Hornbills - Mating Life

Hornbills fascinate me. 

In the forest, I get enthusiastic when I see them flocks together in the sky. And just recently I learned a little bit more about hornbill habitat. 

You see, in the forest, the hornbills always fly at least in a pair: one male and another female. It's rarely you see a hornbill flying alone, except when the male goes out and hunt for food. And this only happens after the mating session. After the mating session, the whole body of the female feather will fall off and the female will use these feathers to make a nest. And yes, her feathers will grow back, but it takes time. So, if you see a hornbill flies alone or the flock of hornbills is uneven numbers, you will now know why.

And from the expert that studied hornbills more than 30 years, Dr. Pilai Poonswad of Mahidol University and the Hornbill Research Foundation (HRF), the male hornbill is never a playboy (I can’t think of any other word that this).

Because, because, because the male hornbill cannot leave his wife and her nest: if not she and the baby birds will die of hunger! Haha, she said so. Based on her research. 30 years of study. Don’t play play.  

Most interestingly, after the mother has lay the eggs out, say for example there is 5 [A, B, C, D, E] babies, based on Dr. Pilai observations, there is always one baby left behind with the parents to look the next generation of babies! It could be A or B or C or D or E, but one will stay back to look after the new baby birds or his/her siblings!

The Search of the Sunken Timbers

Famous treasure of diamonds, rubies, and gold nuggets in wooden chest(s) have been well heard for it’s being sunk into the sea and cursed to be found only through an encrypted map, a treasure map. Part of the treat (& threats) of solving the map,  you will be fill with adventures through the journey searching treasure.

Yesterday, I asked my client A, about client C, how is he and how is business. He mentioned the client has stopped exporting timber (market) is bad, and focus on a new business : fish pond. The current mill is doing local sales. And on top of that, client C also invests in getting logs from the sea.

I was surprised. I never heard of it before. So I asked client A what does he mean by "getting logs from the sea".

He said, when logs were being transported from one point (interior log pond) to another point (city log pond), occasionally one or two pieces of logs dropped and sunk into the river or sea. 

These logs dug out will probably be full of seaweeds and mold. It then will be send to the mill for cleaning, sawn into a sizes, a bit of seasoning (proper drying methods), bundle  & pack, and it is ready for sales. 

Out of curiosity, I googled to find out more about getting logs from the sea , came across only one article related to sunken logs,  Priceless Rush on Timber and have interesting facts. 

:: History ::
Over the decades thousands of logs slipped out of reach before they could be loaded for export on ships bound for Japanese, European and American markets.

During the timber booming time, take for example the North Borneo Timber, they were able to extracted up to 1.2 million cubic meters, which is about 300,000 logs a year at the mid 1980’s.

Ross Ibbotson, retired forest manager and historian has just completed researching the history of logging in North Borneo for a book. He said “ If you lost 7 or 8 pieces of pieces a load then that would be a lot, you can hear a scream of the ship captain when a log became entangled with the anchor and he couldn’t get rid of it”.

During the mid 1980’s , Sabah was producing more than 12 million cubic meters of timber a year. Today, the figure has been reduced sharply to a still sizable of three to four million cubic meters, coming from secondary forest. Which then has led to a sharp increase in prices on the internal market for rare timbers.

:: Today ::
Logs are valued between USD 1000 to USD 3000 each, which is seven times more than 2 decades ago and Ibbotson said “ timber prices, like most commodities, are enjoying their highest level yet.

“Some logs were of good quality and sank into the sea during the transfer to the ship. The good qualities ones are heavy and sank". Those are the logs the “log sea digger” seek for.

Dipterocarps were the highest quality does not sink. They floats, so it was much easier to transport to ships and sawmills.

Selangan Batu and Keruing does not  did not float and were bought down from the forest on river through barges which are often overload and sometimes sank into  “log pond”.

A round figure for the cost to retrieve the logs, which includes taxes, royalties, hydraulics, barges, fuel and a team of 12 to 15 men working around the clock is about USD 100 per cubic meter. It is a flat rate so the FASTER the people work, the MORE they earn.

