2. Current status of National Forestry Statistics Related to Wood-products

At present in the Gambia, there is no standardised and systematic institutionalised date collection in place. Different sectors collecting data on wood-products lack the desire for collaboration, co-operation and co-ordination. Data on wood-products are available but they are scattered within institutions, and not readily accessible. Even within the same institution, it is difficult to gather or access relevant data. This is as a result of the decentralised nature of departments without proper co-ordinating mechanisms. For example, Forestry Department co-operating at all the Five administrative Divisions with Divisional head offices still find it difficult to co-ordinate data collection and management on the major forest products including wood products. Until very recently these offices were poorly equipped to facilitate data management procedures.

The department has been making efforts to put these responsibilities under one of the units but due to staff constraints and lack of other logistic requirements it cannot be implemented. There is also the unwillingness on the side of the staff to co-operate in this area. One of the reasons could be that accurate data collection and proper management leaves no room for compliance. It is therefore not surprising to have different figures for the same period on the same product. Because data collections are considered as time consuming for those at the divisional level, free flow is seriously affected.

While the decentralised nature of data collection is proving inefficient, the centralised option is not working either due to lack of transport or due to a lack of logistic requirements that could help it become feasible. This is one of the main problems encountered by the Central statistic department of the Department of state for trade, industry and employment, the National Environment Agency, Custom & Excise, Department of Agricultural planning etc. These institutions have a data bank at the national level but due to the reasons mentioned earlier they could not make them operational as planned.

It is therefore easier to get secondary data from previous studies than primary data from reliable sources.

The types of information collected on the wood-products are the production, processing, consumption and trade (import and export). The production base is often not assessed regularly because of cost, personal and availability of other logistic requirements. The only reliable source is the national forest resource inventory, which is planned every 10 years. This schedule is difficult to follow, as it requires costs that are tied to foreign assistance. This is precisely the reason why instead of conducting the second National Forest resource inventory in 1993 it was not conducted until 1997/98 (4 years later).

National inventory and other data collection methods generate sufficient information on the resource base, source(s) of production, nature of production, trade (import & export) consumption patterns and trends, quality and quantity of various wood-products such as timber, logs, swan-wood, Rum palm splits, fuel-wood, posts and poles.

Different studies used different methodologies for data collection in The Gambia to arrive at reliable estimates.

This could be either Primary data collection methods or Secondary data collection methods.

Primary Data collection methods:

Questioners

Visits and direct interviews

Direct counts, measurement and weighing.

Observation

Direct entries at points of entry, exit, in the offices.

Inventory

2.2.2. Secondary Data collection Methods:

Extraction through literature review from records at direct entry points.

Check points

At the National level data, compilation is usually done manually. However, this trend is changing with an increase in the availability of computers and software in most institutions.

2.3.1. Methods used to validate data in the country viz.:

Workshops

Review of documents for comments

Cross checking through Agriculture and Natural Resource Working Group

Inter personal contacts

Institutional contacts

The nation-wide coverage of television and radio stations is offering additional means for information dissemination.

2.3.2. List of National Institutions involved in Collection of data, analysis and dissemination of information related to wood – products

The collection of data, analysis and dissemination of information on wood - products is cross cutting among many institutions at various levels and degree. The most important ones are:

Forestry Department

Department of Central Statistic

Department of Agricultural Planning

Department of Community Development

Department of Fisheries

National Environment Agency

State Department of Trade and Employment

2.3.3. The most important wood - industries active in the country

There are two (2) categories of wood industries active in the Gambia viz.:

Public wood industries

Private wood industries

Only two government sawmills are operational in the country (Kafuta and Dumbutu sawmills) – under the management of Forestry Department.

Two private sawmills are also actively operational in Nyambia and Fass.

In addition to the above mentioned several re-saw machines are installed and operational nation wide with greater concentration in the greater Banjul area.

Table 1. The most important wood industries active in Gambia