Summary

While the extent of illegal logging in Guyana may not be as high as reported in some other countries, it does have a significant impact on Guyana’s relatively small and developing economy as well as having environmental and socio-cultural consequences.

Two of the main reasons for the sub-optimal detection of illegal logging and other activities are a) the extensive and largely inaccessible forest estate which is difficult to effectively monitor and b) a manual log-tracking system that has tendencies for errors and does not facilitate rapid transfer of information and data.

The project proposed will address these two issues by a) developing an integrated and dynamic GIS that will incorporate satellite image analysis, illegality indicators and a legality database and b) by establishing a bar-code log-tracking system that will feed into a central database linked to a national wide-area network. This will allow for near real-time transfer of data and the availability of tracking information for the regulatory agency and operators in the private sector.

The outcome of the project will be an environment where detection of illegal logging and other non?compliant activities will be dramatically improved in the forest, in transit and at point of sale. This scenario will see improved detection of illegal activities acting as an effective deterrent resulting in a marked reduction in the incidence of illegal activities. The beneficial knock-on effects of this will be registered in the national economy, local communities and the forest environment.

Summary

Of all the tropical hardwood species, teak (Tectona grandis) is probably one of the most well-known and high-value timbers with its extremely good dimensional stability and aesthetic qualities. Teak occurs naturally in India, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand but it has been established in plantations throughout tropical Asia, as well as in tropical Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. The current project proposal was prepared based on the recommendations of the International Conference on "Quality Timber Products of Teak from Sustainable Forest Management" held at Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, Kerala, India, 2-5 December 2003.

This 12-month project aims to organize a regional workshop in 2007 for critical appraisal of the problems of processing, marketing and trade of quality products of teak from plantations with the participation of major Asian teak producer countries, viz. India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand as well as the importing countries. The regional workshop is expected to: (i) provide a clear understanding of country situation among the project partners; (ii) identify the lead countries in areas of research and training as well as networking to cater to the needs of international stakeholders; and (iii) establish working relationships among the project partners in Asian Region.

Summary

The objective of this project is to organise an international conference with a view to assessing the current state of research and development, innovation and other technological developments in the global forest and wood product industries.

Summary

Guatemala has made great strides towards sustainable forest management in recent years. To strengthen and complement this process, a marketing strategy is needed to encourage the use of lesser-known timber species and timber products. This project will help in this by, among other things, strengthening local capacity to create and maintain support mechanisms for marketing, communities and industries.

Summary

This is the final stage of a five-year project to establish a forestry statistical information system in Peru. It is extending the system to all regional nodes throughout Peru (currently,three nodes are operational) and linking all regional forestry offices electronically with INRENA's headquarters in Lima. It is also providing training for users and operators of the system.

Summary

This 20-month project aims to establish a permanent structure for statistics research and collection on timber marketing in Cameroon. At its completion, a well-established and long-lasting structure will centralise the country’s statistical data on timber marketing.

Summary

This project is building on the forest statistical information system developed under a previous ITTO project to improve the knowledge of forest products production and trade and assist efforts to increase the share of these products in the total exports of the country.

Summary

The pre-project studied the supply and demand status of the Indian timber market and the market opportunities in India for other ITTO members, producing a major report that can be downloaded from 'Publications'.

Summary

This pre-project assessed the outlook for wooden furniture into the 21st century with the aim of providing a view of those products and markets where tropical timber producers are likely to be competitive.

Summary

The main aim of this pre-project was to recommend measures that could bring increased transparency to the international hardwood plywood trade and manage risks associated with market fluctuations. The draft report can be downloaded from 'Publications'.

Summary

This conference provided a regional forum for the exchange of ideas and building of consensus regarding trends in and perspectives of the Latin American forestry sector.

Summary

This project is evaluating the strength and performance of export wood furniture such as chairs, tables, stools, cabinet doors and drawers by the application of loads or forces simulating normal functional use, as well as acceptable mis-use, according to a graded scale of severity following established standards. It is also identifying and will disseminate to manufacturers designs to improve the strength and stability of furniture.

Summary

The existing forest information systems in Guatemala are dispersed and poorly equipped to produce an integrated, complete and up-to-date database as required by the different sectoral and inter-sectoral stakeholders at the national and international levels.The objective of this pre-project is to formulate a project proposal for the articulation and implementation of a forest information system in Guatemala. The specific objectives are:

• to update the diagnosis of the first-level forest information systems already existing in Guatemala;
  
• to design the institutional integration module to generate forest information and forest statistics; and
  
• to develop a project proposal for a national forest information system.