Dreams to change your life from the bulb plants

At the seminar method of creating and down on the last election held in HCM City last August, the Vietnamese Agarwood (VAWA) that, VAWA officially tested three methods in a number of farms in which electedin Tay Ninh, Ba Ria - Vung Tau in early 2010 and all are still in the testing time, as soon as 1-2 years to early results. However, since the late 1990s, the culture of bulb on the tree to make chemical and downs have been made in several central provinces.

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One of three methods to create critical VAWA tests. Photo: VAWA provided.

When bulb plants became

Can say, bulb crops it is incense products, each male has a long history in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in which incense is appreciated quality. In 1991 and earlier, Vietnam produce frankincense rough or wood product in the form of fine art, high value (about 10 - 15 million / year), the main market is Taiwan (China). In 1993, the territory of Vietnam imported 20 tonnes of frankincense, 1994: 85, 1995: 103 tons and in 1998: 137 tons ...

Late 90's, natural incense is almost depleted, so the Government for the exploitation and trading incense is illegal. And this time began to appear implantation chemical bulb on the tree so hopefully there will be downs. The tinkering has produced initial results in Quang Nam. Since then, bulb plants get noticed, start planting in home gardens in Quang Nam, the North Central Province.

At the same time, the fruit farms, rubber (at that time a very low price) South East, South West Highlands key expected outputs and see if that vote may be replaced in accordance with the land inherently former forest. Therefore, the bulb crop area has grown rapidly in this decade. In 2004, the area of ​​the tree elected the country on 4.900ha, in 2006 on 8.900ha. And though there is currently no official figures, but according to at 20,000.

Demand for frankincense and huge oil deposits in the world, especially the Middle East, used in religious ceremonies, but the ability to provide only about 40%. Meanwhile, creating deep bulb for the tree planting gave positive results after 2-3 years of treatment. Results from a bulb garden in Tien Phuoc district (Quang Nam) is encouraging, although only obtained downs of grades 4 and 5 (the best male, type 1).

With these results, it is said that, worth exploring 1ha which elected least about 3 billion (which is capable of producing low bass). Even if the tree does not create bass, wood sold as incense still have high interest than cinnamon or trees growing paper materials such as acacia, eucalyptus. So many places have broken with the old garden race with bulb plants.

However, at the last seminar, he Huynh Hai Thanh, ranchers in Bu Gia Map district, Binh Phuoc province, said bulb planting 4,000 trees over 10 years old. Were transplanted frozen contract 30 months is not as promising initial results. Now, he wants to sell their old bulb garden to cover the cost, but new people to buy 100 trees for $ 100 million. He added that now many plant diseases, deciduous.

Similarly, according to Ms. Thanh Dac Nong, bulb plants intercropped with coffee was late blight, dead but did not know what to do. Mr. Nguyen Huu Loi, a scientist, after years of research, has developed a number of products can remedy this situation. Song himself admits, never seen anyone get rich from this crop. If there are traders seedlings. Speaking of seedlings, if not careful will bring disaster. But Mr. Gross said that, there is hope and facilities to be able to get rich from this plant.

Processing technology and legal framework

According to Hoang Canh, Vice President and General Secretary VAWA, in 2010, the implantation test chemical or micro bulb tree of 3 units, in Tay Ninh and Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Malaysia. According to the initial two cases in the country for best results. Particularly in Malaysia after 1 year the whole tree (products) can be purchased for $ 10 USD / kg. A number of very attractive in the present context. As a result, many people were anxious to contact contract to transplant.

However, VAWA recommended she should awake, waiting for formal assessment of VAWA and implementation. Dr. Tran Van Minh said that varieties, transplanting method, essential oil distillation technology is state the problem clearly need answers, help people in the current election. Moreover, the demand for incense, especially huge oil deposits can say. Current issue, the government should revise the legal framework. In fact, some places have implants and artificial agarwood (low grade) but the law still prohibits the export of frankincense.

To circumvent the law, the company sold under quota, known as incense materials, are exempt. This approach, business risk, state tax losses. Hoang Van, General Secretary of the Association of American Flavors Oils Vietnamese products that need a national strategy, legal of bulb plants create and downs. Because 95% down on the market today is artificial bass.

Biologist Dr Nguyen Thi Linh said that should be associated with the microbiologist to analyze the ingredients in the product, help the manufacturer. This state should be assigned to the hospital, further research on the culture of industrial processes to support the garden. Currently on the market there are many different methods that growers can not understand and know enough to get the right choice. Chen Xiuzhen, Member of the Executive Board VAWA, the trading frankincense and domestic products fall mainly sensory, looked at each other and negotiate.

In the world market, especially in the Middle East, just buy and buy the right product to the clear component analysis. In the Dubai market, oil refining, storage 2 years to sell, while Vietnam should sell at lower prices than the market 3-4 times. Therefore, the distillation of essential oils and downs should be studied to appropriate technological processes. Also incense, essential oils and downs are popular products market with $ 50,000 (nearly one billion) / liter.