:: Constraints ::
In Tawau, a part time treasure hunter and full time sundry shop is heavily involved in retrieving sunken logs and says “unscrupulous businessmen” have a reputation of hunting for logs without proper permit or licenses. * “in timber industry, where there are opportunities to make profit, often you see people try to get into the business irresponsibly”

What they do is employ divers from Semporna, native Bajau and Suluk who were experts in compressor and hose and know where the log ponds are located … often at the mouth of the river.

Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Tawau and Sebatik were popular spots.

Divers would go to work at low tide, dig in and around the log. A rope with a float was tied around the log and it was hooked up to a scow which then transported the logs to the sawmill where they were cut and sold as market price with no questions asked.

If the logs are near the land they will use tractors to pull it out.

Other Constraints :: 

Key to economic viability was to work fast as teams, but there were other issues like the Toredo worms or marine borers, in estuarine (tide meet the stream) water and ubiquitous (everywhere) pirates that roamed these seas for centuries.

The Toredo were known as the termite of the sea, boring anything that made of wood :  ship's hull, piers, docks, and timber buried at shallow water. 

Ibbotson mentioned " personally I do not think it is commercially viable to work at rivers -  the current and the amount of silt being brought down will have dispersed and buried these logs long ago and in any case Toredo will have got them in the estuarine waters"

Another treasure hunter added " If the worms don't get you then the pirate might"

The water off north Borneo are famed for many reasons.

Suluk, Bajau and Bugis - native seafarers and sometimes pirates.

The worst of them are based out of the Southern Phillippines and have forged a strategic alliance with the notorious Abu Sayyaf, famed for their kidnapping, robbing techniques and links to Islamic militancy.

The east coast of north Borneo is a popular transit route that links East Indonesia with South Phillippines which is often guard by the largely defunct Islamic terrorist outfit : Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). 

Ibbotson said logs were lost at" all major shipping anchorages and  in considerable quantity" around Sabah and included Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Tawau ; the isolated port town for Wallace Bay, which hugs the Indonesia border.

The company I worked for used Filipino fivers with scuba gear and once had recovered about 10,000 cubic meters or 2,500 logs from our anchorage at Wallace Bay," he said. What you need is to identify deep salt water anchorages used consistently for years."

Given the risks : treacherous seas, pirates, costs and uncertainty surrounding the condition of the logs, the search for sunken timber is a dangerous business but it has provided a small fortune for some.

:: Thoughts of the day ::

First, is it SAFE? Safe as in these logs to be process into wood products such as decking, garden use, chair, table used in a housing environment. Also, digging out the logs from the sea or the mouth of the river, does it cause any environmental damages to the water quality?

Second, how do we classify these logs origin?   The 3 major markets (EU Timber Regulation 2010, US Lacey Act 2008, Australian Illegal LoggingProhibition Bill 2011) that promotes and eliminate trade of illegal timbers, means knowing the timber products shipping to their countries are traceable back to the forest license area.  So if in a special case these timbers to be export to these countries, what is the logs origin? Is it definitely from Sabah, Malaysia? 

Source : sinkerlogs

Article Review :: CIFOR Post :: 5 Facts You May forgotten about Forests

DID YOU KNOW, every year there is a lost of over 60,000 square kilometers of forest  (size of Ireland) world wide due to 

Mining, 

Agriculture, 

pasture, 

and other non forest uses, or degraded by unsustainable,

 Illegal logging and 

other Poor Land Use Practices?

And about 1.6 billion people that depends on the forest for livelihoods are displace or marginalize by these changes on their lands (or forest they were depending on) ?

Was reading an article in CIFOR blog, listing 5 facts humans may forget about how important forest is to human being livelihoods today :

Fact # 1 :  If people in Congo Basin farmed beef instead of hunting wildlife, roughly 10 % of the forest cover (in the world I presume) would be lost.

In rural areas of the Congo Basin many communities depend on wild meat hunted in forests for up to 80% of the fat and protein in their diets. But while overharvesting means the practise is becoming increasingly unsustainable, an outright ban on hunting isn’t the solution either, as rural people have very few alternative ways to get essential protein and will continue to hunt illegally.

