BY KHIRTINI K KUMARAN

two-day Industrial Forest Plantation seminar was held at Pullman Hotel in Miri , Sarawak on Nov 4 and Nov 5 , 2020 .

The event , which had four plenary sessions , saw 19 papers presented . The fourth and final session of the seminar was aimed at educating participants on other potential industrial tree species .

The ‘ Other Potential Industrial Tree Species ’ plenary session was chaired by Hamzah Morshidi , Assistant General Manager of Resource Planning from Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation ( STIDC ).

Presenters who joined via Zoom were Green Afforestation International Network Sdn Bhd ’ s ( Gain Green ) CEO , EL Law and Prof Dr Jegatheswaran Ratnasingam from the Faculty of Forestry , Universiti Putra Malaysia ( UPM ).

Both Law and Dr Jegatheswaran presented on Paulownia trees , particularly the Revotropix Paulownia , as a potential industrial tree species . Law spoke on ‘ Revotropix Paulownia : A new sustainable resource for wood industry ’. Meanwhile , Dr Jegatheswaran spoke on “ Suitability of Paulownia wood for furniture application ”.

Suitable for reforestation and afforestation

According to Law , Gain Green was started to save the world from deforestation by introducing the Paulownia tree as an alternative timber source to native trees and forests .

As the world population increases every year , wood demand also increases . “ Looking at the current scenario , there are a lot of deforestation activities and our native forest is getting smaller ,” said Law .

“ Why , Paulownia ? It is the world ’ s fastest-growing wood tree . It is highly suitable for reforestation and afforestation .”

However , native Paulownia species naturally grows in temperate zones , with four seasons , such as China , North and Central America . It is not suitable for tropical climate .

And so , Gain Green introduced Revotropix Paulownia , a unique in-house cloned species of Paulownia that is optimised to grow well in a tropical climate such as Malaysia .

It serves as a new potential industrial species as well as a sustainable resource for the timber industry .

“ Our mission is to provide alternative wood supply to the industry so that we

could shift the industry focus by reducing the extensive logging of our native forest .”

Revotropix Paulownia has been approved by the Malaysian Timber Industry Board ( MTIB ) as species for forest plantation .

Characteristics and applications

Paulownia is the fastest-growing wood tree , and Revotropix Paulownia grows faster than the standard Paulownia tree because of Malaysia ’ s tropical climate .

“ Faster growth provides better replenishment of wood and supply in the market .

“ It also reaches maturity faster . A three-year-old Revotropix Paulownia shows the maturity and properties needed for best wood condition and performance ,” Law added .

They have an excellent regenerative ability as these trees can be harvested every three to four years . They can regrow within seven to 10 days after harvesting , for the next cycle .

Law shared that the subsequent regrowth was much more robust and more immense .

The Revotropix Paulownia wood is very light , reliable , stable , dries rapidly , is moisture-resistant , has excellent sound conduction , low thermal and low energy

( Top left ) EL Law

Prof Dr Jegatheswaran Ratnasingam

conductivity . These characteristics make it an easily worked and desirable wood . Dr Jegatheswaran said Paulownia wood showed better performance than Chinese Poplar in terms of strength , machining , adhesive bond , fastener withdrawal and finishing properties . But due its lower density , its performance in comparison to Yellow Poplar was inferior .

However , Dr Jegatheswaran said on account of its light colour , good strength and working properties , Revotropix Paulownia wood is a suitable replacement for imported Yellow Poplar and Chinese Poplar in furniture manufacturing .

He also mentioned that the future success of Paulownia as an alternative raw material for furniture manufacturing industry would depend on its supply volume and economics .

The Revotropix Paulownia wood is also suitable for building construction , marine structures , interior design , biomass pellets , biochar as well as musical instruments .

Current and future projects

Law shared : “ We have three labs in Peninsular Malaysia , which each producing about 200,000 seedlings a month .

“ We are also currently expanding into Sarawak . We have completed building labs in Kuching , Sibu and Limbang .”

He pointed out two more labs in Miri and one in Kapit were being built .

Law estimated each lab would produce 100,000 seedlings a month , which is approximately half a million seedlings grown solely from Sarawak . “ It is an ongoing process ”, said Law . This year Gain Green has planted about 3,000 acres and will be planting 10,000 acres every subsequent year , beginning from 2021 .

He added : “ We are also looking into building labs in Sabah , Indonesia , India and Vietnam .” — @ Forest