Wood experts meet in Yogyakarta

Wood experts meet in Yogyakarta

YOGYAKARTA: About 100 wood experts from 12 countries are
attending a six-day conference in Yogyakarta to discuss the
latest in wood research deemed beneficial for industrial and
conservation purposes.

Organizing committee chairman Sri Nugroho Marsoem said the
conference, which started on Sept. 10, would also discuss how to
recognize wood from illegal sources.

"By examining the wood's stabile isotope and its mineral
content we can judge whether the wood is from illegal logging
because the same kind of wood planted in different regions will
have different characteristics," Sri said.

The conference is organized by Gadjah Mada University's School
of Forestry, the International Association of Wood Anatomy and
the Wood Anatomy and Quality Research Group of the Japan Wood
Research Society.

Participating in the fifth Pacific Region Wood Anatomy
Conference are representatives of research institutes and
universities from Japan, Russia, Ireland, South Korea, China,
India, Malaysia, Germany, Iran, and the United States. --JP