Vietnam Agarwoods Association

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The "whirlwind" deep-term, village shaken

(People of India) - Price 1kg sandalwood type 1 up to several hundred million, while the price of 1kg ofpublic men is unthinkable: Nearly a dozen billion. So, young men left the field to the forest garden "suckyou find and downs" growing.

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In mountainous Dai ​​Loc district, it seems every year some rumors related to the hit dark incense, publicmen, a millionaire farmer series ... And last month 6.2011, this country shaken by the news of winningmake hundreds States each year, you are a thousand billion...

One of the batches of incense cool downs Great Loc mining.

Villages tremble because of depression
Chairman Dai Nghia - Cao Van Music determine the media is the more than 30 local youth has exploited public men, worth several billion. The fact that rural means North, Dai Nghia "hot spots" from the end of June until now. Capital peaceful village suddenly, the crowded car.

In addition to the group of traders, journalists, curious people come to buy, could get information ... also the Wanderer from rich country looking for ... would instantaneously. This phenomenon which is not unusual in Dai Loc, much less than expected of calm and downs, should almost they hide for. So dark winning story period males become damaged damaged, virtual virtual.

He Truong Thinh Post - one of the traders have "blood", capable of mobilizing tens to hundreds of billion during one night to buy south of Dai Loc deep calm, said: "There is no winning the bold public men, did not have something to sell trillion during this period ". Mr. Thinh has been "touch", watch very carefully shipment.

Thinh said, nearly 30 youth groups have exploited incense, not public men. This is a big batch of volume, but the quality is not "beautiful". Moreover, the sale is complicated because many owners, price were "swimming" so it should almost they have not sold. "I know the value of the entire batch is also just a few dozen billion," said Thinh.

Script for sale bass

Remember at the end of May 4.2005, in the village of My Hao, Dafeng, Dai Loc also rumored. 7 youths hit hundred kg each male. Immediately, traders from the North to the South, even Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan ... "camping" to wait to purchase. Security and order situation in this locality become more complex. 7 own youth - the protagonists of the case ... sudden disappearance.

Truong Thinh Post was the one who bought the shipment of 7 American youths in the village is good that year. Thinh said: "This is one of the shipments go into" winning history downs, period "of Dai Loc district.The entire shipment value over 30 billion. However, the group of seven young farmers childish when he was so close I have to arrange the whole.

According to the book "The Vietnamese medicinal plants and herbs" by Prof. Dr. Do Tat Loi, frankincense is resin of the frankincense tree (also called tree), fragrant. States male most precious deposits name.Frankincense is used in traditional medicine, as drugs to treat nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, stomach pain. However, the main value of sandalwood is used as a flavoring in the cosmetics industry, especially premium cosmetics as well as high-end specialty service of the tourism industry.

T.K

We get about a hundred billion shipments going to be put on the from Gia Lai mountains. Even in the night, I went to mobilize tens gold effect, acquaintances, banks ... to get a few dozen billion. On the one hand, the right instrument ambush in the Great Room to access and purchase. "

Unexpected information that is spread too fast, there are four groups of strangers come together to see, "auction" lots in the night. The breathtaking dramatic sales for half.

night hours of the morning, the group he Thinh connect customers in Taiwan, decided to get the highest price.
They split into 2 shipments, which speed up the way to Ho Chi Minh City by road and by 1A when it is not a surprise in the morning. Individual Thinh he remained in the Great Room, pretending to hold money hang around to buy as the shipment has not been sold.

The next day, growing exploration purchase. Mr. Thinh Group must continue to build script purchase and dispersed. Night, they (pretend to) hug from Dafeng, break down the Vu Gia river, up bobo to migrate to the Giao Thuy.

From there, continue to divide the two cars waiting and then divided by 2 back on the Ho Chi Minh and 1A.However, this time they run back north. This journey chased, hard to explain ... but the reality is lots sold trot lot earlier ...

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Agarwood: the life of a wouanded tree

Agarwood is the infected wood of the Aquilaria tree. Called ‘the wood of the Gods’, its uses range from incense for religious ceremonies, perfume for the Arabic world, medicinal wine in Korea and ornamental functions in China. As a healthy tree the Aquilaria is worth next to nothing, but wounded its defence mechanisms produce agarwood and the tree becomes a valuable commodity. Gerard Persoon goes in search of the natural and social life of a wounded tree.

Agarwood is the infected wood of the Aquilaria tree. Called ‘the wood of the Gods’, its uses range from incense for religious ceremonies, perfume for the Arabic world, medicinal wine in Korea and ornamental functions in China. As a healthy tree the Aquilaria is worth next to nothing, but wounded its defence mechanisms produce agarwood and the tree becomes a valuable commodity. Gerard Persoon goes in search of the natural and social life of a wounded tree.

