From the tropical rain forests in Sumatra and Kalimantan to Papua and the pastures of Nusa Tenggara, land in Indonesia has one of the most extensive biodiversity on earth.
From its diversity, Indonesia is also known as one of the largest source of gaharu or agarwood, the most expensive wood in the world.
Valued in many cultures for its distinctive fragrance and used extensively in incense and perfumes, gaharu has been traded for thousands of years throughout Asia.
Inaugurating the first direct agarwood exports to China here recently, Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hassan said gaharu potential in Indonesia was predicted to increase by 600,000 tons per year with its production centers in Papua, Kalimantan, and Sumatra.
Indonesia`s gaharu commodity has been able to penetrate the Chinese market after being exported through third countries such as Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
The forestry minister said that the world`s gaharu demand at international market was 4,000 tons per year with China as one of the largest importer with 500 tons a year.
Indonesia has so far been exporting gaharu to Saudi Arabia, Arab Emirates Union, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, European Union, and the United States.
Zulkifli said that in the past five years Indonesia exported 170 to 573 tons of gaharu with an estimated foreign exchange earnings of US$26,8 million in 2006 and increased by US$86 million in 2010. "We hope that in the years to come our exported gaharu is not only taken from natural forest but also from cultivation," Zulkifli said, adding that the agarwood was exported in the forms of chips, blocks, powder, and oil. Gaharu cultivation has been developed in Bangka island, Sukabumi, Bogor, Lampung, and East Nusa Tenggara.
Average price
2006 = USD26.8million for 170 tons. Price per tons = USD157,647.00. Price per kilo = USD157.00
2010 = USD86.0million for 573 tons. Price per tons = USD150,087.00. Price per kilo = USD150.00
Following a success made by Indonesian gaharu exporters to penetrate international markets in China, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, European Union, and the United States, farmers in Langkat district, North Sumatra, have turned to agarwood planting to meet international market demand. "We are developing a gaharu tree plantation to meet international market demand," Langkat district gaharu farmers group spokesman Mahmuddin Sani has said on Tuesday.
Therefore he called on gaharu farmers in Langkat to utilize the increasingly promising agarwood overseas market opportunity by stepping up the quality of the commodity. He said the farmers were also encouraged to actively cultivate gaharu plants in their agricultural areas because to meet the potential international market demand, Indonesia still relies on the commodity in the natural forest.
Meanwhile, Langkat Forestry and Plantation Office`s Land Rehabilitation chief Jonner Pane said seven species of gaharu plant namely Aquilaria Malacensis, Aqurolaria Filaria, Aqularia Microcarga, Actoxylon Simpetthaluum, Aquilaria Aqalocha, Aquilaria Hirta, and Aquilaria Becariana were found at Bahorok, Sei Bingei, Salapian, and Wampu sub-distircts in Langkat.
According to agarwoodindonesia.com, the most highly priced agarwood are from the families of Aquilaria Crassna, Aquilaria Malacensis, Aquilaria Beccariana, and Aquilaria Fillaria because of their high quality. Meanwhile, an international gaharu seminar is scheduled to be held in Bangka Tengah district, Bangka-Belitung (Babel) province in July this year. Bangka Tengah forestry and plantation office spokesman Mahmuddin said the representatives from 26 countries, signing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora, would participate in the event.
"In that upcoming seminar we will propose a revision on gaharu export restriction, agreed in the previous CITES meeting, to provide opportunities for gaharu farmers in Bangka Tengah to export their products," Mahmuddin said in Bangka Tengah district town of Koba recently. Because of excessive hunting for their woods and resin gaharu becomes very rare and is now on CITES appendix II, meaning that this wood in only allowed to be traded in a very small quota. As one of the largest exporter of agarwood, Indonesia restricted its exporting quota into 300 tons per year but only 10 to 20 percent were met.
Mahmuddin explained that in the seminar the participants would be encouraged to revise gaharu export restriction following the high interest of local agar-wood farmers in raising the world`s most expensive wood. "We are going to propose the upcoming international forum not to restrict the areas or countries which cultivate gaharu or agar wood," Mahmuddin said, adding that a lot of farmers in Bangka Tengah district had a profound interest in cultivating gaharu.
Increasing use of herbal medicine from organic materials has made gaharu increasingly sought as raw material for drugs for various disorders such as stress, asthma, liver, kidney failure, gastroenteritis, colitis, rheumatism, and tumors. Now gaharu is also used in making cosmetics and thus it can be sold at Rp2-5 million per kilogram for average quality and for super quality it can be Rp18 million per kilogram.
But Indonesia Gaharu Association chairman Mashur has said the high quality of agarwood from Aquilaria Filaria in the forest of East Kalimantan could be priced at Rp150 million per kilogram. It is on that basis that the development of gaharu can strongly support the government`s forest conservation program.