 Replacing the six million tonnes of bushmeat consumed each year in theCongoBasin with beef, for example, would have environmentally catastrophic consequences.

“Six million tonnes is equivalent to the amount of beef produced in Brazil, which people estimate has been responsible for 60 to 70 percent of the deforestation in the Amazon basin,” said Robert Nasi, a scientist with the Centre for International Forestry Research(CIFOR).
“So we are talking about 20 or 25 million hectares of forest in the Congo Basin wiped out to put cattle – because cattle cannot live in the forest, they need pasture.”
One solution would be to ban hunting of vulnerable species – the gorillas and elephants – while allowing people to hunt more resilient species, like duikers (small antelopes) and porcupines.

Fact # 2 :  Forest supply about 75 % of usable water in the world

Forested catchments enhance the water supplies needed by rural and urban populations by controlling water yield, peak flows, low flows, sediment levels, water chemistry and water quality.

Though demand for water continues to rise, remaining forest lands are disappearing and this has been blamed for everything from flooding to aridity and for catastrophic reductions of water quality. Loss of forests will also have negative impacts on the essential hydrological services and safety net functions forests provide to the livelihoods of local communities.

Fact # 3 : More than a quarter of modern medicines, worth an estimated US$ 108 billion a year originate from tropical forest plants.

Many of the drugs sold in pharmacies today are synthetic modifications or copies of the naturally obtained substances. Less than one percent of the plants in the world’s tropical rainforests have even been tested for their medicinal properties – so who knows how many live life-saving drugs and new medicines have yet to be discovered, and sadly, how many have already been lost due to deforestation.

It seems plants have also adapted to making medicinal chemicals for their own protection. A few years ago, scientists found plants in a forest produce significant amounts of an aspirin-like chemical when placed under extreme stress.

Fact # 4 : In some parts of Africa, wood fuels account for almost 90% of primary energy consumption

Fact # 5 :  Converting one hectare of peat swamp forest can generate up to 70 tons of carbon emission over the next 25 years. 

I would like to make a statement : not all palm oil plantations established in Malaysia and Indonesia are converted on a peat swamp or forest land use area. There are standards and criteria's to meet before an area is converted to palm oil. Silly to slap the offenses of illegal operators ramping the peat swamps on to the overall oil palm industries in both Malaysia and Indonesia, that is part of the major drive to the countries economy development! 

I would prefer if they had stress only that peat swamp is crucial to be protected, for deforesting it would have an impact of carbon emission world wide, rather than relating to Malaysia and Indonesia oil palm industries like it is the major cause of loss (unless proven otherwise!). 

Article Review :: Open Letter to the Malaysia Prime Minister on forest conservation

I just copy and paste this from freemalaysiatoday because I find it meaningful and important so everyone would know what we have lost from time to time. 

Dear Sir, 

Politics, race and religion tend to be divisive but all Malaysians can unite around our beautiful natural heritage, our green environment and lush rainforests. It is thus worth examining this year’s Merdeka theme “Janji Ditepati” (Promises Fulfilled) from the perspective of nature conservation.

To start with, we rightly celebrate that the British kept their promise to grant us our independence and we have steered the course of our own development over the last 55 years.  However, human development has not been without cost to the natural world and our growing cities, agriculture and infrastructure all have taken a toll.

Recognising the need to strike a balance, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir, pledged to keep 50% of Malaysia’s land area under forest cover. This promise was made to the leaders of the world assembled at the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

Today, the official statistics suggest that we still have 56% of our forest intact.

  However, independent satellite analysis reveals that this figure includes plantations and the true area of natural forest is 14,962,000 hectares, which is only 45% of our land area.

In Rio we also signed the Convention on Biological Diversity, pledging to conserve our plants, animals and their habitats. Today, however, the rhino, the banteng and the leatherback turtle are no longer found in Peninsular Malaysia. 

