Tropical timber forensics: A multi-methods approach to tracing Bolivian “Cedrela”

Tropical timber forensics: A multi-methods approach to tracing Bolivian “Cedrela”

November 29, 2018

Illegal logging is one of the main drivers of species degradation and contributors to global warming. This practice negatively impacts forest stakeholders at international and local level. Effective control strategies are required to counteract illegal harvesting and trade of tropical timber. Stable isotopes, chemical properties, and DNA are non-manipulative tree characteristics and […]

Timber tracking and trade in South America – a report from GTTN’s Regional Workshop in Peru

November 26, 2018

Governmental organisation, Network, NGO, Research institute, Timber tracking, University

Between November 7 and 9, the GTTN Secretariat organized the Regional Workshop for Latin America in Lima, Perú. Over 70 representatives from academia, law enforcement agencies, customs, international organizations and NGOs actively participated in the different sessions. The workshop brought together stakeholders who do usually not communicate: a nature protection […]

The Role of Wood Science and Technology in a Sustainable World

November 16, 2018

Network, Timber tracking

Wood is highly appreciated and used for construction, furniture design and increasingly also for the production of clothes and other everyday objects due to its special material, appealing aesthetics and the sense of warmth portrayed by it. As such, it is expected that the global demand for timber will only […]

Identifying a wood species in 2 seconds

November 6, 2018

Research institute, University

In one of our recent posts we introduced a project with African scientists under the lead of professor Alex Wiedenhoeft from the Center of Wood Anatomy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison using the new wood ID technology Xylotron. According to Wiedenhoeft, it is “basically a really fancy USB microscope”: […]

One app for Amazon wood identification

November 5, 2018

Network

With support of the Regional Amazon Program (BMZ, DGIS, GIZ) and the German Thünen Institute, the Laboratory of Forest Products of the Brasilian Forest Service and the Amazon Institute for Scientific Research (SINCHI) in Colombia, agreed in 2009 to develop an electronic key to identify Amazonian tree species. They were […]

Battling Illegal Timber Trade with the Xylotron

October 23, 2018

Network, Research institute, Timber tracking, University

Four researchers from Ghana are currently on campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison to learn the ins and outs of UW-Madison wood identification technology in an effort to bring the knowledge back to their home country. Emmanuel Ebenyenle, Senior Research Scientist at the CSIR Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, and […]

Indonesia develops rapid wood identification system

October 21, 2018

Governmental organisation, Research institute, Timber tracking

As a result of a collaboration between the Indonesian Institute of Sciences and the Ministries of Environment and Forestry and Research, Technology and Higher Education an innovative technology for wood identification called AIKO has been developed in Indonesian language. A lead researcher, Esa Prakasa, said AIKO is a mobile phone […]

Celebrating 5 years of EUTR

October 18, 2018

Governmental organisation, Network, NGO, Research institute, Timber tracking

On October 8-9, 2018, GTTN members met with representatives from the European Commission, the US Government, ITTO, NGOs, scientists, competent authorities, and the private sector at the five-year celebration of the implementation of the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) and the Thünen Centre of Competence on the origin of timber. […]

Wageningen: Two PhD candidates in for tropical timber tracing

October 5, 2018

Network, Timber tracking, University

The Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group (part of the Environmental Sciences Group) of Wageningen University is looking for two highly motivated PhD candidates with the following qualifications: • An MSc degree in a relevant field, including: biology, forest & nature conservation, plant sciences or wood sciences • Affinity with […]

EU-Japan EPA potential impact on illegal logging

October 1, 2018

Governmental organisation, Network, Timber tracking

The international NGO Fern warns that the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Japan threatens the fight for legal timber in a recent briefing note. According to the note, chapters of the draft deal were leaked to Greenpeace in June and revealed a lack of robust and enforceable […]