Mahmuddin explained that since the past few years the farmers in Bangka Tengah district have been developing gaharu cultivation and up to 2011 there were a total of 235,000 agarwood trees in the district. "Therefore we hope the international gaharu seminar in Bangka Tengah will be of great significance for the local farmers," Mahmuddin said.
Source:Antara news
Minggu, 20 Juli 2014
Gaharu: Indonesia's endangered fragrant wood
Indonesia is known as one of the world's producers of gaharu, also called agarwood or just agar, the resinous heartwood from Aquilaria trees, of which 26 species can be found in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Papua.
The existence of these trees, however, is under threat.
Gaharu is valued in many cultures for its distinctive fragrance, and has been widely used as an incense as well as for perfumes and medicine.
Yana Sumarna, an employee at the Center for Forest Research and Development and Nature Conservation, at Bogor's Forestry Research Agency, said gaharu had drawn the interest of consumers both at home and overseas.
The resin looks like a dark brown to black solid lump or a chunk with a fragrant smell (if burned), which is found in the heartwood or roots of gaharu-producing trees undergoing a chemical and physical change due to fungus infection. But not all plants can produce the resin,.
According to Yana, for centuries, communities in the interior regions of Kalimantan have traditionally used gaharu in incense form for ritual and religious purposes, besides its other uses as perfume, air freshener and material for traditional cosmetics and drugs.
Today gaharu is also used to make soap, body lotions, anti-asthma and anti-microbe drugs, nervous and digestive stimulants, and for aromatherapy. So far, gaharu circulating on local and foreign markets has been derived from nature with varying quality grades of resin.
Gaharu comes in six classes of quality: super king, super A, super AB, tanggung; kacangan (pulses), teri, kemedangan (in wood form and fragile) and suloan.
Based on the Indonesian National Standards (SNI), there are three classes of gaharu, which are gubal (full resin with least fiber), kemedangan and abu (dust). The quality ratings are often unfavorable to traders and collectors due to unclear criteria.
The booming gaharu business over the last three decades has caused a shortage in the supply of the resinous heartwood. Prices vary, from Rp 30 million per kilogram for gaharu of super king quality on the market of Samarinda, East Kalimantan, to Rp 6.5 million per kilogram for kacangan B.
Over-harvesting of gaharu has depleted Indonesia's population of Aquilaria and Grynops trees, high-potential sources of gaharu.
"To prevent gaharu-yielding trees from extinction, we've been providing guidance since 2002 to farmers in 24 provinces on how to cultivate the trees producing gaharu, particularly those in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara and Maluku.
"Groups of farmers in West Kalimantan have planted 300,000 trees, while others in Papua last year asked us to provide them with the same guidance," added Yana.
Tukirin Partomiharjo, a botanical researcher from the Biology Research Center and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Cibinong, Bogor, also concurred. Indonesia is a country with a wide range of gaharu-producing trees. .
No less than 20 species of trees in Indonesia are known to yield types of gaharu, but only two, Aquilaria and Grynops, produce comparatively good resin that can be traded.
The latest data from various publications shows that at least six species of Aquilaria and seven of Grynops can potentially produce gaharu, agarwood or eaglewood. Of the 13 tree species producing gaharu, only one is known to produce the best gaharu in Indonesia, the Aquilaria malaccensis.
Meanwhile, chairman of the Indonesian Gaharu Association (ASGARIN), Mashur, said Indonesia had the potential to produce significant amounts of gaharu.
To increase the welfare of the nation, the government should therefore encourage the cultivation of gaharu-producing trees.
"I think if we succeed in cultivating gaharu-producing trees in Indonesia, the country will rise from poverty. People claiming Indonesia's gaharu-producing trees are under threat are mistaken, as it is very easy to grow these trees.
"The real problem is how do we control the fungi that infects the trees *producing the gaharu resin*? Our researchers are currently looking into this matter.
"The government should support our research teams so we can keep exporting gaharu, otherwise our gaharu will either not be of good enough quality to export, or our experts will be recruited by other countries," he pointed out.
Mashur also suggested Papua become the largest producer of gaharu in Indonesia, because the biggest source of gaharu came from the regencies of Asmat and Mapi.
"I hope the Trade Ministry will reach a decision on standardizing the quality of gaharu to ensure fairness among consumers, traders and collectors *of gaharu*," he added.
Quality-class gaharu fetches high prices on the international market. The processed triple-super class is the most expensive gaharu traded in Jakarta, selling at Rp 125 million per kilogram. Its export price can reach as high as Rp 300 to 400 million per kilogram.
So far Indonesia's gaharu already processed into oil and pure resin has been exported to the Middle East, Taiwan and Japan at Rp 300 million per kilogram. Gaharu for incense making is mostly exported to Taiwan at Rp 15,000 per kilogram.
