Theory question 109
Agriculture, Fishing and Lumbering(a) Identify any four factors that favour lumbering in Democratic Republic of Congo. (b) Explain any four problems of lumbering in Democratic Republic of Congo. (c) Outline two ways in which any of the problems in (b) above could be solved.
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(a) Large area of tropical rainforest in the Congo basin; valuable hardwoods (mahogany, sapele, limba, ebony); rivers (Congo and tributaries) for floating logs; ports such as Matadi and Boma; cheap labour; demand at home and abroad; foreign investment.
(b) Trees of the same species are scattered, making extraction costly; hardwoods are heavy and many do not float; dense undergrowth, swamps and poor roads hinder access; rapids and waterfalls on rivers; heavy rainfall and tropical diseases; political instability and insecurity; shortage of capital and skilled labour; deforestation and slow regeneration.
(c) Build feeder roads and use modern machinery; reafforestation and selective felling; train workers and attract investment; improve security; use of lorries and rail where rivers are unnavigable.
Explain each problem fully.