CXC English A exam: Past paper type summary writing question 13

Read the passage below on forestry issues in small Caribbean islands. Write a summary, outlining the main issues facing forestry in the Caribbean and how the challenges faced by forestry may be overcome.

Your summary must be in continuous prose, in paragraph form and it must not be more than 120 words in length. Only the first 120 words of your answer will be read and assessed.

Forestry issues in the small islands of the Caribbean are, in many respects, different from those that dominate current debates on forestry conservation and management in other parts of the world. In most of these islands, the main challenge is not to regulate large concessions or to ensure that the behaviour of the timber industry is consistent with principles of sustainability. The main challenge is not to preserve and enhance the rights of indigenous populations or those of forest workers. The main challenge is not to establish standards of production and to guarantee the fairness of trade in timber products.

In these small islands, the challenge is different, because commercial forest exploitation for timber production is rare, and the past two decades have indeed been marked in several islands, by the failure and abandonment of commercial harvesting and plantation programmes. In these small territories, the most critical functions of forests are not based on the extractive use of their resources. Instead, they include water supply (many countries have no underground water resources and thus rely exclusively on surface water for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses), tourism (with a rapidly growing heritage tourism sector in many islands) and soil conservation (an essential need in volcanic islands prone to erosion and where sedimentation can have serious negative impacts on costalk resources and activities.

Today the work of the Caribbean forester is less about planting trees and more about managing wildlife habitats. It is less about harvesting timber and more about preserving watershed functions. It is less about controlling squatters and more about encouraging recreational and touristic uses of forest sites and attractions. It is less about preventing illegal cutting in state-owned forest reserves and more about preserving soil cover in agricultural and residential areas.

The challenge is particularly difficult to meet, because there is insufficient public and political recognition of the values, goods, services and benefits generated by forests. In the Caribbean, many forestry administrations have recognised this need, and have mounted intensive campaigns aimed at increasing public awareness and generating support. In the years ahead, there will be need for more efforts to demonstrate the values of forests and the need for greater investments in the sector. There will also be need for studies which will establish and document the social, economic, cultural and ecological benefits of forests, and build the political argument in favour of conservation and management.

35 marks

That was interesting, I would like to see more summary writing questions if you have them.