WPMA’s Chair and CEO, Brian Stanley and Jon Tanner, were in China recently to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the equivalent body the China Timber and Wood Products Distribution Association (CTWPDA). Source: Timberbiz The signing between the two organisations took place

Organisers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics have rejected allegations by 47 non governmental organisations that they had used companies with suspect logging track records, saying all material purchased was strictly regulated. Source: Reuters In an open letter to the International Olympic C

Illegal logging leases that have enriched foreign companies and dispossessed traditional landowners in Papua New Guinea will finally be shut down, according to the Government. Source: Radio Australia The Papua New Guinea Government has promised to finally shut down illegal logging lea

Flush with cash and land it received in compensation for the seizure of its property under Communism, the Roman Catholic church in the Czech Republic is looking to the forestry industry as it looks to ensure its long-term financial future. Source: Yahoo7News After long political battl

Together with a large industrial consortium, VTT Technical Research of Finland has launched a EUR 4.5 million project to speed up the development of fibre-based products as alternatives to oil-based materials like plastics. Source: Eureka Alert The project, funded partly by the Europe

The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), the international trade association for the American hardwood industry, has unveiled its ‘Seed to Seat’ furniture collaborative at ‘100% Design South Africa’. Source: Timberbiz Given an open brief and asked to design ‘something to sit on’,

Russia has emerged as one of the winners from the trade dispute between Canada and the US over lumber. Source: Bloombergs The US is importing more softwood lumber from overseas after it slapped tariffs on Canadian supplies, making them more expensive. Russian shipments are 42% higher

Engineered wood also known as man-made wood or composite wood, has become popular in recent times due to its cost effective and ecofriendly properties, it is expected to see steady growth to 2017. Source: Find Market Research These woods are formed of composite materials manufactured

In the mid-1990s, 1000 truckloads of orange peels and orange pulp were purposefully unloaded onto a barren pasture in a Costa Rican national park. Today, that area is covered in lush, vine-laden forest. Source: Timberbiz A team led by Princeton University researchers surveyed the land

Car designers could turn to wood in a bid to make cars lighter, stronger and cheaper. Source: The Sun UK A material made from wood pulp is five stronger than steel but weighs 80% less, according to researchers in Japan. And a leading supplier to Toyota is working alongside the boffins