FORESTRY 1 85 



FRENCH 



In the French colonies the forestry department is a branch of 

 the economic service, which includes also agriculture, animal 

 husbandry, and customs. For West Africa the whole forest service 

 is under the direction of M. Aubreville and each component colony 

 has a separate department with technical experts. The organiza- 

 tion for marketing timber is also well developed, particularly for 

 the Ivory Coast, which contains the principal areas of commercial 

 forest. The European staff of the forestry service of French West 

 Africa in 1936 comprised sixteen Inspecteurs and twenty-five Con- 

 ducteurs. 



BELGIAN 



In the Belgian Congo forest resources have received considerable 

 attention; references to some published works on them are given 

 later. There is a forest advisor for the whole colony, with a staff 

 of inspectors, while the Katanga has its own service under the 

 Comife Special. PoHcy up till now has aimed chiefly at the creation 

 of reserves, organized exploitation being less advanced than in the 

 British or French territories. The difficulty of communications 

 and transport of timber from the main forest areas has been respon- 

 sible for this condition, but development is now taking place in the 

 more accessible areas. 



DESTRUCTION AND CONSERVATION OF FORESTS 



(British Territories only) 



In view of the alarming rate at which forests in some parts of 

 Africa are being demolished, the allocation of large areas as 

 reserves, under either state or native control, has been a prime 

 object in every territory. A broad classification of these reserves 

 according to the methods by which they are administered, is as 

 follows : 



{a) Forests under the control of forest departments. 



( 1 ) Commercial forests . 



(2) Forests maintained for the provision of timber or firewood 

 for general consumption, or for special industries such as 

 mines, railways, steamers, etc. 



(3) Important protection forests affecting wide areas. 