Agarwood: its history and its use

Agarwood is the heartwood produced by a number of Aquilariaspecies in Southeast Asia, with Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Papua New Guinea as the main producing countries and Singapore being the main trade cen-tre. The resin-impregnated heartwood is fragrant and, as a result, highly valu-able. This resin is produced as a result of pathological or wounding processes. It is also thought that resin production is a response to fungal infection. Interestingly however, not all Aquilariatrees produce resin and it is extremely difficult (or even impossible) to judge from the outside of a tree whether or not it is infected. Cutting the tree is the only way to find out whether the tree contains the resin.

Use of agarwood has been reported in many ancient cultures, even though the history of agarwood use is still to be writ-ten. The Egyptians are believed to have used agarwood incense as part of their death rituals more than 3,000 years ago. It is also suggested that incense trade was in fact the first international trade route that existed in history. In Japan, agarwood is said to have arrived with Buddhism. In Vietnam ancient texts also refer to the use of agarwood in relation to travelling Bud-dhist monks.

Today the range of agarwood products and their uses is seemingly endless. Solid pieces of agarwood are highly appreci-ated as ‘natural art’ in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Craftsmen carve raw pieces of agarwood into beautiful wooden sculp-tures. Agarwood is also turned into beads and bracelets. Most of the wood, how-ever, is processed and either turned into oil which is used in perfumes and other cosmetic products, or the agarwood chips are ground into powder which is used as the raw material for incense making (and sometimes also for special cigarettes). The oil is also used in the production of traditional Chinese and Korean medicine, in the preparation of (medicinal) wine and various other products.

The oil is mainly used in the Arab world where it is in high demand. It is by far the most precious essential oil with prices reaching as much as ten times that of sandalwood oil. The largest market for top class incense is Japan with its long
tradition in incense making. Both the Arab countries and Japan are interested in high quality agarwood and manufacturers in these countries prefer to process the raw material themselves. This also avoids the mixing of high grade agarwood with wood of lower quality.

The oil is extracted from the agarwood through distillation. This delicate process determines both the amount and qual-ity of oil produced. With the exception of large solid pieces of agarwood which are traded as individual pieces, most of the wood is ground into very small pieces or powder, which are immersed in water and left to ferment over time. Then the mate-rial is transferred to distillation kettles and steamed. After heating, the condensed water and oil are captured in a container where the oil floats on top of the water. The water is removed and the oil is tapped. The price of high quality oil can be as much as US$50,000 to US$80,000 per litre. This process can be repeated once or twice depending on the quality of the water and the costs of the distillation process. The powder which remains after distillation can be used for low grade incense making. It is estimated that for the production of one litre of oil 100 to 150 kilos of agarwood is necessary.

Wild and cultivated agarwood

In the past most agarwood has been harvested from the wild. Because it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to see whether a tree contains agarwood or not most of the Aquilariatrees are chopped down indiscriminately. High quality agar-wood can fetch as much as US$1000 per kilo. Throughout history there has been an ever-moving frontier of agarwood exploita-tion across Asia as traders, continuously search for untouched forests containing Aquilariatrees (Barden et al. 2000). The trees were fetching high prices and as a result, the news about agarwood harvest-ing spread like ‘gold fever’. Large sums of money and all kinds of luxury items were offered to the forest dwelling communi-ties, the traditional producers of agarwood. Usually this ‘fever’ was temporary. Once the largest trees were cut, new harvesting expeditions became less successful and just as in the case of gold, the collecting of small quantities of agarwood became a less rewarding activity.

The high prices for agarwood and the local depletion of resources in the wild have led to a variety of efforts to stimulate the growth of agarwood. The most common is the deliberate wounding of trees with large knives or the hammering of nails into tree trunks. In general such efforts do not yield very productive results. The agarwood pro-duced is of inferior quality and can only be
used for home consumption. Moreover, high quality agarwood takes many years to develop. It is only during the last few dec-ades that a more scientific approach has been adopted to cultivation. Experiments were set up in several countries including China, Thailand and Indonesia. However, one of the most successful efforts to date has been a project initiated in Vietnam. In addition to laboratory analysis, field experiments were developed by a non-gov-ernmental organisation based in Ho Chi Minh City. The project, called The Rainforest Project (TRP), is in the Seven Mountains area of South Vietnam close to the border with Cambodia. The experiments were
undertaken with local farmers and Bud-dhist monks who had gained considerable experience in the cultivation of Aquilaria trees. Building on their knowledge, experi-mental plots were developed to stimulate the production of agarwood. The process and experiments were supervised by a wood pathologist from the University of Minnesota, Prof. Robert Blanchette and the Director of TRP, Henry Heuveling van Beek. The main principle of the process was the drilling of holes in the tree trunk and keeping the wound open by putting a small piece of plastic pipe in the hole. A chemical treatment was added to the wound to encourage the trees defence mechanism which stimulates the produc-tion of the resin. After years of experiment-ing with the numbers of holes, the age of the tree, the amount of chemicals and other variables, the first trees were recently harvested and the production of incense made from the cultivated agarwood has begun. The success of the experiment implies that it will not be long before the method spreads to other areas where Aqui-lariatrees are being grown. TRP is also the leading organisation behind the two inter-national agarwood conferences that have been held so far. In Thailand a similar process of agar-wood cultivation was started by a private company. In the past Thailand has been a traditional producer and consumer of rela-tively large amounts of agarwood. Over the years trade in a wide variety of agar-wood products has developed in Bangkok. Large amounts of agarwood products, not only from the country itself but also from neighbouring Cambodia and Laos, are channelled through the city to markets in East Asia and the Arab world.

