of systematically structured and operationally optimised procedures.

Type of Case
Printed publication (book, sourcebook, journal article…)

Publisher
FAO

Region
Africa

Biome
Tropical

Forest Type
All forest types (natural and planted)

Primary Designated Function
Production