"During my visit to Taiwan, I found gaharu prayer beads sold at Rp 5 million per bead, indicating gaharu's great potential. So I hope our government will support our researchers besides campaigning intensively for the cultivation of gaharu to address international pressure," concluded Mashur.
Sources: Jakarta Post: Natural Gaharu wood, now difficult to find in forests
The existence of these trees, however, is under threat.
Gaharu is valued in many cultures for its distinctive fragrance, and has been widely used as an incense as well as for perfumes and medicine.
Yana Sumarna, an employee at the Center for Forest Research and Development and Nature Conservation, at Bogor's Forestry Research Agency, said gaharu had drawn the interest of consumers both at home and overseas.
The resin looks like a dark brown to black solid lump or a chunk with a fragrant smell (if burned), which is found in the heartwood or roots of gaharu-producing trees undergoing a chemical and physical change due to fungus infection. But not all plants can produce the resin,.
According to Yana, for centuries, communities in the interior regions of Kalimantan have traditionally used gaharu in incense form for ritual and religious purposes, besides its other uses as perfume, air freshener and material for traditional cosmetics and drugs.
Today gaharu is also used to make soap, body lotions, anti-asthma and anti-microbe drugs, nervous and digestive stimulants, and for aromatherapy. So far, gaharu circulating on local and foreign markets has been derived from nature with varying quality grades of resin.
Gaharu comes in six classes of quality: super king, super A, super AB, tanggung; kacangan (pulses), teri, kemedangan (in wood form and fragile) and suloan.
Based on the Indonesian National Standards (SNI), there are three classes of gaharu, which are gubal (full resin with least fiber), kemedangan and abu (dust). The quality ratings are often unfavorable to traders and collectors due to unclear criteria.
The booming gaharu business over the last three decades has caused a shortage in the supply of the resinous heartwood. Prices vary, from Rp 30 million per kilogram for gaharu of super king quality on the market of Samarinda, East Kalimantan, to Rp 6.5 million per kilogram for kacangan B.
Over-harvesting of gaharu has depleted Indonesia's population of Aquilaria and Grynops trees, high-potential sources of gaharu.
"To prevent gaharu-yielding trees from extinction, we've been providing guidance since 2002 to farmers in 24 provinces on how to cultivate the trees producing gaharu, particularly those in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara and Maluku.
"Groups of farmers in West Kalimantan have planted 300,000 trees, while others in Papua last year asked us to provide them with the same guidance," added Yana.
Tukirin Partomiharjo, a botanical researcher from the Biology Research Center and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Cibinong, Bogor, also concurred. Indonesia is a country with a wide range of gaharu-producing trees. .
No less than 20 species of trees in Indonesia are known to yield types of gaharu, but only two, Aquilaria and Grynops, produce comparatively good resin that can be traded.
The latest data from various publications shows that at least six species of Aquilaria and seven of Grynops can potentially produce gaharu, agarwood or eaglewood. Of the 13 tree species producing gaharu, only one is known to produce the best gaharu in Indonesia, the Aquilaria malaccensis.
Meanwhile, chairman of the Indonesian Gaharu Association (ASGARIN), Mashur, said Indonesia had the potential to produce significant amounts of gaharu.
To increase the welfare of the nation, the government should therefore encourage the cultivation of gaharu-producing trees.
"I think if we succeed in cultivating gaharu-producing trees in Indonesia, the country will rise from poverty. People claiming Indonesia's gaharu-producing trees are under threat are mistaken, as it is very easy to grow these trees.
"The real problem is how do we control the fungi that infects the trees *producing the gaharu resin*? Our researchers are currently looking into this matter.
"The government should support our research teams so we can keep exporting gaharu, otherwise our gaharu will either not be of good enough quality to export, or our experts will be recruited by other countries," he pointed out.
Mashur also suggested Papua become the largest producer of gaharu in Indonesia, because the biggest source of gaharu came from the regencies of Asmat and Mapi.
"I hope the Trade Ministry will reach a decision on standardizing the quality of gaharu to ensure fairness among consumers, traders and collectors *of gaharu*," he added.
Quality-class gaharu fetches high prices on the international market. The processed triple-super class is the most expensive gaharu traded in Jakarta, selling at Rp 125 million per kilogram. Its export price can reach as high as Rp 300 to 400 million per kilogram.
So far Indonesia's gaharu already processed into oil and pure resin has been exported to the Middle East, Taiwan and Japan at Rp 300 million per kilogram. Gaharu for incense making is mostly exported to Taiwan at Rp 15,000 per kilogram.
"During my visit to Taiwan, I found gaharu prayer beads sold at Rp 5 million per bead, indicating gaharu's great potential. So I hope our government will support our researchers besides campaigning intensively for the cultivation of gaharu to address international pressure," concluded Mashur.
