South Sudan Provides Good Opportunities for Forestry – Weak Governance a Major Obstacle for Development

Indufor carried out a review of South Sudan’s forest sector for the World Bank earlier in 2024, focusing on forest plantations and community forestry.

The results of the review show that tree-growing conditions are good, and land is available for forest plantations. The country still has vast areas of indigenous forests, which the limited information available suggest are in rather good condition. However, improved management practices will need to be introduced to address the increasing threats to their degradation.  Therefore, there are good opportunities for investments in forest plantations and development of community forests. A major barrier to investment in the sector is the poor governance framework including weak institutional arrangements and capacities within key institutions. Earlier, the country had the biggest areas of teak plantations in Africa. Although there are well-managed plantations, plantations are now to a major part in poor condition, with very limited options for economic returns, which constitutes another barrier for investments in the plantation sector.

Indufor’s report WB South Sudan Thematic Review Final Report 4 June 2024