The declining supply has led Thai scien-tists, in partnership with the private sec-tor, to set up relatively large scale planta-tions. One of these plantations is run by a company called Krissana Panasin in Chantaburi, Southeast Thailand. Over the years it has established a substantial plantation of several hundred hectares, including nurseries, processing and dis-tillation units. The research department of the company has been experiment-ing with all kinds of techniques to obtain the optimal quality. Moreover, it provides seedlings to interested farmers who can produce agarwood trees on their own farms. The technology to wound the trees in order to start agarwood production is also provided to the small holders by the company. The mature trees are eventually being sold for processing to the company as the farmers usually lack the connec-tions and skills to organise the transport to other buyers. Aside from the cultivation of agarwood, Krissana Panasin also pro-duces a wide range of end products. The company established an extensive pub-lic relations department to market these products and reach wholesale traders in consumer countries directly. In this way it tries to bypass the intermediate traders, at least within Thailand but also in places like Singapore and Hong Kong, which mainly serve as import and re-export sites.

A much smaller project to cultivate agar-wood is being undertaken by the Catholic Church in Marauke, Papua (Indonesia). Here too harvesting from the wild came to an end within a relatively short period after the agarwood frontier reached the area in 1996. People still try to dig up roots of Aquilariatrees that might contain some agarwood, but it is clear that the big harvest is over. The project currently being imple-mented aims to integrate agarwood trees into the local agroforestry system. This is based on the idea that in the future agar-wood may become an additional source of income for the farmers. Methods that are being used are largely based on local trial and error efforts in wounding and treating trees, including innoculation. Processing units are still absent and the farmers are fully dependent on outside traders for mar-ket opportunities. As yet the farmers and the church organisation lack the capacity to process the agarwood to add value to the raw material. But, based on the high prices of agarwood earned in the past the hopes for the future are high.

New areas

The high value of agarwood has attracted the attention of potential investors from a number of countries. Inspired by the suc-cess of the plantations that are already established in Vietnam, Thailand and India, new investors are willing to take up this challenge. New on the scene are the business people from Australia, Hawaii and Malaysia. Having gained substantial experience in the production of sandal-wood in Western Australia, some com-panies are now ready to turn their efforts to Aquilariaplantations which could yield even higher prices per production unit. In the meantime, and as is the case with many other expensive products, there is an influx of fake agarwood products onto the market. These products go by the name of Black Magic Wood (BMW), and in fact are made from non-infected Aquilariawood which has been impregnated with cheap oil. It requires a trained eye and nose to differentiate real agarwood from these fake products.

There are of course a number of questions to be asked in relation to the large scale domesticated production of agarwood: Can the high prices currently commanded by agarwood be sustained if production is substantially be increased? What will the quality of the cultivated product be? There are also concerns about the con-sequences of large-scale cultivation for the traditional producers of agarwood, the collectors inside the forested areas. It is generally assumed that the natural top quality agarwood will become rare but remain in demand, particularly in Japan. This ‘top end’ of the market cannot eas-ily be replaced by cultivated agarwood. At the lower end of the supply quality, it is predicted that there will be an increase in supply from both the traditional producers as well as the new ones. A gradual reduc-tion in price is expected as a result of this increased cultivation. Finally it is assumed that the production, and therefore the value, will gradually move from the orginal rainforest areas to plantations located in other areas. Similar developments have also taken place in the case of other non-timber forest products such as orchids, rat-tan and crocodile skins.

Protection

A number of measures to protect the Aqui-lariatrees from excessive logging, and thus ensure the survival of the species, are under discussion. However, some repre-sentatives of conservation organisations point to an apparent lexical confusion as one of the main obstacles in this area. For some years the Convention on Interna-tional Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has listed all Aqui-lariaspecies in its Appendix II. This implies the need to monitor the trade (both import and export). However, because agarwood is known across the world by many differ-ent names (such as eaglewood, aloeswood, jinko, gaharu, and oudh), and because it is used or even disguised in so many different products (such as oil, perfumes, incense, wine, wood dust and chips), tracking agar-wood products requires highly sophisti-cated detection procedures which are not
yet in place. This is one of the reasons why the illegal trade in agarwood cannot easily be stopped. One of the challenges ahead will be the differentiation between wild and cultivated agarwood. Without doubt some of these issues will be discussed during the next agarwood conference which will take place in a few years time.