Sources: Jakarta Post: Natural Gaharu wood, now difficult to find in forests
Spesis Aquilaria
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| NAMA SAINTIFIK | CIRI-CIRI | |||
| 1. Aquilaria Hirta | Pokok Kecil dalam lingkungan 15m tinggi, permukaan bawah daun berbulu, daun berbentuk ovate oblong. | |||
| 2. Aquilaria Beccariana | Pokok sederhana dalam lingkungan 20m, urat kedua daun lebih jelas, daun berwarna kelabu tidak berkilat. | |||
| 3. Aquilaria Rostrata | Urat kedua daun tidak jelas. | |||
| 4. Aquilaria Malaccencis | Permukaan daun berkilat, runcing dan bujur | |||
| 5. Aquilaria Microcarpa | Pokok besar dalam lingkungan 36m, buah kecil berbentuk hati. |
 |
Jumat, 30 Mei 2014
Kamis, 15 Mei 2014
Protection
In the world, Aloeswood is the most prized of all incenses, and the purest Aloeswood is pound-for-pound more expensive than gold! Aloeswood trees have sweet-smelling flowers, and are native to Han nan of china ,Northern India, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. When an Aloes tree has fallen (from natural causes), a dark resin forms within its heartwood. This resin forms as an immune response, and the heartwood is then harvested for incense and medicinal uses. The older the tree, the better the quality, and the more expensive the wood. Aloeswood incense is used for both medicinal and spiritual purposes. As a medicine, it is a remedy for nervous disorders. For non- medicinal purposes, it is used to help people get in touch with their spiritual side, and thus, it is in high demand as a meditation aid. Those who use aloeswood incense claim that it has a great calming effect on the mind. But Aloes isn't just for medical and spiritual uses. Many feel it is a powerful aphrodisiac, and in some cultures the women scent their clothes as well as themselves with it.
Aloeswood oil is known for bringing relaxation of the mind, warm the heart & calm the mind, it is a truly uplifting experience and open an avenue of peace and contentment. Aloeswood is very rare and pure quality like ours are even difficult to obtain.
Agarwood is the resinous heartwood from Aquilaria trees, large evergreens native to southeast Asia. The trees occasionally become infected with a parasite mould and begin to produce an aromatic resin in response to this attack. As the fungus grows, the tree produces a very rich, dark resin within the heartwood. It is this precious resinous wood that is treasured around the world. The resin is commonly called Jinko, Aloeswood, Agarwood or Oud and is valued in many cultures for its distinctive fragrance, thus it is used for incense and perfumes.
One of the reasons for the relatively rarity and high cost of agarwood is the depletion of the wild resource.The odour of agarwood is complex and pleasing, with few or no similar natural analogues. As a result, agarwood and its essential oil gained great cultural and religious significance in ancient civilizations around the world
Sabtu, 10 Mei 2014
"Incredibles territory"
Materials in Borneo just found a terrible thing, though not new, but relatively sweet friend of events, this scent with your friends report.
Submersed in bulk, do not look different, but in the mystery, the origin of the original exploitation of aloes, upstream service provider ..., to earn additional income, will be the raw material has been tampered with. In order for the water to sink material, the use of lead and wax.
Lead is to increase the proportion of timber, wood and wax that can sink role is fixed position so it does not shake with the sound, so it is not easy to find. Hath saws, saw blade when the saw dust powder dark black and bright.
When sawing, feel strange, feel saws are not turned on. After the cut, something magical happens in the burden of leading the wax is mixed, not surprisingly unhelpful saws, anti-aliasing is coated with wax.
special thanks to "不 思议 境" ~ 沉 檀 雅集 for the information on Facebook
of "RIMBA GARU MUSI" Palembang - Indonesia/ on May 11, 2014, and Happy Mother's Day
Kamis, 01 Mei 2014
just arrived today
Old agarwood trees fallen by the hands of ignorant so long ago, we found one of the branches goes down on the ground and so but not with this piece remains hard and heavy.
The best part of the forest aloes, weighing 0.5 kilograms
collection: RIMBA GAHARU MUSI
PALEMBANG - INDONESIA
The best part of the forest aloes, weighing 0.5 kilograms
collection: RIMBA GAHARU MUSI
PALEMBANG - INDONESIA
Rabu, 23 April 2014
Making scents: saviours of the incense tree
Post Magazine: March 9, 2014
http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1441807/making-scents-saviours-incense-tree
The heady fragrance of agarwood gave Hong Kong its name, but it has become so valuable its source is under threat. As Jo Baker discovers, though, there are those for whom the incense tree is worth more than money
AN 18CM BY 41CM PIECE OF AGARWOOD CALLED "AUSPICIOUS DRAGON", FROM INDONESIA, ON DISPLAY AT PAUL KAN'S IMPERIAL MUSEUM. PHOTOS: ANTONY DICKSON; NICO ZURCHER
Ho Pui-han makes her way along the fringes of a country path, through a patch of trampled undergrowth and then points to a deep gash at the base of a tree.
