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