CHAIN SAWMILLING: IMPLICATIONS ON NIGERIA FOREST. *Owoyemi J. M. **Falemara B. J. and *Adamolekun O.R.
*Forestry and Wood Technology Department, Federal University of Technology, P.M.B. 704 Akure, Nigeria.
**Department of Forestry Technology, Federal College of Forestry, P.M.B. 2019 Jos, plateau State, Nigeria.
*[email protected] **[email protected] 08037254840
ABSTRACT
Chainsaw is a major mechanical harvesting tool used in tree felling and adapted for log conversion
which involves in-situ cutting of logs into timber. The trees are felled, topped, de-limbed, cross-cut
and then processed into timber. In recent times, its use has gone beyond the traditional felling and
now commonly used for log conversion in the forest. This development has generated a lot of
controversies in some states in Nigeria. While some States out-rightly banned its use others condone
it. This paper examines the practice of chainsaw milling and its implications for the future of
Nigerian forests. Root causes of illegal chain sawmilling activities as well as environmental concerns
were also discussed. Illegal chainsaw lumbering is reported to be destructive to the forest resource
base and yield low timber volume recovery. While this practice provides affordable cheap timber
supply and also generate employment for rural people. The disadvantage of the method is the
indiscriminate exploitation of the forest which has put a lot of pressure on the forest and deprives the
Government of revenue.
Keywords: Chain sawmilling, Environment, Forest, Recovery rate.
INTRODUCTION
Chainsaw milling is the method used in log conversion into boards after felling at the stump site
before evacuation from the forest using the chainsaw machine. This operation is common mostly
during illegal felling and flitching activities in the rainforest zone of Nigeria. According to Popoola
(2010), chainsaw milling is unauthorized and illegal in Nigeria but the operators illegally gain access
to the forest, fell the trees, convert them to boards of various dimensions and hurriedly hand-carry
them to the nearest road for transportation to timber markets. Aside that this operation is illegal; it is
a wasteful practice that produces low quality timber, reduces the revenue accruable to the
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government, causes a great harm to the environment and loss biodiversity and sustainability of forest
resources. Chainsaw milling operation though illegal has some advantages. The operation requires
little investment and the cost of purchase of equipment is very low compared to that of establishing a
sawmill. It could be used in conversion of low quality logs and isolated trees. The operation is very
suitable in difficult terrain and areas that are inaccessible in the forest (Oksanen et al, 2002). The use
of heavy equipment like tractors, skidders, and the cost of other installations are replaced by cheap
and direct labour in the evacuation of sawn boards. Chainsaw milling operations supplies cheap
wood to local markets which in turn sells them at cheaper prices. A study by Ogunsanwo et al,
(2005) revealed that chainsawn planks are sold at lower prices in local markets compared to those
produced from conventional sawmills. This effect could be attributed to the fact that the boards
produced from chainsaw milling operations are usually re-processed by consumers before they could
be used effectively in production. In most states of Nigeria, chainsaw milling has been identified as
an illegal enterprise. Legislations that disapprove the activities of chainsaw milling operators are
already being compromised and standards have been lowered. Several factors that resulted in this
development were identified by Popoola (2010) as;
Depletion of timber resources that made investments in establishment of formal sawmills
unattractive.
Rising transportation cost of logs to the sawmill
Huge capital requirement for the establishment of formal sawmills have increased by 1,000 –
5,000% since 1985;
Unreliable power supply from the national grid and ever-increasing cost of diesel and petrol;
Increasing fees and charges paid by timber contractors and formal sawmilling operators
without commensurate returns; and corruption among forestry officials.
