Venezuela - Forestry

Forests covered about 56.1% of the land area in 2000. Partly because of the inaccessibility of forest areas, Venezuela's high-quality wood is very much underdeveloped. It is also misused by small farmers, who clear land for farming by burning trees without replacing them. The greatest concentration of forests lies south of the Orinoco, but the areas currently utilized are in the states of Portuguesa and Barinas. Cedar and mahogany are the principal trees cut; rubber, dividivi, mangrove bark, tonka beans, oil-bearing palm nuts, and medicinal plants are also produced. Roundwood output was 5,154,000 cu m (182 billion cu ft) in 2000, with 70% used as fuel wood. Sawn wood production was 185,000 cu m (6.53 million cu ft) that year. Virtually all sectors of the forest products industry rely on domestic output to meet domestic demand.