The World Forest Situation 743 



DISTRIBUTION OF FOREST AREA BY REGIONS AND SELECTED COUNTRIES 



1 I hectare equals 2.47 acres. 



This is one useful measure of for- 

 ests, but it fails to show what kind of 

 forests, and more particularly, the ac- 

 cessible and productive forest estate. 

 In the United States, for example, 

 large areas are classed as forest that 

 contain thin stands of short, scrubby 

 trees, which may be useful as sources 

 of local fuel, but can hardly contribute 

 to national or world demands for 

 manufactured wood, such as sawn 

 lumber, pulp, ties, and poles. 



The same condition exists in Aus- 

 tralia, Africa, and elsewhere along the 

 dry southern edge of forest belts and 

 also generally on the cold, dry north- 

 ern edge of the forests of Canada, 

 northern Europe, and the Soviet Un- 

 ion. So, to form a more realistic pic- 

 ture of the productive forest estate, it 

 is necessary to eliminate such local- 

 use forests. From the second table, it 

 is evident that for the world fully 34 



percent, for the African region 64 per- 

 cent, and for New Zealand 72 percent 

 of the total forest area cannot be ex- 

 pected, under existing economics and 

 technology, to yield forest products 

 other than fuel. This reduces the grand 

 average per person from 4.20 acres to 

 2.72. The United States, with a re- 

 duction from 4.61 to nearly 3.46, ranks 

 ahead of the world average. (The 

 United States has customarily reported 

 its forest areas as commercial and non- 

 commercial. Certain areas in the lat- 

 ter category are so classed because they 

 are reserved for recreation or other 

 purposes, but are reported by FAO 

 as productive forest, because they are 

 physically capable of producing crops 

 of usable wood.) 



This is the most realistic measure of 

 the true productive forests yet avail- 

 able. It shows that no continent, and 

 relatively few countries, are fortunate 