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As a result of these factors, many sawmills in Nigeria have resorted to the use of chainsaws to the
extent that they now seek to be recognized by their respective State Forestry Departments. It
however important to note that while many are seeking to legalize the operation of chainsaw milling
in Nigeria, another West African country like Ghana have placed a ban on it since 1998. Quartey
(2010) reported that chainsaw milling in Ghana could be seen as a criminalization problem and the
only way to halt deforestation will be to stop the operations of chainsaw milling operators. In
Nigeria, no drastic step has been taken to combat this menace despite that its negative effect. Oladeji
(2008) reported that the chainsaw millers carry out their operations frequently and regularly even
during weekends when Forestry Officials have closed. They are often located through the sound of
their power saw, foot prints and mounting of road blocks.. The illegal activities of these chainsaw
millers include a re-use of government issued log certificates and hunting for wild animals are
common most especially in the rainforest zone. In some States, illegal activities of chain saw milling
are carried out by political thugs whose „god-fathers‟ in power turn their eyes away while their
activities lasted as this is seen as a way of compensating them
CHAINSAW MILLING ACTIVITIES IN NIGERIA
Chainsaw milling was scarcely practiced before the 1960s, but gradually succeeded pit-
sawing and later gained prominence as quick conversion apparatus in Southern Nigeria. While the
political exigency of the post-war 1970s and compelling socio-economic demands which increased
the demand for timber could be responsible for the abolishment of the concessions, the instability
they caused negatively affected the economic fortunes of most wood-based companies. Many
companies were compelled to fold up while the remaining few survivors scaled back their
operations. Against the backdrop of mounting governance costs, some state military governments
exploited their forests to shore up revenue, under the mistaken premise that timber was a renewable
natural capital capable of generating steady returns. This phenomenon created free entry for a large
number of small concessionaires, who explored cheaper and faster options of milling.
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Chainsaw milling is usually unauthorized and illegal in Nigeria and yet it is thriving.
Flitching is a logging activities usually carried out in the forest by artisan sawyers also known as
mobile chain operators. It involves the identification of trees with appropriate bole lengths, which are
then marked to be cut by mobile chain saw operators (F.A.O. 1992). It is popularly called
payabayaba or alamole in Ondo, Osun and Ekiti States while the method is called akumole in Ogun
State of Nigeria. Chainsaw millers hire “tree finders” to search for merchantable trees in both forest
reserves and free areas. They are paid according to the number and species of trees found. Operators
illegally gain access into the forest, fell the trees, hurriedly convert them to boards or planks of
different dimensions, and hand carry them to the nearest road where they are transported to markets
or ready buyers at the landing points who transport it themselves.
Chainsaw type and size is not regulated or standard, though the most commonly used models
are the Stihl 070 or Stihl 051, equipped with a special ripping chain for chainsaw milling. Chainsaw
lumber produces rough-sawn timber to meet local demand. Due to the poor quality of wood
produced the most common uses for the rough-sawn timber include: agricultural fences and pens,
bridges and piers. Working with chainsaws is dangerous and the risk of injury is high. Using the
proper tools and training reduces this risk, while improving the recovery rate and the quality of the
timber. These millers do not receive any formal or organised skill training in chainsaw operation but
learn the trade from other operators who have had long working experience. As a result, the method
of cutting produced a lot of waste (figure 1).
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Figure 1: Chainsaw Milling activities
Chainsaw millers seek legal authorization, usually by arguing that their operations can extract
logs from difficult terrain where access by truck is impracticable (Popoola, 2010). Sometime, they
seek permission from the forestry authorities to carry out this operation, which is granted on the
grounds that they could help bring out these logs from the forest where authorized trucks find it
difficult or almost impossible to gain access. These chain saw operators often abuse this permission
by even going to flitch outside the difficult terrains into areas where the terrain is quite accessible.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Chainsaw milling has developed gradually in community forestry as an informal sector due to
lack of adapted legal frameworks. There are three main criteria which determine the intensity of
chainsaw milling activities. These involve: (i) the distance to an urban market; (ii) the availability of
timber resources; and (iii) the presence of a logging company in the region.
Two main groups of chainsaw millers identified in the world today include; the forest-
dependent people living in or near natural forests in mainly moist tropical and sub-tropical regions,
largely milling freehand, either part-time or full time, and mainly but not exclusively, for local,
national and regional markets; and the woodworkers, artisans, hobbyists, enthusiasts, farmers, etc.,
living in or far from forests in temperate and sub-arctic regions, involved in milling only part time
with frames or other attachments, mainly but not exclusively for their own use.