The call of the Burung Merak (the green peacock) is no longer heard on our shores. The last remaining stands of the Pokok Damar Hitam (Shorea kuantanensis) have been cleared for a Felda plantation and this tree species has now been declared to be extinct. 

Scores of other Malaysian endemics are classified as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and are thus on the verge of extinction. Even the wild population of our national mascot, the Malayan Tiger, has dwindled to less than 500 and they continue to face serious threats from rampant poaching and the continued destruction and fragmentation of their forest home. 

Unfortunately, even the remaining forest constituted in “permanent” reserves is not safe from the chainsaw, the bulldozer and the expansion of the concrete jungle.  Wildlife reserves, forest reserves and state parks are routinely cleared to make way for the relentless expansion of civilisation. 

On Aug 27, 2005, you officiated the launch of the Selangor State Park whereby the government promised to “conserve and nurture” the forest for future generations.  However, there is now a plan to build a highway right through this heritage park.

The Highways Authority proposes to destroy hundreds of hectares of forest in the Selangor State Park in order to build the East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE).  The plan is for this route to be the final section of the Kuala Lumpur Outer Ring Road (KLORR), linking Cheras with Bukit Antarabangsa and hopefully alleviating jams on the MRR2.

However, the proposed alignment of the highway would cut through the Ampang Forest Reserve -ma water catchment area that was gazetted as far back as 1912 in order to protect the Ampang water intake point which is a source of fresh water for the Klang Valley.

The protection of the Selangor State Park is also important for flood mitigation.  It has been reported that the flash flood on March 8, 2012 forced hundreds of Ampang residents to evacuate their homes and caused damage exceeding RM10 million. 

The proposed EKVE may lead to or exacerbate future floods which are becoming a significant problem in the Klang Valley which has already experienced eight serious floods this year. In keeping with the theme of Janji Ditepati, now is the time for the federal and state governments to make good on the pledge to conserve our forests.

Let’s act now and ensure that we keep all forest reserves covered by natural forest, put a halt to the excision of reserves and create new totally protected areas.  In particular, let us protect Ampang Forest Reserve and make sure that any highway would not damage the forest. 

In our pursuit of development, let us honour the promises we have made to future generations in Malaysia and in the world. In this way we can celebrate our independence with pride.

The writer is Hon Secretary of the Malaysian Nature Society : Lim Teck Wyn

Orang Utan on Fire, Rambutan Tree, Palm Oil Tree or Coconut Tree?

Animal cruelty is unacceptable. Seeing pictures of it will make a person gorge and feels that something right needs to be done. Stop the cruelty. Stop what contributes to it. And this may  lead them to take  "advise" given on how it can stop this injustice act. And not all may have the time, interest to check the fact right, for taking the advise.

I select to blog about this because it was my first time to come across a topic of international conservation (animal, tree, or environment related) jumping to conclusion without getting their facts right and created a celebre. It happened on a facebook web page. Imagine if this has been circulated without people verifying first, what an impact it would have made, and in the case on the palm oil product industries.  

There are a lot of NGOs campaigning of uncontrolled conversion of natural forests to oil palm plantation that destroyed biodiversities and wild life habitats, especially orang utan. There are some facts in that, however in some case it has been misused and misunderstood.

Yesterday, I came across a post of an orang utan that was injured due to fire at palm oil plantation, here. Or at least, that was my first impression on the page when I "click" on my friend  "comment" about it adversely on facebook update column on the right. She said, it was very clear in the picture that is not palm oil tree!  On top of that, on a different picture, the International Animal Rescue Foundation Global Youth Team Project said that it was stuck on a rambutan tree, RAMBUTAN TREE! (=.=)

Photo source :

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=356334481116405&set=a.200289630054225.49843.200267936723061&type=3&theater 

What had happened was this orang utan was on the coconut tree for whatever reason and was spotted by the villagers. They tried to get rid of the orang utan by smoking it away, has unfortunately set her alight. The villagers said they had simply been trying to persuade the animal to move away and not to eat their fruit. She was hiding in HER tree when HER habitat had been disturbed. She was hiding in their fruit tree in the village of Lower Wajok in West Kalimantan, Indonesia as they presume her habitat has been disturbed.