Gerard A. Persoon
Institute  of  Environmental  Sciences,
Leiden University
Email address: persoon@cml.leidenuniv.nl

References

• Barden, A. et al. 2000. Heart of the matter. Agarwood use and trade and CITES implemen-tation for Aquilaria Malaccensis.Cambridge, TRAFFIC.
• 2nd International Agarwood Conference, Bangkok/Koh Chang, 4-11 March 2007. Organised by The Rainforest Project, FOA, TRAFFIC and Kasetsart University (Bang-kok).

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Agarwood - saving a precious and threatened resource

There are many names for the resinous, fragrant heartwood produced primarily by trees in the genus Aquilaria. The commoner names include agarwood, aloeswood, eaglewood, gaharu or oudh, and it is also mentioned in the Old Testament as ‘aloe’ or ‘ahaloth’. This valuable and highly fragrant wood has been used in many ways for over two thousand years, especially as incense in Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic traditional ceremonies, and as a significant component of traditional Ayurvedic, Tibetan and Far Eastern medicine and Middle Eastern perfumes.

Photo by VAA

 The genus Aquilaria of the Thymelaeaceae (Daphne family) consists of generally fast-growing trees found in lowland tropical forests. It occurs naturally in South and Southeast Asia, from the foothills of the Himalayas (Bhutan) and northern India, through Myanmar, IndoChina (Lao PDR, Cambodia, Vietnam), Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia to Papua New Guinea. Seedlings of most species establish best in shady, moist conditions, but large adult trees sometimes become emergent in the forest and can withstand full sun. Some species can be found growing on steep, rocky, exposed slopes, and in regions that experience a hot, dry season. Wherever they occur naturally, they provide an important source of livelihood for local communities who harvest the fragrant agarwood to sell.

 Other genera in the family of the Thymelaeaceae known to produce agarwood include Gonystylus, Gyrinops, Aetoxylon, Enkleia, Wikstroemia and Phaleria. However, it is still unclear which species within these taxa produce agarwood and in what quantities. The taxonomy of Aquilaria is in need of review. A new species, A. rugosa L.C. Kiet & Kessler, was described in 2005 from central Vietnam and northern Thailand, and a possible new species has been reported from Lao PDR (Sourioudong Sundara, pers. com.).

How the agarwood resin is produced by the tree

It has long been known that the production of the fragrant resin is associated with wounding and associated fungal invasion, possibly assisted by insects. As a response to the fungal infection, the tree produces a resin high in volatile organic compounds that aids in suppressing or retarding the growth of the fungus. Various fungi are associated with agarwood formation although it is still not completely clear which ones make the plant generate the resin.

While the unaffected wood of the tree is light in colour the resin dramatically increases the mass and density of the affected wood, changing its colour to dark brown or black. In natural forests, only an estimated 7-10% of the trees are infected by the fungus (Ng et al., 1997). The major constituents of agarwood oil are sesquiterpenes, which are difficult to synthesize artificially, and therefore there are presently no good substitutes for high quality agarwood.

Exploitation and trade in agarwood

Today, the demand for agarwood far exceeds supply. A recent study revealed that supply rates are only 40% of the demand and a litre of agarwood oil can be sold for around $US10,000 - 14,000 on the market (Vietnam Chemical Technology Institute, 2007). Indeed agarwood is reputed to be the most expensive wood in the world and it is estimated that specialized buyers are prepared to pay as much as ten times more for this product.

There are no obvious external signs that a tree may contain agarwood and, if it does, the quantity can only be fully determined after the tree has been felled and cut open. The search for the product therefore results in indiscriminate felling of trees and degradation of habitats, causing a loss of the ecological niche for agarwood producing species and a dramatic decline in wild Aquilaria species in the last few decades.

Populations of eight Aquilaria and 15 Gonystylus species have declined to the point at which they are categorized as threatened according to the 2007 IUCN Red List (IUCN, 2007). Out of four listed species of Wikstromia two are believed to be extinct. All species of Aquilaria, Gonystylus and Gyrinops are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) requiring CITES Parties to issue export permits or reexport certificates in international agarwood trade.

Even though it is illegal to cut and harvest agarwood-producing species in most countries of Southeast Asia, the value of agarwood is so high that wild populations continue to be under threat in all countries where the taxa occur. Tracking down and documenting trade quantities is therefore challenging, and it is virtually impossible to determine which species are being traded, as all agarwood reported in trade is generally referred to as Aquilaria spp. or A. malaccensis.

Agarwood is exported in various forms (wood chips, powder, oil and as finished products such as perfumes, incense and medicines), and the main importers are countries in the Middle and Far East – in particular the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia (where agarwood is known as oudh), as well as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.