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Chainsaw milling has grown over the years. It started with small illegal units and now
includes a large number of participants, who have formed themselves into associations and unions
and seek recognition from forest authorities. Most states in Nigeria still regard the activity as illegal,
although some - including Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Benue, Osun, Taraba and states in the eastern
part of the country - have softened their regulations to accommodate it. In Benue State, in the guinea
savanna zone, chainsaw milling is rampant and dominates the timber trade. Cross River State has a
relatively high percentage of high forest, yet chainsaw milling is prevalent and conventional
sawmilling is rarely practiced. Osun State is a rainforest state with a high incidence of conventional
sawmilling and a permissible level of chainsaw milling (Popoola, 2010).
In a few rainforest states, such as Ondo, Osun and Cross River, chainsaw milling is backed
by law in off-reserve areas and permits are issued on a stumpage or single-tree basis. Generally, there
is pervasive abuse of the single permit process: chainsaw millers surreptitiously obtain multiple
owner‟s consent from traditional institutions as well as permits from the forestry departments for use
by the same or different millers in the same or adjoining areas. In other rainforest states, e.g., Edo,
diverse interest groups (largely made up of rent captors) find their way through political
appointments onto extra-departmental forest/log monitoring committees and engage cronies to carry
out the same statutory functions as Government Officials (Ekeoba, 2010)
The profitability of chainsaw milling operations increase due to low operational cost.
Adebagbo (1992) reported that chainsaw milling products derived from 23 species of trees were
found at Bodija market in Ibadan. Of the 13 species studied by Popoola (2006) for comparison of
volume recovery between conventional sawmill and chainsaw operations, seven were found to
provide a higher recovery rate with chainsaws than conventional sawmills. Chain sawn planks were
found to command lower prices in the market than those produced from conventional sawmills,
however (Ogunsanwo et al., 2005). Ogunsanwo et al., (2005) also argue that the extensive waste
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(figure 2) often associated with chainsaw milling could be reduced if the operation was legalized,
better-trained operators were employed and the work was more carefully executed and monitored.
Figure 2: Types of solid wood residue generated during chainsaw milling process.
ROOT CAUSES OF ILLEGAL CHAINSAW MILLING ACTIVITIES
Chainsaw milling is seen as a problematic enterprise due to the fact that it does not fit into
sustainable forest management (SFM) initiatives; its unsustainable dependency on a finite resource
by local communities and it is associated with non-regulation industry and illegal operations.
Lack of unemployment is a critical factor driving many people to use forests unsustainably
through illegal timber felling. Cerutti and Lescuyer (2011), recognizes three main reasons that
explained increase in the number of chainsaw millers in rural areas as;
1. Cheaper access to chainsaws, facilitated by imports of cheaper materials from Nigeria, and of
sub-renting of chainsaws as a subsidiary activity from rural private owners;
2. The availability of more or less valuable timber resources in the neighborhood of urban areas.
Many artisan loggers operate in their locality or regions. However, they can migrate to other
regions to conduct their activity because of the scarcity of commercial timber species, the
acquisition of adequate equipment and labor force, as well as the good level of knowledge and
interaction with urban centers;
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3. The absence of effective regulation of chainsaw milling on the ground.
Dudley (2004) analyzed the intricacies of villagers‟ willingness to participate in illegal
logging. Based on a series of community interviews and social behaviour patterns, his study shows
that involvement in illegal logging is primarily interplay between the need for income. Chiefs and
other community leaders are alleged to be conniving with the illegal chainsaw operators.
