DHA eNews - Vietnam's Wood Product Exports Grow By 21%
Last month, Vietnam's exports of wood and wood products grew to $1.15 billion, up 20.9% from October. Vietnam is the second-largest exporter of wood furniture in the world.
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Organized crime plays a key role in the world's loss of about 25 million acres of forests every year, according to new research. In South and Central America, criminals illegally log forests in the Amazon and hide cocaine in timber shipments to Europe. Other drug traffickers illegally log and raise cattle in protected areas in Central America to launder money and control drug-smuggling territory.
India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines drew up ambitious plans to restore forests in tens of millions of hectares of degraded land. However, the lack of quality, genetically diverse native seeds is impeding the success of these projects. Unsustainable or illegal projects will result in continued deforestation.
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative and NCASI have announced new science-based tools to increase our understanding of how forests can be used to help mitigate climate change and ensure water conservation. Each year, trees in SFI-certified forests in the U.S. remove 235.3 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, an amount equal to removing 170 million cars from U.S. roads.
Donors to the Hardwood Forestry Fund helped plant more than 290,000 trees in 2021 to add to the more than 4 million trees HFF has planted since 1990. The efforts of organizations like HFF are part of the many reasons that growth in U.S. commercial hardwood forests exceeds harvests and mortality by 33% each year.
Oak wilt has been found in Belle Isle, MI, about 500 meters from the Canadian border. Oak wilt is deadly. The invasive fungal pathogen can infect and kill every species of oak.
Swiss needle cast disease is causing Douglas firs in British Columbia to prematurely shed their needles – and it’s spreading quickly. The fungal disease was first observed in Oregon and Washington about 20 years ago, as is likely spreading north due to climate change.
The Canadian government announced ambitious goals to help mitigate carbon by planting two billion trees across Canada by 2030. However, only 8.5 million trees have been planted so far.
Recent news about the pandemic's impact on our industry includes:
- See highlights from the 2022 Wood Product Manufacturing Report, including COVID-19 updates, benchmarks, and forecasts
- How contractors’ backlogs changed during COVID-19
- Omicron is not fueling a surge in hospitalizations
- Some much-needed coronavirus humor
See the DHA coronavirus news and resources pages for more information and updates.
Al Webster of Woodburn, OR has passed away. Al began his career at Multnomah Plywood, eventually becoming the general manager of the plant, and then taking over as general manager of Alpine Veneer. He worked at PES, Coe, and Mill Machinery before his semi-retirement in 2012. He will be missed.
The experts at Capital Testing have published an informative overview of EN 16094 Martindale Micro-Scratch Testing, which simulates everyday wear-and-tear to determine a flooring product's resistance to gloss change and visible scratching.
The American Hardwood Export Council is showcasing some of the best international talent in an exhibit featuring 20 wood products by emerging designers from 16 countries.
The National Wood Flooring Association is now accepting entries for the NWFA Wood Floor of the Year awards. The awards were created to encourage and recognize innovative craftsmanship and design in wood flooring installations.
Venetian sculptor Marco Martalar crafted a giant wood sculpture of a dragon in a north Italian forest devastated by Storm Vaia, as a tribute to the centuries-old forests across northern Italy that were destroyed by the storm in 2018.
Where was the tallest decorated Christmas tree?