Artificial agarwood induction and harvesting practices

While a large part of agarwood comes from the exploitation of wild plants, local communities, over time, have developed a number of techniques to artificially induce the generation of agarwood, although with uneven rates of success. For instance, communities in northern Vietnam cut a hole in the trunk or main branches of Aquilaria trees. If the wound is kept open by regular chipping, agarwood generation may be induced after several years and can be extracted in nominal quantities each time when chipped, as long as the tree remains alive. This method may be adapted and further developed as “tapping” of agarwood, and may be a more sustainable alternative to felling the entire tree.

Another technique takes the wounding a step further by plugging the wound with a piece of wood or pottery shard. This prevents the wound from closing and therefore would seem to be a more reliable method for inducing agarwood production.

A method of coppicing by indigenous Penan people is reported from Borneo (Donovan and Puri, 2004). Although harvest quantities are small, the trees develop a dense coppice and provide continuous yield. The periodic coppicing wounds the trees and promotes further formation of agarwood.

Agarwood cultivation

Another, more recent way of producing agarwood, is to grow trees in plantations. A drill is usually employed to make holes in the trunks and main branches of mature trees which are then inoculated with agarwood powder. Generally, agarwood is harvested when the trees are between five and ten years old. Agarwood plantations exist in a number of countries, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and Vietnam.

Towards conservation and sustainable management of agarwood

The high value of agarwood and the potentially lucrative nature of mass production has restricted the free exchange of information regarding sustainable production methodologies. There has therefore been little opportunity to capitalize on lessons learnt in this area. On the other hand, farmers and investors have been hesitant to invest in cultivation because of the 5-10 year wait for returns, and perhaps because of fear that agarwood produced in plantations may be of lower grade, and therefore unprofitable. In this respect, concerns are raised that cultivation may not necessarily reduce the demand and may well increase wild harvesting. Furthermore, there is the concern that increased production may flood the market and cause price deflation.

As a result, many questions remain regarding successful conservation and sustainable management of agarwood. Knowledge gaps about the biology and ecology of agarwood-producing species need to be filled and traditional, management practices should be integrated with the latest scientific research findings. In addition, it will be essential to devise mechanisms to allow benefits to return to local communities that have made available their knowledge of management practices for agarwood production.

Botanic gardens worldwide are increasingly being recognized as having a vital role in plant conservation. They function as “Noah’s Arks”, holding rare and endangered plants in protective custody until such time as they can be reintroduced into suitable wild habitat. As such, they are well-placed to play a central role in the conservation of threatened Aquilaria and other agarwood-producing species.

In collaboration with local botanic gardens and related partners in Southeast Asia, BGCI has been working on finding solutions to the challenges of agarwood conservation. A joint project with the Research Institute of Science (RIS) in Vientiane, Lao PDR, has enabled a national survey and the design of a database of wild populations of Aquilaria, including GIS data and vouchers, as well as the successful production of nursery stock for plantations of six Aquilaria species. A public exhibition on environmental resources including a display of agarwood and the inoculation process for plantation trees has been instrumental in raising awareness of the conservation status of agarwood and the need for sustainable management of this valuable natural resource.

For many years, the RIS has been encouraging rural farmers to plant Aquilaria in plantations, and as a result, there are now approximately 1,000 hectares of plantation established in Bori Khamxay Province, Lao PDR. RIS has also isolated three species of the resin-inducing fungi from wild agarwood producing trees. Using an electric drill to make small holes in plantation trees, wooden pegs infected with the fungus are hammered into the opening. Tree trunks containing agarwood are foreseen to be harvested after five years.

Capitalising on these experiences, BGCI is pursuing efforts to secure and conserve remaining wild populations of Aquilaria and other threatened agarwood- producing taxa. The plan of action, initially developed for Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam includes:

• Strengthening institutional cooperation and coordination, by bringing together various stakeholders including local collectors, processors, traders, government and conservation agencies, botanic gardens and businesses;
• Capacity building and training for integrated agarwood conservation, by assisting in the development of in-country training capacity (of resource owners, users and conservation practitioners) focussing on surveying remaining wild populations, integrated ex- and in situ species recovery programmes and silviculture; and
• Practical conservation in demonstration projects, aiming to enhance i) conservation of remaining wild populations of agarwoodproducing tree species (e.g. in community managed protected areas); ii) ex situ propagation of critically endangered species in village nurseries, local botanic gardens, etc. and, iii) subsequent reintroduction into the wild.

With the implementation of this action plan it is hoped to provide a complementary approach to harvesting wild trees and to relieve pressure on the remaining highly threatened natural populations of Aquilaria and other agarwood-generating species, while supporting those local communities whose livelihoods depend on this precious natural resource.