CHAINSAW MILLING IMPLICATIONS ON NIGERIAN FOREST RESOURCES:
Low timber recovery and Increased waste generation. Holding et al, (2001) asserted that
chainsaw milling have a low recovery rate. The low recovery rate results from a variety of factors
such as wide chain kerf, machine vibration and to some extent the skill of the operator. Wastes are
often generated in form of large slabs, off-cuts, and other harvesting wastes. All these wastes are
usually left in the forest without any plan to convert them for other useful purposes. Badejo, et al.,
(2001) stated that, as a result of the crude method of sawing, occasioned by the rough edgings and
broad, large and thick saw kerfs, flitching is subject to high rate of wastage, since saw dust
production is rather very high. The result of this activity is usually the production of planks with
rough surfaces, planks with rough appearance and hence low quality planks. Chainsaws are primarily
designed for felling and crosscutting and not intended for rip-sawing sawmilling (Kambugu et al,
2010). The processing and conversion efficiency of chainsaw milling could be estimated under
different conditions of the raw material under conversion. Processing efficiency of chainsaws refer to
the ratio of products volume recovered to the log volume. Conversion efficiency on the other hand
compares the volume of recovered product (sawn timber) to the volume of the whole tree (Marfo,
2010).. Efficient recovery and utilization of harvested trees from chainsaw milling could only be
achieved if the operation is legalized as suggested by Ogunsanwo et al, (2005). The major reason for
the enormous waste generated by the operation lies in the fact that it is done illegally. Since the
operation is mostly carried out in the night, the illegal fellers hurriedly fell the trees, convert them
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and move them out of the forest to avoid being caught. Ogunsanwo et al, (2005) however proposed
that if the operation is legalized, the extensive waste often associated with it could be reduced.. The
width of the kerf; the allowance for planning and inaccuracy due to cutting at night to avoid being
caught affect log recovery volume The recovery data (Table 1) vary greatly because of the variation
in dimensions, species and methodologies used.
Table 1: Chainsaw milling recovery rate (%) of some selected countries
Country Recovery rate Bolivia 33 Cameroon 34 Carribbean Islands 40 Ghana 27-40 Guyana 19-44 Kenya 23.3-30.2 Liberia 31-35 Nigeria 46 Uganda 20.25
Source: Marieke et al., (2010)
Production of low timber quality. The quality of timber produced from chainsaw milling is
generally low and does not conform to market specifications. They are usually re-sawn to meet-up
with market standards with more wastes are generated.. Chain-sawn planks usually attract low
market prices mostly for buyers who have little or no concerns for product quality. Freehand
chainsaw milling is generally considered inefficient. The lumber quality is poor and the process
produces large amounts of wood waste.
Loss of accountability and reduction in government revenue. Wit et al, (2010) mentioned that since
chainsaw milling activities are carried out in an informal (illegal) context, substantive potential tax
revenues are being lost by the State. The State Department of Forestry is saddled with the
responsibility of taking adequate records (inventory) of forest resources. They allocate concessions
to timber contractors with the aim to bring in the revenue generated to Government purse but the
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reverse is the case with the activities of chainsaw milling operators. Since there is no formal permit
and payment for chainsaw milling operators, they penetrate the reserve and free areas to carry out
indiscriminate harvest of trees. This form of activity will eventually mislead the government since
the incoming revenue does not justify existing records of forest resources allocated for harvesting.
The Annual Allowable Cut (AAC) will always be exceeded with an increasing rate of chainsaw
milling operators. Grut et al, (1991) reported the importance of a nation-wide patrol unit under the
Forestry Department in undertaking regular inspections to ensure that timber harvesting is confined
to the annual coupes allocated (i.e. AAC) and to ensure that closed coupes are not re-logged.
Increased rate of deforestation with a resultant effect on the environment. Forests in
Nigeria are being depleted at an alarming rate. The forest resource survey, 1996-1998 revealed that
the forest cover has decreased by 20% over the preceding 18 years. According to Adeyoju (2001),
the total forest estate which stood at 10% of the country„s land area in 1996 is now less than 6%.
These occurrences have significant impact on the operations of the forest industries leading to a
decline in the contribution of the industries to national industrial development. Studies by Raw
Materials Research and Development Council ( RMRDC 2009) indicated that the total volume of
usable wood down to 30cm cutting diameter in the forest reserves is 239,775,500cm3. Since 1990,
the country has lost over 6 million ha or 36%, of its forest cover. The most bio diverse ecosystems,
the old-growth forests, are disappearing at an even faster rate; between 1990 and 2005, 79% of these
forests were lost and since 2000, Nigeria has been losing an average 11% of its primary forests each
year. These figures give Nigeria the highest deforestation rate of natural forest in the world. A mere
5% is left after uncontrolled logging and conversion.
