POTENTIALLY COMPETITIVE SUB-REGIONS AND COUNTRIES FOR FORESTRY AND WILDLIFE DEVELOPMENT

Current roundwood production and export volumes

77. Africa's share of global wood-products trade is very low. Africa accounts for about six percent of world industrial roundwood exports and only one percent of world imports (Table 22). The share of the printing and writing-paper trade is insignificant (as low as 0.02 percent), and much of this is attributable primarily to South Africa. African import figures, however, demonstrate that a higher proportion of value-added products are brought into the continent (primarily by forest-poor North Africa). Africa has a significant share of the world's forests (about 16.8 percent) and population (13 percent), as well as relatively high production and consumption rates. Therefore, it is important to consider the role of African forests in global trade and to exploit the sub-regions' and countries' comparative advantages.

Table 21. African roundwood production, exports and imports, in '000 m³, average 1996-2000

Estimates based on data extracted from FAOSTAT (2002).

78. Annual roundwood production (average 1996-2000) was calculated by sub-region, and its relative importance in African roundwood production was examined (Table 22).

Table 22. Roundwood production and exports, in '000 m³, average 1996-2000, by sub-region and its share of Africa's total

Estimates based on data extracted from FAOSTAT (2002). Note: Central Africa* is Central Africa excluding Chad.

79. According to the 1996 - 2000 average estimates, East Africa (36 percent of Africa's total) and Coastal West Africa (almost 23 percent) are the two most important sub-regions in roundwood production. The contributions of Southern Africa and Central Africa (excluding Chad) to the total roundwood production in Africa are approximately 15 percent each. North Africa, Chad and Sahel West Africa contribute relatively little to total roundwood production (between 1 and 5 percent each). The export statistics indicate that most roundwood exports (around 84 percent) are attributable to Central Africa, while East Africa - the largest producer of roundwood - provides the smallest contribution to African exports (only 0.3 percent).

80. The comparison between the relative importance of sub-regional roundwood production and exports gives a rough indication of the extent to which roundwood production is processed within a respective sub-region. Although a large share of roundwood production is exported by Central Africa (excluding Chad), only a small fraction of its roundwood production is processed locally.

Selection of potentially-competitive sub-regions and countries for forestry and wildlife development

81. The selection of potentially competitive sub-regions was made using the natural suitability criteria. The screening parameter was the sub-regions' forestry and woodland area shares in total African forests and woodland area, derived from average 1992 - 1994 country data (Table 23).

Table 23. Selection of potentially competitive sub-regions for forestry and wildlife development

Estimates based on data extracted from FAOSTAT (2002). Notes: Central Africa* is Central Africa excluding Chad. Shading indicates the potentially competitive sub-regions for forestry and wildlife development.

82. Central Africa is the sub-region best endowed with forest-and woodland-natural resources in Africa. Its forest and woodland areas account for 40 percent of Africa's total. Southern Africa and East Africa are on par, having 20-22 percent of African forest and woodland area. The comparison of the relative indicators of current roundwood production and of natural forests and woodland area suggests the degree to which a particular sub-region exploits (depletes) its forest stock. Coastal West Africa, for example, produces 23 percent of total African roundwood production, while its share in total African forests and woodland area is only seven percent. East Africa is in a similar situation. The depletion rate of natural forest stock is much lower in Central Africa. It contributes 15 percent to the total African roundwood production, while its forest area accounts for 40 percent of Africa's total.

83. Potentially competitive sub-regions that should place high priority on investing in forestry development under NEPAD-CAADP are East Africa, Coastal West Africa, Central Africa (excluding Chad) and Southern Africa. Nearly every country in each of these sub-regions has more than five percent of the sub-regional forest and woodland area and should intensify efforts to exploit the natural comparative advantage. Countries such as Equatorial Guinea, Saõ Tomé and Principé, Guinea-Bissau, Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Togo, Burundi, Rwanda, Seychelles, Uganda, Comoros, Mauritius, Malawi, Swaziland and Lesotho have insignificant natural forest and woodland resources (Annex 15).

Table 24. Selection of potentially competitive countries based on share of forest and woodland area in the sub-regional total, average 1992-1994

Estimates based on data extracted from FAOSTAT (2002). Notes: Central Africa* excludes Chad; Shading indicates the selection of countries for forestry and wildlife development.