References

• Donovan, D. and Puri, R. 2004. Ecology and Society: Learning from Traditional Knowledge of Non-timber Forest Products: Penan Benalui and the Autecology of Aquilaria in Indonesian Borneo.
• IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
• Ng L.T., Chang Y.S. and Kadir A.A. 1997. A Review on Agar (gaharu) producing Aquilaria species, Journal of Tropical Forest Products 2(2): 272-285.
• Vietnam Chemical Technology Institute, 2007: Chemists move toward production of valuable essential oil. Http://www.thanhniennews.com/education/?catid=4&newsid=33541. Accessed November 2007.

Further reading

• Barden, A. and Awang Anak, N., Mulliken T., and , Song, M. Heart of The Matter: Agarwood Use and Trade and CITES Implementation for Aquilaria malaccensis. TRAFFIC International, Cambridge, UK.
• Crop watch (2007), Updated list of threatened aromatic plants used in the aroma industry 2003 – 2007. http://www.cropwatch.org/threatlist.pdf. Accessed December 2007.
• Soehartono, T. A. C. Newton. 2002. The Gaharu Trade in Indonesia: Is it Sustainable? Economic Botany 56(3) pp271-284.
• Sabah Forestry Department. 2006. The Potential of Gaharu as a Plantation Species. In: Annual Report 2006. http://www.forest.sabah/gov.my/download/2006/ar2006.htm. Accessed December 2007.

Joachim Gratzfeld

BGCI

Descanso House,

199 Kew Road, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3BW UK.

Email: Joachim.gratzfeld@bgci.org

http://www.vnagar.org

What is agarwood?

Agarwood is a resinous heartwood that sometimes occurs in trees belonging to the genus Aquilaria  (Thymelaeceae family). Aquilaria is a fast-growing, archaic subtropical forest tree, with a population range stretching from South Asia’s Himalayan foothills, throughout Southeast Asia, and into the rainforests of Papua New Guinea. It grows at elevations from a few meters above sea level to about 1000 meters, with approx. 500 meters being most ideal. Aquilaria can grow on a wide range of soils, including poor sandy soil. Seedlings require a great deal of shade and water but will grow rapidly, producing flowers and seeds as early as four years old. At least fifteen species of Aquilaria are known to produce the much sought-after agarwood. In South Asia, particularly India, Aquilaria achalloga is found. Aquilaria malaccensis is mostly known from Malaysia and Indonesia, while Aquilaria crassna grows primarily in Indochina. A number of others are also known, such as Aquilaria grandfolia, Aquilaria chinesis etc., though these are relatively minor species for agarwood production.

Usage

The “Wood of the Gods” has been traded and highly coveted for thousands of years. The resinous wood is used as incense, for medicinal purposes, and pure resin in distilled form is used as an essential oil as well as a perfume component. Outside its native countries, it is most widely known in the Middle East, China, Taiwan, and Japan. A strong connection exists between use, religion, and curative properties, and elaborate traditional and religious ceremonies are known around the world. Faith healers in the Middle East use it at curative ceremonies, Japanese pilgrims donate flowers and agarwood oil to Shinto-Buddhist temples, and Vietnamese religious groups are obliged to bring agarwood to ceremonies at their temples in Mekong Delta communities.

Value

The value of first-grade Agarwood is extremely high. A wide array of products of different grades is available on the market, varying with geographical location and cultural deposition. Prices range from a few dollars per kilo for the lowest quality to over thirty thousand US dollars for top quality oil and resinous wood. Aquilaria crassna is listed as a critically endangered species in Viet Nam, and A. malaccensis is listed as vulnerable by the World Conservation Union, IUCN.

Extinction

Resin-producing trees are endangered throughout their known habitat all across Southeast Asia. The main driving force, which initiated this project, was the recognition of unsustainable Aquilaria harvesting in natural forests that resulted in the near extinction of this tree genus in Viet Nam and elsewhere. Aquilaria crassna is now a protected species in Viet Nam. Trade and harvesting restrictions will be virtually impossible to implement and enforce if no alternative is developed to forest-based harvesting. In addition, both in the short and long-term, a natural resource base needs to be maintained to supply present and future Aquilaria plantations with genetic source material in order to prevent plant decease, maintain diversity, and possibly improve resin production.

Substitutes

Development of synthetic substitutes usually arises when sustainable supplies of the natural product are not available. One of the first questions pursued when contemplating the pilot project was, “Is it possible to synthesize agarwood and agarwood oil?” The answer is a qualified no. Agarwood cannot be synthesized. Chemical substitutes are already available for perfume; these are cheap and constitute the least profitable end of the market. In addition, these products do not come close in emulating the natural product and thus do not pose a threat to producing non-synthetic agarwood products. The major chemical components responsible for the characteristic scent of agarwood products, 15-carbon chain compounds called sesquiterterpenes, can in principle be synthesized. However, these are very complicated structures that are extremely expensive to synthesize, which makes it commercially unattractive.

