Panels & Furniture Asia May/June 2020

More documents

Recommendations

Info

ADVERTORIAL 42 | MATERIALS Aerial view of Gabon’s Furniture May / June 2020, Issue 3 | Panels & Furniture Manufacturing Asia Cluster Gabon Forest, a sustainably managed resource Gabon lies on the equator in the central west part of Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea to the north and the Republic of the Congo to the southeast. It is a picturesque country with rich natural resources. Gabon’s climate is classified as equatorial tropical, with an extensive rainforest system covering 22.8 million hectares i.e. almost 88 per cent of the territory. There are three major forest types: • evergreen rainforest in the west characterised by abundance of Okoumé and Ozigo • the central Gabonese forest covering most of the country with abundance of species like Azobé and Ayous • semi-deciduous forest with dominance of Limba, Wenge and Ayous With a low overall population density and 60 per cent of its population living in urban areas, there is little anthropogenic pressure on Gabon's forests. The Gabon government has indicated an average annual deforestation rate of 0.12 per cent or 10,000 ha per year. All forests in Gabon is owned by the state. The 2001 Forest Code divides forest into two categories i.e. First Category (13.5 million hectares) include Production Permanent Forest Estate (PFE) managed by private concessionaires and the protection PFE managed directly by the state. The Second Category (8.3 million hectares) belongs to the non-PFE, known as domaine rural, includes open access forest for hunting, agriculture, mining and gathering of NTFPs, sacred forests and community protected area for which rights are limited to local communities. NEW SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT LAW Gabon has gone through structural reforms affecting the forest and timber processing industry. The new forest law emphasises on Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) as the overall approach in forest harvesting. Forest management plans are fully developed for over 9.25 million hectares of forest in concessions and were under preparation for another 2.5 million hectares of forest in concessions since 2011. An estimated 8.42 million hectares of the natural production PFE is under SFM, including 3.37 million hectares of forest were certified under the FSC (some of them also had ISO 14001 and Keurhout certificates) as of June 2010. Gabon’s low deforestation rate and forests rich in valuable timber species are among the best prospects for a healthy and sustainable forest and timber processing industry. Reforestation has been continuously promoted, and selective thinning and clearing have prevented the over exploitation. Over 50 firms are engaged in the harvesting of Gabon’s forests. Forest concessions covering about 12 million hectares have been granted by the Gabonese Republic. The timber industry of Gabon already represents an extremely significant growth potential. A WIDE ARRAY OF TIMBER SPECIES FROM GABON Gabon's forests offer enormous possibilities with a logging potential of 12.5 million hectares with more than 400 species. Until 2010, i.e. before ban on export of raw logs, Gabon was the largest exporter of raw wood in the region, and its sale represents 20 per cent of Africa’s raw wood exports. Gabon’s reserves of exploitable timber is estimated to be upwards of 400 million cubic metres which includes 130 million m 3 of Okoumé, 15-25 million m 3 of Azobé and 10-20 million m 3 of Padouk.
May / June 2020, Issue 3 | Panels & Furniture Asia MATERIALS | 43 Gabon’s rainforests are home to many timber species
Page 1: MICA (P) No: 079/05/2019 • ISSN:
Page 8: FROM THE EDITOR PANELS & FURNITURE
Page 11 and 12: May / June 2020, Issue 3 | Panels &
Page 23 and 24: Trust America’s Hardwoods Company
Page 43: May / June 2020, Issue 3 | Panels &
Page 53 and 54: BIFA WOOD VIETNAM 2020 www.bifawood
Page 67 and 68: NEWSLETTER MAY/JUNE 2020 The global
Page 69: ADVERTISERS’ INDEX May / June 202

Panels & Furniture Asia May/June 2020

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?