chainsaw milling and lumber trade in west africa project

• To identify the factors that explain efficiency, access to resources (what else?)• To identify factors that could make chainsaw milling more appropriate (socially, economically,ecologically)• [this is supposed to be done as a comparison with large scale operations – we need to be clearabout what data are available for the large scale operations so that we can structure this part ofthe research to facilitate a comparison]MethodsExperimental DesignThis research will be based on semi-structured interviews with individuals within chainsaw milling firms.The firms included in the sample will be selected to include variability in access to forest resources(western, central, eastern region?), variability in the size of the firms or the scale of their operations(small, medium, large?), ……….. what else?How will we determine what is an adequate sample size here? Are there key variables that we can useto generate confidence intervals and standard errors and set ourselves a target ratio of standard errorto mean?The questionnaires /semi-structured interviews will be used to solicit information on• Attributes of the firm – number of machines (types, age, serviceability), transport vehicles,number of employees (permanent, casual, from where), how long have they been in thebusiness, what did they do previously, how did they get started, what was the source of capitalfor investment (is there still an external source of support?), part of an association?, how wellconnected to other firms is this one? (indication of strength of network?), competition?• Attributes of the resource that they rely on – where do they get their trees, how do they selectthem? What species and sizes are typically taken? How frequently is your work interrupted bylack of access of trees? Has access to trees changed much over time? What has beenresponsible for the change?• Costs and Benefits – wages for various employees (is it paid daily, per volume?), how manydays in a month are the various people employed? (some measure of variability, orconsistency?), machine costs (running, maintenance costs, . . . who bears these costs?),transport costs (estimate on a volume basis?), what are typical extraction costs (per volume?),what influences extraction costs? Where do you sell your product? What is a typical payment?(what is the variability in payments?), what do you pay in fines, sweeteners?• Attitudes / Attributes of the manager/owner – political connectedness, experience withregulation, police, fines• Conditions necessary to make chainsaw milling appropriateData AnalysisPART THREE – Operational efficiency and environmental impactsAim and objectives• To characterise the operation efficiency and environmental impacts of chainsaw milling by smalloperators• To compare the efficiency and impacts with those of large scale operationsMethodsChainsaw millers will be selected in a stratified way, where the strata will reflect the forestresource; for convenience, the strata to be used will be western, central, and eastern region. Weanticipate that it will be difficult to randomize our selection of chainsaw millers, however to ensure thatour sample is unbiased and representative, we will identify potential millers in each region during theinterviews conducted in parts one and two of the study. From this group of potential millers, we willrandomly select a minimum of 15. There may be a need to introduce another layer of stratification toensure that the sample includes a sample representative of different levels of experience typical in thebusiness.