Photo source : 
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php fbid=356334481116405&set=a.200289630054225.49843.200267936723061&type=3&theater 

And this makes me wonder how  an international animal rescue team can't get their tree facts right!  Its too obvious!

Photo source : 
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=356334481116405&set=a.200289630054225.49843.200267936723061&type=3&theater 

** FYI, my friend is neither a forester or environmentalist, but who needs to be either one of these professions to identift that is a coconut tree ???

There were several earlier comments on this page (has been deleted) on how oil palm plantation impact that drives the orang utan away from the forest area into the nearby village. And that consumer should be concern and ban using palm oil product. Several concerned  people commented that they will take action on reading the label of their food products, ensuring no palm oil content before purchasing. My friend defended that major palm oil plantation holders vastly in Malaysia and Indonesia through has been certified under Responsible Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), through the  supply chain audit and responsible purchasing were able to ensure their plantation does come from area identified with high conversation value forest area (HCVF). Besides that, orang utan don't like palm oil fruits. 

The orang utan has been rescued by the International Animal Rescue Foundation Global Youth Team Project  team in Indonesia. They done a reasonable job for rescuing the orang utan and hopefully will continue to nurture the orang utan until she is stable; the whole incident can be view on the online news website, here. 

~Thank you for reading~

** Wondering why there is a good picture of the orang utan on the tree before the fire, then on fire and after fire? The pictures of the whole process.. Hmmm...**

Update on Lacey Act and Gibson Guitar : Confiscation of Ebony & Rosewood from India and Madagascar

Previously blogged about it over here.  

In 07 August 2012,  BBC reported : Gibson settles discord for timber 

Who is being held in account?

Nashville base Gibson

How was it settle? 
Gibson admitted violating the Lacey Act, which requires firm to know the timber use is  legally obtained. 

How much it is being fine?

USD 300,000 fine and USD 50,000 for community payment 

Also includes confiscation of ebony and rosewood worths USD 500,000 from India and Madagascar.

What is the community payment for Gibson Guitar?

Gibson Guitar shall further provide a community service payment of  USD 50,000 to the FWS to be used to promote conservation, identification and propagation of protected tree species used in the musical instrument industry and the forest where those species are found. 

What are the others responsible to be carried by Gibson Guitar?

Gibson shall also implement a compliance program designed to strengthen its compliance controls and procedures. 

In related civil forfeiture actions, Gibson shall withdraw its claims to the wood seized in the course of the criminal investigation, including Madagascar ebony shipment with a total invoice value of USD 261, 844. 

How did it started?

Back in 2010 and 2011, Gibson's premises were raided by the US Fish And Wildlife (FWS) services, with agents impounding ebony and rosewood imported from Madagascar and India. 

What was the evidence?

The FWS found evidence that an employee had told Gibson two years previously that its Madagascar imports might be illegal, but that the company had nevertheless ordered further stocks. 

Further information can be read in the article release by the US Department of Justice , and a quote of the overall scenario here,  

Madagascar Ebony is a slow-growing tree species and supplies are considered threatened in its native environment due to over-exploitation.   Both legal and illegal logging of Madagascar Ebony and other tree species have significantly reduced Madagascar’s forest cover. Madagascar’s forests are home to many rare endemic species of plants and animals .  The harvest of ebony in and export of unfinished ebony from, Madagascar has been banned since 2006.

Gibson purchased “fingerboard blanks,” consisting of sawn boards of Madagascar ebony, for use in manufacturing guitars.   The Madagascar ebony fingerboard blanks were ordered from a supplier who obtained them from an exporter in Madagascar.   Gibson’s supplier continued to receive Madagascar ebony fingerboard blanks from its Madagascar exporter after the 2006 ban.   The Madagascar exporter did not have authority to export ebony fingerboard blanks after the law issued in Madagascar in 2006.    