"You can see where they've cut the wood as a test," says the conservationist. "They'll be back in a month to check and, if it's the right tree, they'll just chop it down and carry it across the border."
Close to extinction in the mainland and internationally protected as a species, Hong Kong's dwindling stands of Aquilaria sinensis, commonly called the incense tree, have become a holy grail for smugglers. The tree's resin, which gives off a heady scent - like a muskier, more complex sandalwood - has been prized as a spiritual and medicinal tool for centuries throughout the Eastern world, and continues to star in high-end perfumes and expensive incense. The resin has always been rare - only mature trees can produce it naturally and only then when they have been infected with mould or injured - but an international-protection ruling in the 1990s has seen its value soar. At its most potent, the resinous wood can fetch more than HK$12,000 per gram on the mainland market.
The lucrative nature of the industry was highlighted in December, when customs officers in Macau caught a group trying to smuggle nearly US$3 million worth of incense timber (known commonly as agarwood) into the mainland. In Hong Kong, hikers and villagers have increasingly been reporting signs of illegal harvesting, among them makeshift camps and sightings of what they believe to be gangs of harvesters from across the border.
They can do it so fast, so quickly," says Ho, who has been tracking the handiwork of tree poachers for the past few years. "They can travel to Hong Kong easily, legally, and they go hiking. And the AFCD [Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department] always tells me, 'We don't have adequate people to inspect the places.' But Hong Kong has a vast countryside and this is not good enough."
"Most of the bigger trees have already been stolen," Jim Chi-yung, a tree expert and professor of geography at the University of Hong Kong, told the South China Morning Post last year. "The poaching is very serious. With the larger trees gone, the poachers are beginning to move to the lesser trees."
Just a few kilometres from Hong Kong's border with the mainland, Ho leads us further into Pat Sin Leng Country Park, pointing out stumps and marked trunks (when a cut is made, a suitable tree will start secreting resin). She offers eco-tours regularly, with the help of a few other volunteers, hoping to raise awareness of forest crimes. Ho says reports now come in weekly.
"In Lantau, most of the incense-tree species have been chopped down and now the [poachers] have moved to the northeast [of the New Territories]," she says. "There are still quite a lot of the trees here, but they are being chopped down with fast machines, so probably not for long."
Formerly a language lecturer at the Institute of Vocational Education (IVE), Ho, 52, founded the Association for Tai O Environment and Development in the late 90s, when development proposals for the fishing village on Lantau Island threatened local wildlife. Finding it to be a full-time job, she quit the IVE and now spends her days helping local groups organise and lobby the government on environmental issues.
Sparely funded, Ho's group survives largely on the work of volunteers. Core members spend hours trekking through remote parts of the countryside, pursuing leads. Last year, the AFCD reported more than 70 cases of tree poaching (both Buddhist pine and incense trees), yet her team's findings suggest that this represents just a small fraction of the problem, which they blame on a lack of political will. The government has responded with replanting programmes, with as many as 10,000 incense-tree saplings having been planted in each of the past five years.
Ho remains dismissive.
"It is the old trees that have great ecological and cultural value," she says. "A sapling cannot replace a 100-year-old tree. We must focus on prevention."
THE INCENSE TREE LIES at the root of Hong Kong's identity. Local manufacturers sourced agarwood from plantations across southern China - including what is now Hong Kong's New Territories - as far back as the Song dynasty (960-1279) and shipped the timber and joss sticks as far afield as the Arabian peninsula. The resin also supplied the Chinese traditional medicine trade.
New Territories timber was transported by land to what is now Tsim Sha Tsui, and by sampan to Aberdeen harbour for export. It was this trade that saw first Aberdeen, and then the entire island, named "Hong Kong" - meaning "incense harbour" or the more poetic "fragrant harbour". The trade subsided as Hong Kong developed and faster-growing crops and other products became more lucrative.
Even after the trade declined, villagers across the territory continued to plant incense trees as a key species in fung shui woods, which were established for the good fortune of their communities. It is here that some of the oldest wild specimens are now found. Other 100-year-old and 200-year-old trees were once often found next to temples and monasteries.
Part of Ho's work, she says, is reviving these old traditions.
"Many of the farming families are illiterate, so a lot of the stories have been lost," she says. "I'm trying to protect what's still there. I want them to remember the way their ancestors would value these trees, and the way they used to farm them, sustainably."
Another Hongkonger is trying to do something similar, but in a rather different way. Telecommunications pioneer Paul Kan Man-lok owns, in the estimation of experts in the trade, one of the largest collections of agarwood in the world. It is worth "hundreds of millions, if not billions" of Hong Kong dollars, he says. While Kan keeps some of it at home, he also has big hunks of the stuff secreted away on a high floor of an anonymous building, oozing gently inside industrial refrigerators.
