Plantation forestry has taken root in many Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries and has been a significant component in forestry programmes since the early 1900s. It is convincingly argued by many experts that the only way to avoid shortage of wood in the near future is to meet these demands from rationally managed tree plantations on much smaller areas than would be required for equivalent production from natural vegetation. Furthermore, many secondary wood industries (furniture, paper, etc.) require wood of reasonably uniform and predictable quality, a strong argument in favour of plantations. In addition, tree plantations are often the most rational way of producing also nonwood forest products, for rehabilitation of degraded areas and improvement of watersheds, and for meeting environmental objectives such as windbreaks, shelterbelts and, more recently, carbon sequestration.