Australasia's home for timber news and information

Debt-driven deforestation

The Cambodian rosewood had stood for hundreds of years, but its value finally proved too hard to resist and the giant tree came crashing down — inside a protected forest. Sources: Reuters, VOANews It’s unclear exactly who was behind the felling — nobody has been charged — but it
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Tropical log imports to China up 6%

China’s tropical log imports in 2017 totalled 9.65 million cubic metres up 6% year-on-year and accounted for 17% of the national total, a year-on-year decline of 2 percentage points. Source: Lesprom The value of tropical log imports in 2017 was US$2.846 billion reflecting a 17% rise,
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Expert team to plan the Polish forest

Polish environment minister Henryk Kowalczyk has appointed an expert team which is to develop a long-term plan for the Puszcza Bialowieska forestry area in east Poland. Source: Euwid Mr Kowalczyk requested environmental organisations to delegate representatives to the team. The group,
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Ponsse launches new Stage V emission engines on EU markets

Ponsse’s new Mercedes-Benz/MTU Stage V emission engines feature the latest engine technology, and according to the company they are an excellent solution for forest machines that require productivity, reliability and fuel economy while being environmentally friendly. Source: Timberbiz
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Whole tree logging may not be so bad

“People think, ‘It’s bad enough to log, and now you are going to take away the branches that decay and then nurture the ecosystem?” Robert Froese, a forest scientist at Michigan Technological University said. “But we wondered, what really is the role of branche
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New map shows many old growth forests in Europe

Though you might read about deep, dark woods in fairy tales, the prevailing story today is that very little European old-growth forest remains. Source: Phys.org But now a new study and map shows that a surprising number of these primary forests still stand. “What we’ve sho
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Brazil wood based products exports increase

In April 2018, the value of Brazilian exports of wood-based products (except pulp and paper) increased 30% compared with April 2017, from US$221 million to US$287 million. Source: Lesprom Pine sawnwood export values rose 28.5% between April 2017 (US$38.3 million) and March 2018 (US$49
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Ultimatums for Indonesian paper giant

The main global group for certifying sustainable wood has sent a “come clean” ultimatum to one of the world’s largest paper companies and its billionaire Indonesian family owners following evidence it continues to cut down tropical forests and operate through corporate proxies. Source
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China’s reforestation means compulsory land acquisition

In January, China’s State Forestry Administration announced an enormous reforestation campaign, a project that pledges to reforest more than 16 million acres of land, an area roughly the size of Ireland, within the year. Sources: The WorldPost, The Washington Post Chinese President Xi
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Sabah ban on log exports to maintain local mills

The export of logs from Sabah, Malaysia a major timber producing state, has been banned with immediate effect. Source: Timberbiz The recently-elected Chief Minister, Mohd Shafie Apdal, said the move was taken to ensure sufficient timber for mills in the State and to secure jobs. The s
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