Aware that few Hong Kong people have the chance to experience agarwood in its true form, Kan started the Institute of Agarwood, in Chai Wan, and opened the Imperial Museum, in Central.
"Agarwood is an incredible example of nature's bounty and has such an important place in Hong Kong history, and civilisation generally," he says. "You go to Kyoto, you go to Saudi Arabia - all the serious places of worship use it in different ways, as the most expensive offering to God. It was important for me to share that, especially with the younger generation."
By appointment only, the museum reveals a richly scented series of rooms, with thousands of intricately carved religious sculptures, rosary beads and antique perfumes.
"It's like with wine vintages," says Kan, hovering over a series of "sniffable" displays. "The real experts can tell which blossoms grew and decayed near the tree, even which animals defecated there."
The most common misconception, he says, is that all incense trees are valuable.
"It takes time for the antibodies to build up and get really powerful, and this only happens when a tree has been fighting to survive for years, unless you use a special process to infect it," he says, lamenting that too many young trees are poached years before they become valuable.
"It's just such a waste!" he sighs.
An incense tree that has been chopped, presumably by smugglers, in the New Territories.
IT WAS IN 1995 THAT incense trees were recognised as being at risk by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The protection level set by its Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) - placing it alongside seahorses and American black bears - restricted its trade and transport and, in 1998, it made the Red List of threatened species. This was great news for the small number of licensed, sustainable plantations that feed the international fragrance market.
Asia Plantation Capital (APC), for example, one of the largest commercial growers of incense trees, estimates the industry is worth between US$6 billion and US$12 billion a year, thanks largely to perfume ranges such as those of Tom Ford, Christian Dior and Fragrance Du Bois.
Yet, the wild trees are also an increasingly lucrative haul and, across Southeast Asia, reports of tree poaching are on the rise. In southern China, in particular, the species has fallen victim to overharvesting and urban development, and with the cross-border trade becoming so profitable, Ho and her team are worried that Hong Kong villagers are getting drawn in.
"The trees are hard to distinguish and the forest areas difficult to navigate," she explains, noting that her team are starting to find red ribbons marking trails or tied around incense trees. "I think the mainland collective definitely has support from the Hong Kong side - people who know the countryside well."
Some have made it clear that her investigations near their villages aren't welcome, Ho says.
Her association is lobbying for involvement from the AFCD - starting with a full mapping of the tree population. Once there is proof that the incense tree is at risk, something Ho claims is often denied by government spokesmen, better monitoring and patrolling can be organised and tougher, specific penalties created for poachers in line with Cites.
A FEW KILOMETRES FROM the mainland border, Chan Koon-wing shows off a row of incense-tree saplings in what is now the only licensed operation in Hong Kong. Chan moved back from Northern Ireland about five years ago to revive the 10,000-square-metre plant-ation started by his family generations ago, near the village of Shing Ping, near Ping Che.
Known locally as the "agarwood king", he was last month asked by a newspaper to assess a chunk of wood a local fisherman had netted in international waters and - wrongly, according to Chan - judged to be agarwood.
Since reviving the plantation, Chan has made a meagre living, he says, from people who contact him online to buy his harvest of saplings, most a few years old, and worth between US$500 and US$1,000 each.
He remembers hearing about other incense-tree plantations, back in his grandfather's time, "but because the cultivation takes a long time, and the income wasn't so high before, they all decided to cultivate other crops instead", he explains.
Though incense trees have been disappearing from the land around him, he says, his plantation has not been touched.
"Nothing's happened yet," he says, with a shrug, "and sometimes I have workers sleeping nearby."
It was shortly after Chan's story began to surface in the English-language press that APC approached the small-time farmer about a joint venture. The deal would provide the support and expertise needed to develop long-term commercial opportunities, along with 45,000 new saplings, each tagged with a global-positioning-system chip to deter smugglers. The company would also open a tree nursery and a visitors' centre. APC, which owns the patents on a method of resin creation in which incense trees are deliberately infected, also plans to set up Hong Kong's first agarwood distillery in more than a century, to process oud oil (" oud" is the Middle Eastern word for "agarwood").
APC will seek individual investors who can buy rights to the trees and get a share of the profit from oil sold to the perfume market, says business development manager Patrick Yiu. It'll also bring in a perfume expert from Grasse, France, to create a limited-edition scent for Fragrance Du Bois.
While Chan's plantation is too small to generate much profit, says APC sales director Gerard McGuirk, it is in the company's interest to help protect the diversity of incense trees in the wild, which covers a broad range of species across Asia's subtropics.
"The wild trees are extremely important for future generations of the tree as they produce the seeds for future growth," says McGuirk. "So if we can produce more commercial agarwood to try to meet demand, this in turn will ease the pressure on wild trees."
Claiming little interest or skill in business development, and with children who may not take over the plantation, Chan says he is happy to partner with APC as it will allow him to focus on his passion.
