Australasia's home for timber news and information

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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Raids on Austrian company for illegal timber

Prosecutors from the Romanian Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) raided Austrian group Schweighofer Holzindustrie’s factories in Radauti and Sebes. Sources: Romania Insider, Timberbiz The prosecutors are investigating illegal timber transactions which da
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Huge Texas timberland sale worth $1.4b

A huge chunk of East Texas is changing hands in one of the largest such transactions in a decade. Source: Dallas News CatchMark Timber Trust has agreed to pay almost US$1.4 billion for the 1.1 million acres of timberland. Law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP assisted with the transaction, w
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Vietnam increases furniture exports but materials shortage looms

A report from the General Department of Customs (GDC) in Vietnam showed that export turnover of all woodwork items in the first four months of the year increased significantly. Source: Vietnamnet Vietnam exported US$680 million worth of products in April and US$2.6 billion in the firs
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CIFOR and Mongabay join forces

The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and Mongabay have launched a partnership to increase the dissemination of news about the status of the world’s forest ecosystems. Source: Timberbiz The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) is a scientific organizatio
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