Environmental Impacts: The impacts of chainsaw milling on the environment are mixed. On the
positive side, the light equipment used causes much less logging damage than the heavy equipment
used in regular logging operations (no skidding trails are needed and the waste wood is left on the
ground). But uncontrolled harvesting can lead to depletion of timber species and other adverse
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effects, such as pollution. Moreover, the illegality of chainsaw milling makes it difficult to assess its
impacts with any precision and also means a loss of timber revenues to the state. Chainsaw milling
provides ample opportunities for sustaining rural and family incomes. Rural youth and women are
mostly engaged in carrying lumber products to gantries or loading bays and timber sheds. The
diffuse and aggressive nature of the market for chainsawn timber products (billets, boards and
rafters) in many parts of Nigeria is partly due to the relative ease with which the product is converted
and transported, and partly to the prices, which are lower than those of timber from conventional
sawmills. Another advantage is that chainsawn timber products can be made to the buyer
specifications (figure 3).
Figure 3: Stocks of sawn wood in the bush waiting for waybills
Illegal chainsaw logging and milling is often associated with environmental degradation
because of its uncontrolled working methods and the complications involved in its ineffective
monitoring at the forest level. In this regard the use of chainsaw in milling can be made incompatible
with sustainable management of forests. Consequently it has become quite controversial in a number
of countries and is often cited as one of the leading causes of forest degradation. Of the many
negative impacts associated with uncontrolled chainsaw operations are issues which bother directly
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or otherwise on the maintenance of environmental quality of the forest and agro-ecosystems where
trees are harvested. It should however be recognized that the ecological impact of chainsaw lumber
production is not a straightforward issue.
Illegal logging also jeopardizes the livelihoods of rural communities engaged in small-scale
forestry by exposing them to unfair competition and depleting the resources on which they depend.
Unless these problems are addressed, investments to promote sustainable forest management will
remain ineffective (FAO, 2005).
CONCLUSION
Chainsaw milling is gradually becoming a major source of sawn wood in Nigeria. It also
provides employment for both families and hired labour, thereby improving household and social
well-being. These are clear indications of the social and economic importance of the chainsaw
business in Nigeria.
However, mature merchantable trees are increasingly in short supply in both forest reserves
and off reserve areas in southern Nigeria. The surge in population in southern Nigeria will exert
enormous pressure on the rainforest and its resources in the coming decades. More tree species will
be lost and the ecosystem will be rendered more ecologically fragile chainsaw milling will easily
disrupt the forest‟s regenerative capability when disturbance goes beyond the ecosystem‟s limits.
The argument that on-site chainsaw milling is less damaging to the forest ecosystem than other forms
of logging does not apply in all forest situations, particularly in the current Nigerian context. There is
a need to address policy and governance issues that will make chainsaw milling in Nigeria officially
recognized and sustainably practiced in terms of social acceptance, economic viability and
environmental impact.
Subsequently, the following recommendations are necessary for policy consideration to
minimize illegal chainsaw milling:
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1. Consideration needs to be given to interventions that will contribute to the sustenance of rural
livelihoods and prevent a further decline in the rural economy since agriculture, the major
rural economic activity, is less lucrative.
2. Chainsaw operators must be registered and made to work under the district forest officers,
unit committees and chiefs.
3. Operators must aid in afforestation and they should stop operating near riverbanks and in
forest reserves.
4. There is the need for interventions that will reduce the economic competitiveness of chainsaw
lumber on the market. This may include providing special incentives to reduce the production
cost of lumber from regular sawmills to enable them supply the domestic market.
5. Connivance of chainsaw operators with local communities may be minimized by devising
measures that will ensure that the primary owners of timber trees harvested from off-reserve
areas gain directly from proceeds from their lands. Some competitive percentage of the
revenue must be paid directly at stumpage to the farmer or landowner. This will be an
incentive for them to cooperate in the protection of timber trees.
6. The authorities should consider the re-introduction of registered chainsaw operation system,
with appropriate monitoring mechanism in order to find a lasting solution to the problem.
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