"My only concern is growing the trees," he says.
Back at his village house, Chan hands around chunks of mature, resin-heavy agarwood from two large piles. When asked, Chan says the wood is left over from his grandfather's time.
According to recent reports in the Chinese-language media, burglars got away with HK$400,000 in cash and a Rolex watch after breaking into Chan's home. So is the prized wood safe here?
"They didn't take any of the wood," he says, patting a newly installed surveillance system, amid a throng of guard dogs.
Ho, also party to the show, is intrigued but uncomfortable.
"I cannot say where the wood pieces are from," she says quietly, later. "But many seem over 100 years old and I have only seen such trees in the wild."
She says residents nearby have been telling her about fellow villagers illegally harvesting wild trees and asking around for someone who will sell them on the black market.
"The secret worlds of agarwood can be mysterious," says McGuirk, wryly. "Mr Chan is happy to show his world off, but he keeps his cards close to his chest. It's not always clear how it all fits in together."
Ho believes APC's arrival in Hong Kong holds promise for her conservation efforts and that the company has a sincere interest in helping to protect the species in the wild. Staff have consulted her on the local situation, taken the eco-tour and asked her group to contribute material to the visitors' centre. Ho and APC have also discussed working together to mobilise support from the AFCD and the police, she says.
"I think [APC] can help because they have experience protecting trees in Thailand," she says. "So we can work with the government, using their techniques."
Meanwhile, the conservationists' work appears to be paying off. Last month, Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing acknowledged in the Legislative Council that there is no record of the incense-tree population, and that imposing a heavier penalty on their felling "could provide a stronger deterrence, and enhance the protection of incense trees". He also said patrols would be stepped up - something the AFCD says has already happened and Ho's association has long been advocating for.
Although, she says, she isn't counting her chickens just yet, with the guardianship expanding and increased awareness, the incense tree could still be saved from extinction.
Minggu, 20 April 2014
Tradition draws 100,000 to temple for blessed food
Nearly 100,000 people flock to worship a giant statue of Kwan-yin - a goddess widely venerated in China - at Baofeng Temple atop Xiqiao Mountain in Fushan city, Guangdong province on Feb 25, 2014. The temple organizes large-scale banquets to offer free food to visiting disciples on the 26th day of the Chinese lunar year with those who get the food believed to be blessed to get rich. The tradition originates from a legend that Kwan-yin, disguised as an ordinary woman, once gave food and money to starving local people.http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/photo/2014-02/26/content_17306794.htm
People light incense to worship Kwan-yin at Baofeng Temple on top of Xiqiao Mountain in Fushan city on Feb 25, 2014http://ow.ly/vVuwv
Believers sit around tables to eat vegetarian food at Baofeng Temple in Fushan city, Guangdong province on Feb 25, 2014, a traditional special day when free food is offered to visiting disciples.http://ow.ly/vVuwv
A man and a woman kneel to kowtow before a giant statue of Kwan-yin at Baofeng Temple in Fushan city, Guangdong province on Feb 25, 2014.http://ow.ly/vVuwv
Incense is lit to worship Kwan-yin at Baofeng Temple on top of Xiqiao Mountain in Fushan city, Guangdong province on Feb 25, 2014http://ow.ly/vVuwv
Kwan-yin - a goddess widely worshipped in China – is commemorated at Baofeng Temple atop Xiqiao Mountain in Fushan city, Guangdong province on Feb 25, 2014.http://ow.ly/vVuwv
4,000-year-old ebony tree unearthed in E China
Part of an ebony tree, which had been buried for about 4,000 years, is unearthed on Wednesday, April 17, 2014, in Wuning, a county in Jiangxi province. Four sections were found, with the longest measuring about 10 meters. They will be preserved and exhibited at Wuning Museum.
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-04/18/content_17443147_3.htm
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-04/18/content_17443147_3.htm
Selasa, 15 April 2014
teacher messages
wooden god to the gods, no one can be rich but only because the wood gets the glory, to be honest!
Production of Agarwood Aquilaria tree
Agarwood , aloeswood , aloes , are the names of the most valuable incense in the world . The resinous material produced by trees of tropical rain forests and has been used for centuries as incense and traditional medicines . In the past , growth Aquilaria and Gyrinops old trees are cut indiscriminately to find resin . Thrives in Southeast Asian countries where there are many trees , have become very scarce due to increased timber harvesting aloes . Wood resin or oil extracted from the inside of some very valuable tree because it is considered to be used Buddhist rituals and activities of Islamic culture and an important ingredient in many traditional medicines . It is also a very important component in traditional Japanese incense ceremony . Although most people in the United States and Europe are not familiar with this aromatic wood resin , its use as incense ( called aloeswood ) People in the United States , Europe and other countries that have a chance to smell the scent of this amazing incense felt very attractive and fun .
