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The gap between demand and supply of sustainable wood, in countries rich forest with a poor governance, is one of the major causes of forest degradation. This phenomenon, which is combining with other major forest degradation causes as agriculture and fires, should not be overlooked as it results in dire deforestation. In Indonesia, uncontrolled development of wood industries, led to a growing wood demand disconnected with sustainable forest management capacity. This started in 70s with log exports development, followed by the plywood industry in the 80s', pulp and paper in the 90s' and the forest conversion to agro-plantations. Tree cover in permanent forest lands dropped from 113.1 million ha to 87.4 million ha, or by 23% in 34 years, from 1982 to 2016. In Cameroon, the growing demand for timber is accelerated by domestic market paired with the population growth above 2.5% per year. Domestic timber and firewood are sourced from poorly managed non-permanent and permanent forest. The rate of deforestation at the national level remains low (0.2 % per year), but deforestation is rapid around cities and along roads. Comparing the two countries, some similarities have been identified, I) in each case wood gaps are filled by illegal practices, 2) there are miss-perceptions about sustainable wood supplies from forests, 3) governments are now planning forest restoration and 4) low wood prices are discouraging investment into forest plantations, secondary forest silviculture and forest restoration. Finally, we compare how, governments are addressing wood gap and forest restoration.

Heat treatment is an eco-friendly and efficient way to improve the defective properties of woods, such as hygroscopic nature, lack of dimensional stability, and low resistance against biological degradation, and to produce a green and sustainable wood material for construction and buildings. The aim of this study is to investigate the thermal degradation of a hardwood (poplar, Populus nigra) and a softwood (fir, Abies pectinata) in a semi-industrial scale reactor in which a vacuum environment is adopted to intensify the thermal degradation process. Four different stages of thermal degradation during wood heat treatment are defined, based on the intensity of differential mass loss (DML). Meanwhile, a number of analyses on untreated and treated woods are performed to evaluate their thermal degradation characteristics and compositional change during treatment. The FTIR analysis clearly demonstrates the thermal degradation through dehydration, deacetylation, depolymerization, and condensation reactions during the heat treatment. In addition, the XRD analysis indicates an increase in relative crystallinity of cellulose. The correlation of devolatilization index (DI) with respect to mass loss of the two wood species is strongly characterized by linear distribution, which is able to provide a simple and useful tool in predicting mass loss of wood treated in wood industry. (Resume d'auteur)

International audience; Une présentation des opportunités et défis offerts par l'industrie du futur, et une projection sur l'ensemble de la filière bois des vecteurs de progrès potentiels.

In the Congo Basin, up to one-third of the total wood market is sourced from traditional (or artisanal) woodcutting, with these products primarily destined for domestic markets. Due to the informal nature of much of the domestic value-added wood product market, the sector's real contribution to GDP and to local livelihoods is challenging to measure. However, urban timber markets contribute to economic growth and provide jobs, with an annual turnover of at least USD 15 million and employment of some 5,000 individuals in Yaoundé, Douala, and Kinshasa alone. Boosting the share of locally-processed wood used in domestic construction and furniture-making could represent a significant business opportunity for small, medium and large-sized enterprises in wood fiberbased value chains: smallholders, community forest holders, forest concessionaires, as well as SMEs and larger companies involved in transportation logistics, wood processing industries (large or small), wood workers, builders, and even designers, with the right policy incentives and enabling environment. Domestic processing capacities are low, almost entirely limited to primary processing: sawnwood, peeling and slicing for plywood, and veneer production. Industrial and semi-industrial wood transformation enterprises are well equipped, but have difficulties competing on the domestic market as they are subject to higher taxes than smaller enterprises, operating informally. This report aim to improve knowledge and prioritize options for policies and targeted investments for improved domestic timber utilization in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The report builds on prior knowledge to better understand the solutions needed to overcome barriers to expanding the market for legal (and possibly sustainable) timber and processed wood products used in the domestic furniture and construction markets in the two countries.

