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โครงการหนังสออเล็กทรอนกสด้านการเกษตร เฉลมพระเกียรตพระบาทสมเด็จพระเจ้าอยู่หัว
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TEAK IN MEKONG
Demand for Teak Wood called the Luang Prabang Teak Program
(LPTP). This program suspended its FSC
Teak wood is consumed locally, as well as
processed domestically and exported. The certification in 2016 but continues to
volume of wood that is consumed locally, operate to provide support to teak
by households and within villages, is not smallholders.
known. The bulk of log and wood exports Wood Supply
from Lao PDR are either unprocessed logs Precise statistics on wood production in
or basic sawn wood and planks, with minor Lao PDR are difficult to obtain, and there
quantities further processed into are discrepancies in production,
components, strip parquet flooring, consumption and export data. There are no
furniture and various other secondary consolidated statistics on wood production
products. Midgley et al. (2011) found that from Eucalyptus or Acacia plantations.
Lao exports of timber derived from Data on yields and harvesting are held by
plantations were dominated by teak, a large individual companies.
proportion of which was in the form of
squared logs. The main markets are China, Commercial tree planting is on the rise,
Thailand and Vietnam, and India is with a total investment of more than 1.5
emerging as a purchaser of Lao teak billion USD, of which foreign investment is
(Midgley et al., 2015). Keonakhone (2005) 1.4 billion USD. In addition, investment in
estimated that about 95 % of the teak wood tree plantation in degraded forestland and
produced in Luang Prabang was exported barren forestland in government-allocated
and only 5% is used locally, which includes production forest areas or in the land of
teak residues produced in preparation of individuals, legal entities or organizations
squared logs. Teak thinning is sold as poles with land allocated by government is being
although this is not a formally recognised promoted. Regulations on the management
wood product in regulations. Teak is used and use of plantations including logging,
by domestic wood processors and furniture transportation, trade and export of
makers, although volumes are low (ACIAR plantation wood have been improved in a
FST/2010/012 unpublished data) and there coherent way.
is still a dependence on and preference for With respect to teak harvesting, the
wood from natural forests. Estimated available statistics are not always reliable
domestic demand for teak in Lao because of internal inconsistencies. In 2006
PDR is about 30,000 m3 per year it was estimated that over 7000 m of
3
(Soulignamath, 2020). plantation-grown teak were harvested in
3
The annual harvesting of planted trees is Luang Prabang Province and 20,000 m in
increasing but remains limited because 2010 (Savathvong, 2010). Midgley et al.,
demand from consumers in developed (2015), however, noted that substantially
countries is constrained by the higher volumes are reported by importing
requirements of certification. The countries than those recorded in official
perceived strong demand for certified Lao trade statistics. In 2012, for example,
products in the US and Europe coupled combined teak imports into China,
with maturing teak resources in northern Thailand and Vietnam from Laos were
3
provinces resulted in a program for Forest reported as 10,670 m while exports from
3
Stewardship Council or FSC group Lao were recorded as 3,655 m . Similar
certification of smallholder teak plantation variations were also found for 2013.
The absence of mapping, inventory, and long-term supply has been difficult.
appropriate growth and yield models for Research being undertaken by two other
teak and other naturally occurring species ACIAR projects is addressing this issue.
has meant that predicting volumes and For example, in Luang Prabang Province
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