Aquilaria trees are now protected in most countries and the collection of agarwood is illegal from natural forests . International agreements , such as CITES ( Convention International Trade in Endangered Species Of Wild Fauna and Flora ) . Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora , accepted by 169 countries , which are designed to ensure trade agarwood products from wild trees does not threaten the survival of Aquilaria . Despite efforts agarwood products from illegally cut trees continue to be sold and unknowing consumers create the demand that helps to destroy old growth agarwood Aquilaria trees .
The advantages of our team is naturally present study and owned by local residents , do not touch the prohibition or protected forest land owned by the government . Forests have become a forest of old rubber wood and non - wood like aloes are growing wild and naturally this is a new economic opportunities . Territory of the Republic of Indonesia , is very rich in every natural resource dam many valuable plants are just all these less well utilized or maintained by the community and even worse by not maintaining the natural environment . " Government support is necessary but the results of all cultured people are not much accommodated by the government particularly the management and marketing support for marketed abroad " .
There is still secret about the management of the Aquilaria resin and tree Gyrinops , serum injections is rare to come by and most of agarwood trees many owners are still confused as to how that can produce agarwood tree resin that much as expected .
What triggers agarwood is formed in some old trees , the growth has been a mystery unsolved , our natural research investigations during this directly , has been studying the formation and resin in Aquilaria trees Gyrinops and find methods to produce resin in plantation to plant young trees . This technique consists of wounding trees in a certain way and apply treatments to accelerate the natural defense response of trees . This technique allows the continuous outcome of resin that will be produced when the tree is relatively young . This method was developed to cultivate agarwood is providing economic results agarwood products , non- timber forest products new to Southeast Asia and other tropical regions of the world. This new economy in rural areas will help many of the poorest people in the world . Agarwood in plantation production continues , the need to plant trees to cut old growth trees in the forest area of the wood to produce agarwood resin and will help save this endangered tree from possible extinction , it also provides a source of agarwood cultivation so that this magnificent aromatic resin can enjoyed by people all over the world .
Rimba Gaharu Musi/
flakes are small pieces are valuable for fragrant incense resin
Trying to inject chemicals into the tree aloes, as it is widely used by farmers cultivating. Materials serum obtained from a friend to try and hopefully the results so good as expected.
Plants in the wild agarwood plantation area without planted
Aloes wood stumps obtained from the forest, black fragrant when burned
Valuable piece of aloes wood in the forest ready to be marketed
Agarwood leaves dried and drying naturally is also a good way to make a cup of tea as a health drink
.
Aquilaria trees are now protected in most countries and the collection of agarwood is illegal from natural forests . International agreements , such as CITES ( Convention International Trade in Endangered Species Of Wild Fauna and Flora ) . Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora , accepted by 169 countries , which are designed to ensure trade agarwood products from wild trees does not threaten the survival of Aquilaria . Despite efforts agarwood products from illegally cut trees continue to be sold and unknowing consumers create the demand that helps to destroy old growth agarwood Aquilaria trees .
The advantages of our team is naturally present study and owned by local residents , do not touch the prohibition or protected forest land owned by the government . Forests have become a forest of old rubber wood and non - wood like aloes are growing wild and naturally this is a new economic opportunities . Territory of the Republic of Indonesia , is very rich in every natural resource dam many valuable plants are just all these less well utilized or maintained by the community and even worse by not maintaining the natural environment . " Government support is necessary but the results of all cultured people are not much accommodated by the government particularly the management and marketing support for marketed abroad " .
There is still secret about the management of the Aquilaria resin and tree Gyrinops , serum injections is rare to come by and most of agarwood trees many owners are still confused as to how that can produce agarwood tree resin that much as expected .
What triggers agarwood is formed in some old trees , the growth has been a mystery unsolved , our natural research investigations during this directly , has been studying the formation and resin in Aquilaria trees Gyrinops and find methods to produce resin in plantation to plant young trees . This technique consists of wounding trees in a certain way and apply treatments to accelerate the natural defense response of trees . This technique allows the continuous outcome of resin that will be produced when the tree is relatively young . This method was developed to cultivate agarwood is providing economic results agarwood products , non- timber forest products new to Southeast Asia and other tropical regions of the world. This new economy in rural areas will help many of the poorest people in the world . Agarwood in plantation production continues , the need to plant trees to cut old growth trees in the forest area of the wood to produce agarwood resin and will help save this endangered tree from possible extinction , it also provides a source of agarwood cultivation so that this magnificent aromatic resin can enjoyed by people all over the world .
Rimba Gaharu Musi/
.
injected chemicals is not good when compared with the cultivation of agarwood is also injected. As we see the results of the color was destroyed but there remains a distinctive aroma, color natural agarwood as we would expect if injected and wood still can be harvested even without injections important age should be above 20 years of producing the resin as a flagship scents.
dated 15 April 2014, RIMBA GAHARU MUSI
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