Tropical Forest Update

The prospects for plantation teak

Cover image

Photo: A. Compost

Teak has a centuries-old reputation as the king of timbers. It is highly durable, easily worked, attractive, strong and relatively light. It has been used as both a structural and decorative timber in the temples, palaces and houses of the Indian sub-continent for perhaps 2000 years, where its durability has been proved: though popular with priests, princes, carpenters and the common man, termites and fungi tend to shun it.

As short-rotation teak plantations spring up around the tropics, how will this new kind of teak fare in the timber markets of the future?

Contents

  • Teak growers unite!

    Photo: H.O. Ma

    Teak is one of the pre-eminent timbers of the tropics, but growers and processors need to work together if that status is to be maintained

    By K. M. Bhat and Hwan Ok Ma

  • Making the grade

    Photo: H.O. Ma

    The challenge for teak-growers is to improve the wood quality of fast-grown trees

    By Andrew Akwasi Oteng-Amoako

  • How communities can cash in on teak

    Community plantation teak initiatives should link with private-sector ventures to increase their access to high-value markets

    By Raymond M. Keogh

  • Teak as social engineer

    Photo: Floresteca

    Floresteca says that its teak operations are performing significant social services in a poor region of Mato Grosso

    By Sylvio de Andrade Coutinho

  • Thinking big about small-scale enterprises

    Photo: H.O. Ma

    Small-scale forest enterprises play a significant role in India’s forestry sector, but their role and full potential is not completely understood

    By Sharmistha Bose and Sushil Saigal

  • Small change from climate-change negotiations?

    Photo: E. Müller

    The latest Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change has set the rules for applying the Clean Development Mechanism to forest-related activities

    By Carmenza Robledo

  • Out on a limb

    India could become a dominant player in the global forest products trade—if its timber sector becomes more transparent

    By Maharaj Muthoo

  • Council’s latest grants

    Initiatives in forest conservation, management planning, forest statistics and the development of small-scale forest industries, among others, received funding at the 35th session of the International Tropical Timber Council, held in Yokohama, Japan, in November 2003

  • Fellowship report

    Photo: A. Compost/ITTO

    With the assistance of an ITTO fellowship the author has developed a systematic approach to the assessment and monitoring of forest biological diversity

    By Dr Karan Deo Singh

  • On the conference circuit

    Reports on a workshop on criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management, a workshop in China on value accounting for tropical forest environmental resources, and the 7th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity

  • Noticeboard

    Toolkit for phased approach to certification, RIL software available, making contact, and more

  • Courses

    Short training courses for professionals in forestry and related disciplines

  • Meetings

    A comprehensive listing of coming conferences relevant to sustainable tropical forest management

Full edition

The ITTO Tropical Forest Update is published quarterly in English, French and Spanish.
The French and Spanish editions are usually posted about one month after the English.

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