1. Access FAOSTAT by clicking on the link. This is the international forestry database of the UN. Click on Roundwood, Sawnwood, Wood-based panels section.
2. Select WORLD> as your Country, Roundwood as your Item, Production as your Element and Year 2001 as Year. The Output should be in a Table format. Click Submit to database. The units in the table are metric tons of roundwood ("logs")
3. Rank the countries by volume to find the top 10. Hint: Import table to Excel, then sort data in Excel to do it faster. Put these 10 in a table with country name next to roundwood production.
4. Repeat 2, except this time your Item will be Sawnwood. Rank the countries again. Compare two rankings, write down any major difference in rankings that you notice. Can you think of any reasons why the difference?
5. Now go to Last Frontier Forests page at the World Resources Institute. This is a big online report that explains what these forests are, where they are and what are the main threats. Access the table in the report Countries with most remaining frontier forest (half way down through the table of contents).
6. Now compare this ranking with the two above. Any major discrepancies? For example, the most frontier forest is left in Russia; where is Russia in terms of the overall roundwood production/ Sawnwood production?
7. Create three world maps showing all countries with their respective rankings in roundwood production, sawnwood production, and amount of frontier forest left. You can put actual numbers on the maps and give countries a uniform tint. Attach them to your report. A blank map of the world can be found here.