PRIMARY

ECONOMIC
ACTIVITIES
FORESTRY
Let the teaching begins<3
Objectives
At the end of this lesson you should be able to know:
➢ How to define Forestry
➢ Importance of Forestry
➢ The factors affecting Forests cover
➢ The factors influencing location
➢ The challenges faced by Forestry
➢ The trends in production
➢ The benefits of Forestry
What is Forestry?
Forestry is the science or skill of growing and taking care of
trees in forests, especially in order to obtain wood.

Fun Fact!!
When the Caribbean territories were discovered
by Europeans nearly five centuries ago, most of
them were found to be clothed in dense tropical
forest. Even today some territories still retain
this forested nature, ranging from scrub to
tropical semi-deciduous forest and the climatic
climax, tropical rainforest. Guyana has the
largest Forested area in the Caribbean
 THE IMPORTANCE
OF FORESTRY
Forests are a valuable resource providing food,
shelter, wildlife habitat, fuel, and daily supplies
such as medicinal ingredients and paper. Forests
play an important role in balancing the Earth's
CO2 supply and exchange, acting as a key link
between the atmosphere, geosphere, and
hydrosphere.
 FACTORS AFFECTING THE
AMOUNT OF FOREST COVER
❖ Soils
Soil type plays a major role in determining
how effective rainfall can be. Thin soils, dunes,
beaches and new soils (such as volcanic lava),
show very little plant or forest growth.
Waterlogged soils, such as those found on
plains and in marshland, encourage mangrove
forest and trees which have a tolerance for
excessive water. Mangrove vegetation
dominates a large portion of the coastal area of
Guyana.
❖ Natural Hazards
Hurricanes and tropical storms are responsible for
considerable damage to forests in the Caribbean. Volcanic
activity also destroys natural forests using it’s hot and
poisonous gases.
❖ Man made Problems
Human activity is increasingly seen as one of the main causes
of deforestation and several factors such as the pressure of
population on the land has caused the removal of forest in
many Caribbean forests,the areas under vegetation are being
cut down to provide cooking material for the 7.7 million
inhabitants and forest fires, cause either accidentally or
intentionally, are yet another problem Hundreds of hectares of
forest that took decades to grow are destroyed every year in
the Caribbean
FACTORS INFLUENCING LOCATION
➔ Raw materials: Guyana’s forests are the largest (84% of
the country is covered in forest) in the Caribbean.
➔ Large amount of rainfall (2000 - 3000mm)
➔ Deep tropical soils
➔ High temperatures
➔ Several types of forests and a variety of tree species
➔ Access to market
CHALLENGES FACED BY
FORESTRY
● Extraction of trees is difficult because there
are many varieties of trees in the forest.
● Inaccessibility is a major problem as
Guyana’s road network is limited Rivers are
used to transport logs, but some are lost in the
rainy season and in dry season the water level
may be too low for transporting them
● Demand for hardwood is much lower than for
softwood. Other resources such as concrete
have replaced the need for hardwood.
Softwood is also easier to transport.
 TRENDS IN PRODUCTION
Several measures have been taken to make forestry a viable economic activity.
★ Exotic species have been introduced which grow faster over large areas and
are easier to harvest. Examples include pine and teak.
★ New roads have been built to give access to forested areas.
★ Conservation techniques are now being applied. Reforestation is en courage
to replace trees that have been commercially removed.
★ New regulations have been set up to monitor and ensure effective use of
forest resources.
★ New markets have been identified for hardwood trees.
★ Forest is being used for other economic such as ecotourism (a specialized
form of tourism that uses untouched natural environments such as plants,
animals, soils and general topography areas as an attraction for visitors)
Ecotourism is also being used as a means of conservation of forest resources.
 BENEFITS OF
FORESTRY
❏ Forests provide oxygen
❏ Control of erosion and runoff
❏ Contributes to domestic food supply
❏ Provides employment
❏ Provides income and revenue for a country
❏ Reduces air pollution.
❏ Trees fight the atmospheric greenhouse effect.
❏ Save energy.
❏ Modify local climate.
MAP OF FORESTRY IN GUYANA
THE END