South Sudan can turn forest woods into profits.
By Chuol Dugak Lieth
April 11, 2009 — Rainforests have developed over millions of years and turn into the amazingly intricate environments starting from19 century till this 21 century. Rainforests indicate a store of living and breathing renewable natural resources and high quality of their richness in both animal and plant species, have supplied a wealth of resources for the endurance and well-being of humankind. These resources have included basic food supplies, clothing, shelter, fuel, spices, industrial raw materials, and medicine for all those who have lived in the magnificence of the forest.
Unfortunately, I think it will take (GOSS) several years to realize that those natural forests can be turn into profits which in near future could benefit both the government and its citizens. It’s unbelievable that thousands of acres of rainforest have never been burned in southern Sudan. This also means south Sudan is gaining approximately 100 or more acres every minute of every day, and millions of acres every year! I would posit that more than 85 percent of the South Sudan rainforests are already there and less harshly threatened because there is a smaller amount destruction or deforestation.
In addition, the Bank of White Nile alone had thousands of acres which I would totally encourage our leaders to think through vigilantly and allow foreign companies to convert much of it into firewood, shingles, furniture, railroad ties, and paper as it had been done by other industrialized nations such as Brazil, Malaysia, and other tropical countries. There are many ways to utilize rainforest wood instead of using it for fuel wood and charcoal only.
For instance, one single steel plant in Brazil making steel for Japanese cars needs millions of tons of wood each year to produce charcoal that can be used in the manufacture of steel. Since the demand of land grazing is very high in southern Sudan, destroying more and more rainforest could also provide grazing land for our animals such as cattle, goats and others just to name a few. Rainforests in southern Sudan have been lost to cattle operations to meet herders’ demand I guess but this is a time for GOSS to do something else with forest.
This author is based in United States of America; you can reach him at [email protected]
Nile
South Sudan can turn forest woods into profits.
hope the govt will do something about it.
Dengtaath
South Sudan can turn forest woods into profits.
Chuol Dugak, good contribution, I think chuol there is nothing wrong about the country to use his own country resources for purpose of making profits. Ofcourse South Sudan is one of the richest of natural forest, it is one of the country in the world that can make a potential investment in forestry.But I think the exploitation of logs had already been started specially in Equateria, there are some companies who are trading logings inside South Suadn to Uganda but much of those tradings are eligal because it was not a government agreement to sell those logs, they are farmers who felt that they have tha right to sell their own trees where one belief is his or hers right to do so.
I think to make it a sucessful business, as you explained the potential for country forest produce, the government need to stop eligal loging bususiness and start controlling loging market as soon as possible. This will allow reasonable price for our country logs who are exported to foriegn country with less prices.
Thank man is a good topic