In order to predict wood technological properties in the context of growth and yield studies, wood variations have been investigated by forest science from several decades. Typical patterns have been defined concerning the effects of cambial age or tree ring width on some wood structural, physical or mechanical properties, in wide ranges of genotypes and site conditions

The 2010 State of the Forest report (SOF) benefited from financial support from the European Union, the United States, Germany, France and UNESCO. It represents the collaborative effort of over 100 individuals from a diversity of institutions and the forestry administrations of the Central African countries. The SOF process began with the selection and definition of indicators relevant to monitoring the state of forests in Central Africa. The indicators are structured around three thematic areas: (i) forest cover; (ii) management of production forests; and (iii) conservation and biodiversity. They are presented in a hierarchical structure at the regional, national and management unit (i.e. logging concessions and protected areas) levels. The indicators were vetted by a representative panel of stakeholders of forest management in Central Africa. The indicators are used to guide an annual data collection process carried out between April and August by national groups of four to ten individuals working within the forestry administrations. The data reported on in the 2010 SOF were primarily collected in 2009 and 2010. Results were validated in national workshops attended by government officials as well as representatives of environmental NGOs, the private sector and development projects. The data provided an important basis for the authors of the 11 chapters of the 2010 SOF, which were under the coordination of a scientific committee of international renown. A final workshop was held 29-30 March, 2011 in Douala to review a draft report. Following amendments based on comments from a wide audience of experts the final layout was completed.

The MalaysiaÕs wood-based industry is expected to contribute substantially to national income earning through value-added products such as furniture, mouldings, panel products as well as buildersÕ joinery and carpentry. During the Second Industrial Master Plan (IMP2, 1996Ð2005), it was recorded that the total export value of wood-based products increased by an average annual rate of 5.7% from RM12.8 billion (1996) to RM 21 billion (2006) with the significant increase evidenced in panel products. Based on that remarkable growth, Third Industrial Master Plan (2006Ð2020) outlined that exports of wood-based industry are targeted to rise at an annual rate of 6.4% to reach RM53 billion by 2020.

International audience; *Introduction : Tree breeding is giving an increasing attention to wood properties in order to better fit the requirements of the saw, board, pulp and paper industries. In particular, it has been reported that lignin and cellulose content display moderate to high heritabilities making them prime candidates for genetic improvement of wood chemistry. Moreover, these traits have been shown to be negatively correlated at both phenotypic and genetic levels. However, they have generally been evaluated against a narrow genetic background, and little is known about their correlations with mandatory selection criteria such as growth and straightness. *Materials and methods : In this study, we first investigated the performance of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy combined with a non-destructive sampling method to assess chemical properties of wood in maritime pine. We afterwards estimated genetic parameters of growth, stem form and wood chemistry traits across a large genetic background in a progeny trial and clonally replicated progenies. *Results : Our results showed that removal of extractives prior to NIR spectra acquisition is highly recommended for achieving high accuracy in NIRS-PLSR prediction for wood chemistry traits in maritime pine. We further observed moderate heritabilities (0.15–0.55) for the studied traits. Wood chemistry traits were genetically inter-correlated (e.g., negatively between lignin and cellulose), whereas correlations with growth were not significant, indicating that growth and chemical properties could be improved independently.

This socio-economic study aims to better understand the functioning and the evolution of timber sales held by the French public forest service. The auction system is the historical institution which has been used for timber sales in France for centuries. The recent trend to develop supply contracts through private agreements has a major impact on the French timber industry, which is criticized for its lack of competitiveness. It accurately raises questions about the timber price issue. Indeed, the auction system plays an important role in price setting. We refer to the auction theory literature to examine the features of French timber auctions: first-price sealed-bid sequential auctions of heterogeneous standing timber lots. In particular, we note that seller's reserve price is kept secret and that, contrary to the general assumption in auction theory, the seller indubitably lacks information about his own reservation value. Finally, the difficulty of defining a "fair market price" remains a central issue in public timber sales.

The domestic timber sector, and the drivers behind its expansions and contractions, have generally been under-researched in the countries of the Congo-Basin. Cameroon, for instance, experienced a steady and substantial growth in timber production during the economic boom, from 1970 to 1986, which was mainly driven by a growing domestic market. Later on, official timber production stagnated during the economic crisis, and then boosted again after the devaluation of the CFA Franc in 1994, but it became too expensive for the local population, and was entirely exportoriented. The gradual improvement of the economic conditions in the last 15 years, and the lack of alternative sources of income, pushed many Cameroonians to become small-scale loggers and source hundreds of local markets, as well as to develop flourishing timber exporting networks on routes reaching as far as the countries of Northern Africa. Notwithstanding its importance for national economies, the domestic timber sector is neither part of official statistics nor considered by public policies and normative frameworks in the countries of the Congo Basin. In fact, it has kept growing in what is commonly referred to as the informal sector, with most activities taking place without logging titles, and with no formal taxes collected. The provisional results of this research quantify the unprecedented scale of the domestic timber market in Cameroon, with about 1 million m3 of processes timber products sold per year. Morever, we show how the sector generates important revenues, making it one of the most important source of livelihoods for a growing number of people. We argue a formal legal framework is needed to regulate and professionalise the domestic timber market in Cameroon and in other countries of the Congo Basin, in order to streamline forestry operations, improve the governance of the sector, and manage its ecological impacts.