In 2008, an employee of Gibson participated in a trip to Madagascar, sponsored by a non-profit organization.   Participants on the trip, including the Gibson employee, were told that a law passed in 2006 in Madagascar banned the harvest of ebony and the export of any ebony products that were not in finished form.   They were further told by trip organizers that instrument parts, such as fingerboard blanks, would be considered unfinished and therefore illegal to export under the 2006 law.  Participants also visited the facility of the exporter in Madagascar, from which Gibson’s supplier sourced its Madagascar ebony, and were informed that the wood at the facility was under seizure at that time and could not be moved.     

After the Gibson employee returned from Madagascar with this information, he conveyed the information to superiors and others at Gibson.   The information received by the Gibson employee during the June 2008 trip, and sent to company management by the employee and others following the June 2008 trip, was not further investigated or acted upon prior to Gibson continuing to place orders with its supplier.   Gibson received four shipments of Madagascar ebony fingerboard blanks from its supplier between October 2008 and September 2009.

As a result of this investigation and criminal enforcement agreement, Gibson has acknowledged that it failed to act on information that purchasing Madagascar ebony may have violated laws intended to limit over harvesting and conserve valuable wood species from Madagascar, a country which has been severely impacted by deforestation.

What are the rationale and related to EU Timber Regulation, that will come in force in March 2013?

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) welcomes the resolution of this landmark case as both vindication (clear of blame / suspicion) of the amended Lacey Act itself, but also a clear precedent for E.U. government to implement the EU Timber Regulation

Faith Doherty, Head of Forests Campaigns at EIA’s UK office – which has spearheaded the development of the EU Timber Regulation – agreed.

“This landmark case sets a clear benchmark for European governments in their enforcement of the EU Timber Regulation from March 2013”, said Doherty, adding that “despite significant corporate and political resistance to justice, the U.S. government has this week demonstrated that principled enforcement of historic laws prohibiting illegal timber trade is both possible, and much needed, and we expect Europe to ensure EU law has the same effect.” 

Both the Lacey Act and the EU Timber Regulation explicitly prohibit trade in illegal timber in the U.S. and EU markets respectively, and both laws mandate timber companies to exercise “due care” or “due diligence” when purchasing and placing timber on the market.

While the Lacey Act came into force in May 2008, the EU Timber Regulation comes into force in March 2013.

In the EU, EIA is working to ensure member states are prepared for the implementation of the Timber Regulation, and that adequate political and financial resources are being deployed to ensure effective yet efficient enforcement is prioritized.  EIA is also working to ensure member states adopt adequate and harmonized penalties for breaches of the law – and are highlighting the penalties faced by Gibson as a step in the right direction. 

Doherty said: “We hope EU governments and traders have taken note of the Gibson case. Only through the forfeiture of hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal wood, and similarly high fines, will unscrupulous actors in the timber trade be dissuaded from disregarding both the environment and the law. This is also a very clear message to suppliers of wood worldwide. There is no room for illegally sourced timber or wood products in the market. We now have the law to help us. “

What would had happen if Gibson did not settle?

While the agreement suggests that Gibson Guitars knowingly imported illegal wood from Madagascar. It is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison and hefty fines  and perhaps deserved a bigger penalty, Gibson has for now avoided all criminal charges for its conduct.  Companies should take note of the facts in this case and the significant penalties incurred, as well as the due care specifications outlined in the agreement. The US is taking the Lacey Act seriously and future prosecutions may not be so generous.

A more detail article of overall prosecution upon Gibson Guitar case is available in EIA website reported by Lisa Handy, Senior Policy Advisor USA.

My thoughts about this

US Lacey Act amended in 2008 was introduced without any sort of preparation for the importers and importing countries. It is a single window method, and there is no get-out-of-jail free card. Do the due care and correct declaration to identify the source and species type is part of the process to ensure you are "not knowingly" an irresponsible purchaser. 

EU Timber Regulation is slightly complex. The Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between EU and the partnering countries is to minimize the risk of the woods coming from illegal source, where raw wood materials are from various sources or exploiting tree species listed in CITES (Centre for International Trade of Endanger Species). And, this case does not enable us to visualise what would happen if the timbers sourcing from various timber are not traceable.  What happen if the wood is not traceable back to the origin? And if the wood is found to be illegally traded (for it is source of illegal, controversial or endanger species) are from the partnering countries, what would the scenario be like? 

