We hear on the news of forests being torn down to provide arable land for farming, or simply for short term profit from the sale of wood that has taken hundreds of years to mature. Needless to say the destruction to hardwood caused by deforestation is often just for firewood which leaves us all in bewilderment, we must at all costs stop this waste and protect our natural environment.
I read recently that McDonald’s need to pulp 800 square miles of trees just to produce enough paper for a year’s supply of their packaging!!, also that British Columbia manufactures some 7,500,000 pairs of wooden chopsticks a day! - quite unbelievable.
It is of some comfort that many countries are at last now waking up to the fact that their wood resources will take centuries to recover but are at least if not a little late imposing strict re planting methods to ensure that we can continue to enjoy many endangered species.
Australia has a managed system and nowadays impose tight control of companies licensed to export wood. An example of former waste was the demand for railway sleepers, now thankfully they are being generally replaced with concrete types but were formerly cut from Jarrah which is native of SouthWest Australia. Prior to Tarmacadam and due to its boring insect resistant qualities blocks of Jarrah were used for road construction. Jarrah has a beautiful grain and is currently widely sought after for cabinet makers and flooring manufacturers.
Due to heavy demand even managed forests find available stocks of some varieties are dwindling so International trade controls have to ensure that woods such as Brazilian rosewood and Central and South American mahogany are protected and/or sales banned.
Rest assured wood turners in the UK need to protect their interests and are encouraged to always establish the source of the wood offered for sale and ensure that forest management policies are in force. This way a percentage of the monies from the sale of wood will serve to ensure that the timber industry will be properly sustained and survive attempts of deforestation.
For those of you that are surrounded in wood in your every day life but have never closely studied something turned from wood – you must try, finished wood is very tactile and many woods including our native timbers will amaze you with the figuring of their grain and contrast of colour.