We studied the furniture industry structure of Jepara and did a quantitative analysis of the flows among its firms and between its firms and markets. Apart from demonstrating that the official figures were underestimating the number of enterprises, workers, and economic spillovers, we found that around 9.m3 or round wood was able to sustain 1 fulltime employee per year. We found that Jepara had witnessed a boom of demand by the western markets from the late nineties, to later face a critical drop of the demand after a series of environmentalist campaigns. At the same time the industry had also faced a severe shortage of raw material supply. The organization of the production, typical of an industrial district, allowed the firms to adapt and address other markets. Among the factors which allowed it, we identified a high level of intertwined relationships and subcontracting between the production units, a high specialization of them, and a prevalence of the small and very small units in various steps of the production, compared with the bigger integrated units.

Cahier du LEF ; 2007-03; This socio-economic study aims to better understand the functioning and the evolution of timber sales held by the French public forest service. The auction mechanism is the historical institution which has been used inFrance for centuries. The recent will to develop supply contracts through private agreements is a major change in the French timber industry. It accurately raises questions about the timber prices issue.; Cette étude socio-économique vise à mieux comprendre le fonctionnement et l’évolution des ventes de bois conduites par l’Office National des Forêts. Le mécanisme d’enchère est l’institution historique qui a été utilisée depuis des siècles en France. La volonté récente de développer la négociation de contrats d’approvisionnement est un changement majeur dans l’industrie du bois française. Cela soulève précisément des questions sur la problématique des prix des bois.

The central issue addressed in this paper is whether Geographic Indication as a tool can be applied to encourage some furniture industries and teak producers to take a collective action in improving teak product quality and increasing global market competitiveness. This paper will explore the possibility of implementing GI on teak as a mean to improve local community rights to manage teak resources, Perum Perhutani revenues and the perception of teak wood products on National and International markets, employment in furniture industry. The paper also discusses the institutional arrangement to enable GI implementation on teak. After the 1998 financial crisis, Javanese furniture industries experienced a boom but illegal logging in State forest surged as well. Unfortunately this development was disconnected from forest resources capacities. Stakeholders made a living from bad practices and miss-use of forest resources. Due to bad qualities furniture were rejected and wood was wasted. Instead of producing high quality teak products, Java turned into a mass production of cheap furniture for national and international market. As a result wood supply was shrinking, putting today many furniture enterprises and their hundred of thousand employees in jeopardy. Indonesian furniture is getting a bad reputate on international market. Indonesian people by culture have the perception that teak wood is something special; on world market teak is also the most known tropical species. Other good news: local community enthusiasm to plant teak is growing. Building on this we expect that geographic indications could help maintaining a common interest across the stakeholders. A geographical indication is a sign used on goods that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that place of origin and the knowledge of local communities. Most commonly, a geographical indication consists of the name of the place of origin of the goods. Agricultural products typically have qualities that derive from their place of production and are influenced by specific local factors, such as climate and soil.