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Sustainable Agarwood Production in Aquilaria Trees

Agarwood, aloeswood, eaglewood, jinkoh, gaharu are names for the world’s most valuable incense. This resinous material is produced by tropical rainforest trees and has been used for centuries as incense and in traditional medicine. In the past, old growth Aquilaria and Gyrinops trees were indiscriminately cut to find the resin (usually hidden within the center of only a few old trees). Today in many countries of Southeast Asia where the tree was once native, it has become very rare due to increased harvesting. The resinous wood or oil extracted from the inside of some trees is extremely valuable since it is highly regarded for use during Buddhist and Islamic cultural activities as well as an important ingredient in many traditional medicines. It is also an extremely important component in traditional Japanese incense ceremonies. Although most people in the United States and Europe are not familiar with this aromatic resinous wood, its use as incense (called aloeswood) is mentioned several times in the bible. People in the United States, Europe and other countries that have had the opportunity to smell the fragrance of this extraordinary incense find it very appealing and pleasant.

Aquilaria trees are now protected in most countries and the collection of agarwood is illegal from natural forests. International agreements, such as CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), accepted by 169 countries, is designed to ensure trade in agarwood products from wild trees does not threaten the survival of Aquilaria. Despite these efforts agarwood products from illegally cut trees continues to be sold and unknowing consumers create a demand that helps to destroy the last old growth Aquilaria trees in existence.

What triggers agarwood to form in some old growth trees has been an unsolved mystery. Our research investigation over the last 12 years in cooperation with The Rainforest Project Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of the worlds forests http://www.agarwood.org.vn, has studied the formation of resin in Aquilaria and Gyrinops trees and found a method to produce the resin in plantation grown young trees. This technique consists of wounding trees in a specific manner and applying treatments to accelerate the natural defense responses of the tree. The technique allows a sustainable yield of resin to be produced in relatively young trees. Agarwood is a high value forest product that is easy to store and ship. Our newly developed methods to cultivate agarwood is providing a new economic, non-timber forest product for Southeast Asia and other tropical regions of the world. This new economy in rural areas will help many of the world’s poorest people. The sustainable production of agarwood in plantation grown trees eliminates the need to cut old growth forest trees for the resin and will help save this endangered tree from possible extinction. This work also provides a source of cultivated agarwood so this magnificent aromatic resin can be enjoyed by people throughout the world. The world's first cultivated agarwood produced using our technology by farmers in Vietnam is now available and can be purchased from distributers and from the internet.

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Agarwood industry seeks gov't assistance

HCM CITY — The Viet Nam Agarwood Association should work with relevant agencies to seek effective measures so that growers could feel secure in their cultivation, delegates said at conference in HCM City on Saturday.

The main product of the aquilaria crassna tree is agarwood, a resinous product that has traditioanally been used as incense and medicine. Its distilled pure resin is used in perfumes.

Ngo Duy Tu, head of the Tan Phu Agarwood Club in Dong Nai Province, said cultivating aquilaria crassna trees can generate good profits for farmers but could also leave them empty handed if they applied improper technology or low-quality chemicals for making agarwood.

There were many methods and chemicals to make agarwood from the aquilaria crassna tree, however, many of them had proved ineffective since the yield was low and even killed the tree, Tu said.

About 10 kinds of chemicals for making agarwood have been introduced in the province but many of them were of poor quality, he said.

He said there were more than 100,000 aquilaria crassna trees in his locality and about half of them had been injected with chemicals in an attempt to get agarwood. However, as many as 90 per cent of the injected trees became "victims".

Story repeated

The situation is similar in Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province, with many aquilaria crassna trees dying after chemicals were injected into them to make agarwood, said a representative of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Agarwood Association.

Tran Hop, chairman of the association, said the biggest challenge facing the industry was finding the most effective method to produce agarwood.

The association would strengthen co-operation with foreign partners as well as local scientists to choose best seedlings and methods to make the fragrant wood.

In addition, he said, localities should have zoning plans for agar tree cultivation and help growers with capital.

With its long production circle of about 10 years, planters need capital support to sustain, he said.

Demand for agarwood in the world market is set to remain high while supply is expected to shrink, said Thai Thanh Luom, chairman of the Kien Giang Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment.

Agarwood sold in the world market used to be obtained from natural sources, with main suppliers being Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

However, the natural agarwood source has been exhausted. For instance, Indonesia's agarwood export dropped from 661 tonnes in 1993 to 302 tonnes in 1997, he said.

Viet Nam exported several hundred tonnes of agarwood a year in the 1986-1990 period. Foreign buyers preferred Vietnamese agarwood because of its high quality, he said.

And like other countries, Vietnamese natural agarwood source has also been exhausted, so "we turned to planting agar trees to create artificial agarwood."

To help improve plantation efficiency, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should come up with an orientation plan for agar tree development and better manage seedlings as well as supply of chemicals used in making agarwood, he said.

Hop said the association would work to ensure outlets for agar tree planters, noting that there was high demand for agarwood in Middle Eastern countries. — VNS

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