STATE OF THE WORLD's FORESTs 2001 Economic Community of West African States The Treaty of Lagos establishing the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS)was signed by representatives of 15 West African States in Lagos on 28 May 1975. At present, the following countries adhere to the treaty: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d'lvoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, the Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. The ECOWAS Treaty specifies that the Community's objective, to be achieved in stages, is the creation of an economic and monetary union. Cooperation in the development of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries is one of its primary aims. The first stage in this cooperation entails the harmonization of intermal and external policies, the second stage envisages the adoption of a common agricultural policy. DESCRIPTION OF THE FOREST SECTOR ECOWAS members together contain only 2 percent of the world 's forests. While only 12 percent of the combined land area is under forest, an additional 23 percent is classified as"other wooded land", which contributes to the production of various forest products, grazing and desertification control. "Trees outside forests, such as those in agroforestry systems, are also an important resource. More than 90 percent of the wood produced by ECOWAS member countries is used as woodfuel. Within the Community, the most important producers of industrial wood products are Nigeria, Cote d'lvoire and Ghana ECOWAS accounts for only a minor share of world imports and exports of wood products Forest e oducts, 1998 7842 Quantity of world total Land area (000 ha) Total forest area, 2000(000 ha) 69 Voodfuel ('000 ma) Percentage of land under forest Industrial roundwood('000 m,) 17872 Forest area per capita (ha) sawnwood(000 m) 4157 Annual change in forest area, 1990-2000 Vood panels('000 m3) Thousand hectares 1265 Pulp for paper('000 tonnes) s 18 63 Export value Import value quantity ss thousands of world total USS thousands of world total Woodfuel(000m) n 3782 Sawnwood(000m 44 8872 Wood panels(,000m) 14517 Paper and paperboard(000 tonnes) 2564 187824 ns not significant, indicatinga very small value.126 STATE OF THE WORLD’S FORESTS 2001 Economic Community of West African States Quantity % of world total Woodfuel (’000 m3) 168 009 10 Industrial roundwood (’000 m3) 17 872 1 Sawnwood (’000 m3) 4 157 1 Wood panels (’000 m3) 578 n.s. Pulp for paper (’000 tonnes) 23 n.s. Paper and paperboard (’000 tonnes) 63 n.s. Forest resources Land area (’000 ha) 607 842 Total forest area, 2000 (’000 ha) 69 822 Percentage of land under forest 11.5 Forest area per capita (ha) 0.3 Annual change in forest area, 1990-2000 - Thousand hectares -1 265 - Percentage -1.8 Production of wood-based products, 1998 Product Export Export value Import Import value quantity quantity US$ thousands % of world total US$ thousands % of world total Woodfuel (’000 m3) n.s. 27 n.s. n.s. 17 n.s. Industrial roundwood (’000 m3) 249 39 479 1 28 3 782 n.s. Sawnwood (’000 m3) 832 308 444 1 43 8 872 n.s. Wood panels (’000 m3) 270 100 966 1 36 14 517 n.s. Pulp for paper (’000 tonnes) n.s. 302 n.s. 8 4 939 n.s. Paper and paperboard (’000 tonnes) 4 2 564 n.s. 259 187 824 n.s. Note: n.s. = not significant, indicating a very small value. International forest products trade: quantity and value, 1998 The Treaty of Lagos establishing the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was signed by representatives of 15 West African States in Lagos on 28 May 1975. At present, the following countries adhere to the treaty: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, the Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. The ECOWAS Treaty specifies that the Community’s objective, to be achieved in stages, is the creation of an economic and monetary union. Cooperation in the development of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries is one of its primary aims. The first stage in this cooperation entails the harmonization of internal and external policies, the second stage envisages the adoption of a common agricultural policy. DESCRIPTION OF THE FOREST SECTOR ECOWAS members together contain only 2 percent of the world’s forests. While only 12 percent of the combined land area is under forest, an additional 23 percent is classified as “other wooded land”, which contributes to the production of various forest products, grazing and desertification control. “Trees outside forests”, such as those in agroforestry systems, are also an important resource. More than 90 percent of the wood produced by ECOWAS member countries is used as woodfuel. Within the Community, the most important producers of industrial wood products are Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. ECOWAS accounts for only a minor share of world imports and exports of wood products