Industrial logging has been the subject of strong debate, epitomised by the contentious positions around logging in the Congo Basin. Logging companies are often considered as homogeneous and rather static agents, which leads to sweeping generalisations about their performance and the subsequent technical and policy recommendations. This study covers 31 logging concessions in the five ITTO member countries of the Congo Basin. Based on a detailed questionnaire complemented by published statistics, the concessions are characterised by the country in which they operate, their legal status, age, size, origin of capital, and market focus. Concessions show patterns shaped by interactions between these factors, with different logging strategies associated with the resulting groupings. Our results lend partial support to some of the common generalisations about the performance of logging companies of different scales and geographic origin. For example, national concessions tend to have higher processing rates and often create more employment. However, the data also suggest nuances that can contradict some of the conventional views. Thus, some large concessions may well use better management tools than smaller ones while some national concessions may exert a higher pressure on their allocated forests. Some key parameters related to concessions' performance (like species logged, productivity per hectare, percent of the concession logged per year and employment) work together in the specific environmental, economic and policy contexts of each country to produce a complex regional image that is sometimes oversimplified when submitted to anecdotal or special interest advocacy analyses. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Etant donné ses propriétés technologiques exceptionnelles, le teck (Tectona grandis Linn. f.) est l'un des bois tropicaux les plus prisés. Du fait d'une importante demande et de la disparition des aires naturelles du teck, le bois commercialisé provient essentiellement de plantations exploitées selon des rotations toujours plus courtes. Après avoir défini la notion de qualité du bois et ses critères d'évaluation, l'article décrit la méthodologie et les techniques originales non destructives mises au point par le CIRAD-Forêt pour évaluer la qualité des tecks sur pied. Cette méthodologie novatrice, centrée sur le teck, consistera à mesurer sur des échantillons prélevés sur les arbres, les caractères spécifiques corrélés à quelques facteurs technologiques qui affectent la qualité du bois et déterminent les possibilités d'utilisation. En principe, elle pourrait être appliquée à d'autres essences de plantation après les adaptations indispensables comme, par exemple, le calibrage de Ici spectrocolorimétrie ou de la spectrométrie de réflexion dans le proche infrarouge ou NIRS (near infrared spectroscopy), une autre nouvelle technologie très prometteuse, qui est à l'étude au CIRAD-Forêt.

Economic instruments - taxes, royalties, quotas, auctions, permit markets, subsidies, performance bonds, timber certification, log export bans, carbon dioxide markets - lie at the heart of contemporary debate over 'sustainable management' of tropical forests and especially one of its most controversial aspects: logging. Drawing on economic theory and concrete examples mainly from Central Africa but also from south-east Asia, this book provides a pragmatic and stimulating view of the forestry policy issues bound up with these new aspects of tropical forest management at the crossroads of economics and ecology. Instruments for sustainable private sector forestry series Forests provide society with many goods and services. The private sector has come to play an increasingly dominant role in the production and distribution of many forest goods. often, this has come at a price - environments have been degraded, social inequalities increased. Forest services that benefit society as a whole, notably climate moderation, biodiversity and heritage, are overlooked or undermined because they offer no opportunity for private profit. Securing these forest goods and services has traditionally been a government function. However, faced with limited resources, many governments now face the challenge of finding ways to ensure the private sector manages forests such that they that optimise benefits to society. Some industry leaders have already taken the initiative and are working towards better forestry. This series of publications comprises both thematic and country studies. The studies aim to better understand private sector motivations and to identify effective market and regulatory instruments to ensure the private sector produces social and environmental benefits from forest management. By considering new instruments within the wider context of policy reform, the series aims to provide practical guidance on how best to ensure the private sector manages forest resources sustainably.

Document préparé sur la base des documents disponibles étant donné que pour diverses raisons un déplacement n'a pas été possible en Malaysia. Ceci n'a pas été le cas pour les trois autres études de cas au Brésil, en Indonésie et au Cameroun

Ce rapport donne un aperçu sur le secteur bois avec les données les plus récentes, le changement des superficies forestières entre 1980-1990, les politiques d'utilisation des terres, les exploitations, et recommandations

La région amazonienne détient la réserve forestière la plus importante dans le monde, et dont le coeur reste envore intacte. Ceci justifie cette étude de cas, portant sur la production forestière et les systèmes d'aménagement

Durant la dernière décennie, la production amazonienne de grumes, sciages, comtreplaqués et placages à usage industriel a triplé. Les exportations de contreplaqué et placages ont progressé au même rythme, tandis que les exportations de bois d'oeuvre ne représentaient tout au plus que 3 % du volume de la production. Il est tout aussi surprenant de voir que les deux principales essences de bois d'oeuvre constituent les deux tiers des exporations de sciages de la région malgré la promotion des essences secondaires. On ne peut pas imputer le résultat médiocre de ces dix dernière années, concernant les sciages exportés à la seule hétérogénéité de la ressource ni aux caractéristiques actuelles de la production et du marché des bois d'oeuvre dans cette région, étant donné qu'ils n'ont pas empêché les autres produits dérivés du bois de s'exporter régulièrement. En fait, le potentiel de bois exportalbes en provenance d'Amazonie sera "faible" tant que ce seront des "espèces individuelles" et non des produits technologiquement définis, qui seront proposés. Des suggestions sont formulées pour mieux valoriser les exportations de bois d'oeuvre amazoniens en orientant les efforts de promotion vers des régions bien précises et des marchés "ciblés"