What is CITES?

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. 

~Thank you for reading~

Article Review: CIFOR Blog:: New timber tracking tools to bolster global fight against illegal logging

The post iss related to the new tracking method to curb illegal logging through tracing the species DNA that was discussed in the workshop held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  The studies using DNA market to identify timber species and analyze genetic variation in the forest has been carried out for more than ten years. This system is coherent with the existing  EU FLEGT requirement and Lacey Act that has been debating to minimize the risk of illegal logging timber products to enter EU and US market.

What is it about?

The Global Timber Tracking Network (GTTN) promotes the use of innovative control tools based on the application of DNA and stable isotope research to identify timber species and trace their origins. The Global Timber Tracking Network aims to create a global database featuring genetic and stable isotope markers for commonly traded timber species, a landmark tool designed to reinforce certification standards and legislation and to complement existing paper-based documentation that can be easily falsified. 

How does it work?

Through the DNA and stable isotope markers as the legit information (as indicator in the assessor checklist) enter into the database, where is also accessible to the importers. This  enables to importers to verify the precise species and origin of wood and wood products and provide tangible proof that the products were genuinely derived from a sustainably managed forest or other legally harvested timber.  


How would the wood sample be?

To create the database shall require integrating data generated by different research techniques and that has been collected by scientist working in various location around the world. 


What are the equipment use to test the wood sample, what are the total sample need to quantify and how long does it takes?  

A global standard (i.e.: similar FSC standard) for sampling and lab analysis of genetic and stable isotope data shall be establish in order to ensure the technique used to gather and analyze the data are repeatable and verifiable. 


Any successful pilot project? 

To date, just a handful of projects have created individual databases for certain timber species. 

Malaysia

The Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) established an early database of tropical timber species using DNA fingerprinting data. The FRIM database has genetic data for:

1. chengal (Neobalanocarpus heimii) -IUCN Red List
2. ramin (Gonystylus bancanus) -IUCN Red List
3. kempas (Koompassia malaccensis) (Traded Timber Species) (WIP) and 
4. meranti bukit (Shorea platyclados)  (Traded Timber Species) (WIP)

Currently, the GTTN database shall be test whether the data generated by analyses of wood samples match the stated species and origin on the product label.

Africa

Double Helix will design and implement DNA Chain-of-Custody systems for several supply chains. To achieve this we are actively working with government partners, concession owners/managers and community groups. The project will create DNA barcodes for twenty important African timber species and will generate a map of genetic variation across the different participating countries for three commercial tree species: Ayou (Triplochiton scleroxylon), Iroko (Milicia sp.) and Sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum). By the end of the project, the trade and Governments will have the ability to verify the species and origin of harvest of these timber species. It will provide a scientific, cost-effective method to verify claims and other supply chain documentation, enforce legislation and exclude illegally harvested timber from being laundered through legitimate supply chains. The genetic reference databases will be held by Bioversity International in Malaysia, the international coordination office for tree identification and origin assignment. Below are the countries covered under this project.

What are the major challenges or obstacle?

In Brazil, a key timber-producing nation believed to have the world’s greatest biodiversity of plant species, correctly identifying timber species is especially challenging, said Milton Kanashiro, a research geneticist at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA). “Identifying species is a big problem in Brazil. Different species of trees often end up getting classified under one species because it can be difficult to properly identify so many species in the field,” Kanashiro said. “If species are not identified, we could be losing biodiversity without knowing it. And if you don’t know you are losing a species, you cannot properly protect it.”

My opinion of the major challenges for DNA Timber Tracking:

1. Reaching agreement on standards may be the most difficult aspect of making the timber tracking system operational.
2. The research takes time, have not fully define total isotopes needed for isotope marking
3. At present only covers endanger species, and several tree species have overlaps of isotopes marker.
4. Questionable about the type of equipment needed for the importer or the require knowledge by the importer to ensure they understand the system and also does not take a very long time to verify the legality of the timber in the port.