Assessment shows a global decline in natural teak

An assessment report by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) titled 'TEAK RESOURCES AND MARKET ASSESSMENT 2010' revealed that there is a decline in global natural teak forests.

The assessment which was conducted in 60 tropical countries, NaijaAgroNet gathered revealed that the quality of natural grown teak wood is deteriorating.

A press release made available to NaijaAgroNet also made known the result of a-day survey that planted teak forests are increasing in area where good management practices are applied thereby producing high quality wood.

Natural teak forests grow in only four countries of the world: India, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand with a total of 29 million hectares of land.

Commenting on the result of the assessment, a Forestry Officer at FAO, Walter Kollert said data provided by the survey must be handled with care as there is no better up-to-date information on teak resources available at the moment.

"It is difficult to obtain precise figures on teak forest loss, because teak trees do not grow in pure stands in nature. Natural teak forests are mixed deciduous or tropical evergreen forests which have a share of teak of between 4 and 35 percent," Walter Kollert.

NaijaAgroNet further gathered that Asia holds more than 90 percent of the world's teak resources, and India alone manages 38 percent of the world's planted teak forests.

Yinka Awosanya

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