International Conference Quality Timber Products of Teak from Sustainable Forest Management Abstract 1 2-5 December 2003, Peechi, Kerala, India Teak in India: Status, Prospects and Perspectives R. P. S. Katwal Teak is a celebrated timber of the tropics and India is one of the major teak growing and utilizing countries in the world. Domestication through plantations for one and a half centuries has made teak the most widely planted and researched tropical hardwood species. Significant developments have taken place in standardizing plantation techniques, perfecting harvesting and post-harvest utilization methods and tree improvement. In spite of these efforts, teak resources of the world need immediate attention for their sustainable management. The ecological and economic aspects of raising teak in monoculture have to be considered for long-term management of supply of timber and the soils in which they are grown. Whilst bottlenecks in tree improvement and seed production have to be removed through increased basic research, the potential of frontier areas like biotechnology must also be used for rapid improvement of this plantation species. Keywords : Teak, sustainable management, improvement, productivity, conservation. R. P. S. Katwal Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education Dehra Dun - 248 006, India E-mail:
[email protected] 1 International Conference Quality Timber Products of Teak from Sustainable Forest Management Abstract 2 2-5 December 2003, Peechi, Kerala, India Ups and Downs of Teak Forest Management in Indonesia Sadhardjo Siswamartana In Indonesia, teak was introduced during the fourteenth century, especially in Java, where it spread quickly in central and eastern parts. The Dutch colonial rule extensively extracted the timber, leading to degradation of teak forests in the country.