"V)urfuturc rcsewood shipment may be used to cooksomeone's dinner"

ARDWOOD from tropical countries is a commodity which most dealers and customers take for granted. But, according toOzzie Bendet a senior consultant to the forest industry with Ekono, Inc., Bellerue, Wa., this may not always be the case.

"We all know the old growth tropical hardwood supply is coming to an end," Bender says, "but when?" Before attempting to answer the question, he puts the world supply in perspective by pointing out that more than 5O% of the total wood harvest each year is used for fuelwood.

Continuing with background material before tackling the question ofcontinuing supply, he points out that an estimated 7 million acres or 42,000 square miles.of tropical forest is destroyed annually. This is an area about the size of Indiana as compared to the total u'orld tropical forest area of 3.2 billion acres or 5 million square miles, about half again as big as the U.S.A. which covers 3.6 million square miles.

Most of this forest destruction is caused by the rural population clearing the forest for pasture or to plant food crops or the cutting of wood for fuel. "Your future shipment of rosewood paneling may be used to cook somebody's dinner," Bender quips.

In addition to the pressures the forest products industry faces with deforestation, it also faces pressures from environmental groups who want the forests left alone. As an erample, Bender cites an ad which appeared inThe New Yo*Ttmes in January of this year. Aimed at the fast food industry, it claimed that tropical rainforests were being destroyed to provide grazing land ficr beefcattle in Central America. As furtherevidence of the impact environmentalists may have on the hardwood industry he tells of reports of groups picketing furniture stores in Zurich. Switzerland. because the stores were selling furniture made from tropical hardwoods.

Transmigration plans are affecting tropical hardwood supplies. Indonesia proposes to mwe 1.3 million people from Java to less inhabited Kalimantan and other areas by 1989. Resenlement of these farmers will take 890,000 acres of land annually with 80% of it coming from virgin and logged-over forests, Bender poins out.

It has been estimated that the loss of timber from this first transmigration wave will be equivalent to loading out log ships containing 28 million board feet of lumber every day ofthe year.

Future plans call for the transmigration of another 15 million people between 1989 and 1999 with each family receiving an average of 3J acres to farm. This will eliminate 7.2 million acres of forest.

To further emphasize the problem of continued supply. Bender poins out that Indonesia has a linle o,ver 30 years left of cutting old growth or vi4gin forest. India. on the other hand, has D8 million acres of commercial forest of which 63% is managed. At the current rate of deforesation. they have a reserve of 3.7 million acres of industrial plantations. Malaysia has 15 years of forest left and the Philip pines 17.

S:tory at a Glance

Tropical hardwood shortage called inevitable...farming and fuelwood use destroys 27 mi!lion acres annually... resettlement of people cuts into snpply ...use of lesser known species and managed forests recommended.

I-atin Arnerican countries appear better offwith Brazil estimated to have 98 years left; Peru 70 years, Columbia 23, Surinam. over 2,0(X) years. Africa also has a fairly long term supply.

Although the problems are sryere, it is possible to slorv the inwitable, according to Bender. The firs pmitive sep uould be to use morc secondary species or more of the lesser knovn species.

The second remedy would be to go to managed forests or growing a second crop after the first selective cut. Enrichment plantings or the planting of seedlings ofdesirable species in the forest after logging would help to replace the original stands.

This method has economic disadvantages since meranti or lauan akes a minimum of 40 to 60 years to grow to acceptable diameter. With timber concessions in South East Asia only given for 2O-25 years, there is no guarantee that the eonccssion ()pe flrt()r r.ltluld havc ctlttrol o1'thc conccssion at hat'r'cst tirttc attd lhtts be ablr' t() rcc()\Lrr Itis tltvcsltttcnt. Re lirrcstution thlough thc planting ol'inriustrill plantuti()ns ulso is strh.icct ttr inrcstor rcluctuncc.

Scrcral orgattizatiotts arc sccking s()ltl ti()ns t() thc pnrblcnt. Bcntlcr savs. Thc I ntclnational Trol"ricll'l'inrbcr Organiza tion (ll'TO) invtllvcs l2 tinrbcr proclLrcinu nutiorts antl l-l consunrins natit)ns incltrtl ing thc []nitctl Statcs. In adclition to glthcri ng stilt ist ical tnrclc and procluction litttlc:.rrttl Ittut k.'l rIrtclIigcn.',:. il. prrr posc is thrcekrkl: (l) Hvaluutc rttat'kcls lor tropical harclw<locls (scconclan rtr lcsscr knou'n s;lccics). (2) Transtbr firrcst industrl pr.oduction tcchnologt f'nrnr tirubcr consunrins countrics kr tirnbcr producin_u c()untric\. (3) Evuluation ol tlclirrcstlttiort prohlcnrs ancl lirrcsl nlanagcnrent svstelns.

A scconrl ()rglnirati()n intcrcstcd in tinrbcr supplv is an intcrnationul task lirrcc rnaclc up 1r.onr tJNDP. thc \\irrld ['lank unrl thc \\(rrkl Rcsourccs Institutc. irll cntitics u hich harc bccn lttrcking thc tlr-lirrcstution plohlcnr lirr r e ars. The_r havc prcparcrl a plun ol acttort uhiclr nccds i{i5.3 billion tirr f inancing. Hallof the nroner' rlould e onre lionr intcrnutional hlrnk: ltn,l \l\'\ \'l( tl)ll )L'nt J:\i\tJll\'\' il!('n cics anrl hall'fr-onr thc privatc scctor ltnrl g( )\'c f n nlc llt \.

In a rcccnt blieling to thc Intcrnatiortitl Harrlr.roorl Protlucts Association on thc tlopical harclri'ood suppll. l3cndcr rccortt nrcnrlerl that thc) unclcrtakc fittancing ol'it suf \ c\ to ilsscss the nuttrbcr tll'veltrs tt1' rcrrlrining cr-rt ol virgin tirrcst irt thc cottrttrics suppll ing the 1,.S. lrtarket with tn)p icul harclriootls. Hc also suggcstcd supp()rting gcnctic ir.upRrvcmcnts ol spccics such as Honduran tnahoganv. luuan runtl nreranti as wcll as thc possibilitics of grow rng nrahoguny lnd otlre r dcsirlrblc tri'pi.lrl :pcrir'r itt Plrttlltliott:.

As scllcrs ol'tropical hlrclwtxxls. rctlil or * holcsulc. rle alers ulso shoulcl bc ir\\arc that thc sLrpplv is ttot cntllcss antl r:ivc support to altv llx)velltent r"'hich *'ill insrrrc a continuc(l supplv lbr corrtrnercial t-lsc.

(Ektnto, lrtt. i.s tLtt irttt'natiotutl (otttp(ttt\' ttf t rn.sttltirt.q ert.qirteL'r.r .spct iuIi-.ittg irt Iltc .litrc.tI tttttI (tI(rg ' ittrIu.:u ic.s. Ctttrtptttt.t

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