Canadian wood is the crown agency of British Columbia. The organisation, officially named Forestry Innovation Consulting India Pvt. Ltd., hosted a webinar on “legally harvested and seasoned wood for a better future”. Canadian wood has taken up the task of raising awareness about the environmental benefits of using wood obtained from sustainably grown and managed forests. Several industry experts attended the webinar and took valuable insights from it. The webinar focused on the issue of importing illegally harvested wood in India. It also discussed how to address this problem with the help of trade rules, regulations, certifications, and rigorous management. Furthermore, the webinar discussed sustainable and seasoned timber in detail and why India needs seasoning wood technology.
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Sharing insights on the Canadian wood industry and legally harvested wood, Mr. Peter Bradfield, Technical Advisor, Canadian Wood said-
“Canada is a nation with 10% of the world’s forest area. Moreover, it has made efforts to create sustainably managed forests with 0% deforestation. 95% of the wood from Canada comes from sustainably managed and publicly owned forests. These forests are protected by the country’s strict forest management laws. Canadian Wood assures that each customer gets reliable, highly certified, and legally sourced seasoned woods every time. It also ensures the responsible development of rural areas, generating meaningful jobs, and reserving biodiversity, among other factors.”
Speaking on the legality of the timber trade, Dr. E.V. Anoop, Professor and Dean, Kerala Agricultural University said-
“It is pertinent for India to create a balance of trade between the wood import and export in India. While the import is abundant in India, we are importing illegal wood from politically unstable countries without considering the ecological footprints. At the same time, the export of wood from India is almost insignificant as numerous countries around the world require a credible wood certification.”
Dr. Shailendra Kumar, Scientist-D at the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, spoke about seasoned timber and stated-
“Wood seasoning helps to keep timber dimensionally stable by controlling moisture content. Kilns are an important instrument for this but managing the quality of wooden products has become an issue due to a lack of adequate infrastructure and awareness amongst our traditional carpenters. In India, carpenters have been using the traditional method of drying by air. AI and Artificial Neural Networks can change the game by manufacturing better kilns with lower cost and higher productivity.”
Watch the webinar below:
For any further inquiries, contact:
Mr. Arif Moosa: arif.moosa@canadianwood.in
