Jari Brazil

1978. At about 900 m altitude in the headwaters of a tributary of the Agusan River, natural grown E. deglupta did not have the smooth, multi-coloured bark normally associated with the species (right). Regenerating seedlings and small saplings here had very glaucous leaves and twigs (above). Since the appearance of the bark was like that on the trees that were planted at Kunjingini in PNG I could not support these trees being classified as a different species, as a few observers had claimed. More likely it was a result of a dryer environment. Of note at the time was the encroachment and clearing by squatters on this part of the PICOP concession that was endangering the survival of the non-typical stands of E. deglupta in this area.

Jari, Brazil

In Amazonia, Brazil, the Jari industrial complex covered 1.3 million hectares in Pará (55%) and Amapá (45%) States divided by the Jari River, a tributary of the Amazon River, that forms the boundary between them (map next page).

The US entrepreneur and billionaire Daniel K Ludwig began the Jari project in 1967. He purchased 6,475 km2 of land for US$ 3 million. Without any prior testing he started to grow Gmelina arborea after clearing the rainforest. Ludwig commissioned two large barges to be built in Japan and floated to the Jari Project. On the first the pulping section of a pulp mill including digester and bleaching plant was constructed. On the second the power section of the mill including a recovery boiler and evaporators was built. In 1978 the modules were towed from Japan across the Indian Ocean and around the Cape of Good Hope, arriving at the project site in Monte Dourado to be sunk on previously driven piles.

The growth rate of the Gmelina was poor and attention turned to planting eucalypts to produce bleached pulp. From 1980 to 1983 inclusive over 14,000 ha of E. deglupta was planted along with 6,000 ha of Pinus caribaea. From 1983 planting of E. deglupta stopped in favour of an increased rate of planting of P. caribaea and a switch to E. urophylla and later another switch to the hybrid E. urophylla x E. grandis. 148

148 After a few changes of ownership, the company is now called Jari Cellulose, Papel e Embalagens S A. With a recent investment of US$80 – 100 million, the pulp mill has been modernized and rebuilt to have an annual capacity of 240,000 to 250,000 t of dissolving pulp grades instead of paper pulp. The mill’s feedstock lately is mainly hybrid E. urophylla.