Ecological and Social Considerations In some areas of Indonesia, the forest habitat will be extinct within a decade , taking with it the numerous animal and plant species that are indigenous to the region.
No one likes to hear of or see the destruction of natural forests, especially rainforests, with their unique habitats. Not only are the trees being threatened but also the species that thrive in these environments are doomed to extinction. Realistically, many species familiar to us will not be known by our grandchildren, or at least not in the wild. The real threat to forests is the pressure to convert the land for different purposes. City expansion, new roads, and agricultural needs are examples of true deforestation and this is the kind of action that leads to the extinction of certain species. For example, a species of orchid can be lost when a valley is converted to pasture for livestock; insects, rodents, and birds are not welcome in the monoculture of a wheat or cabbage field. Logging activity in a sustainable forestry scheme, however, is not deforestation.
Bio-Diversity
Forests are a wonderful nature reserve. A mix of birds, insects, and mammals can live in the different habitats provided by the forest canopy, its lower reaches and at ground level. Trees provide shelter from the elements. Tree bark and foliage even provide a meal for some forest inhabitants. Bio-diversity is becoming restricted to the forests, and although it is a term only known in the last 50 years, increasing the land area able to support “bio-diversity” is one of the goals for today’s environmentalists. What is often misunderstood is the true cause of loss of bio-diversity. The only permanent cause of this is that stated above – the conversion of land to “sterile” environments for human needs. Left to her own devices, Mother Nature will recover after a disturbance such as a fire, a volcanic eruption, or indeed, logging activity. Seeds often survive in situ during a “disturbance” or get blown in or deposited in droppings. Ground cover vegetation flourishes due to the exposure to daylight until shrubs and trees re-establish and once again plunge the undergrowth into shade. This photo shows how a tree stump, left after logging, is acting as a “nurse bed” for a new tree to grow. In this case, the span of years from the tree being felled to the time the photo was taken is 80 years. Land that is built on or farmed and maintained in this state by humans will not be allowed to regenerate to natural vegetation. We need to understand that all land is potential forest if left to the devices of Mother Nature, only time is needed to turn rock into a beautiful forest. We only need to look at the Russian and Canadian forests of today that exist in areas that were covered by ice sheets and glaciers in the last ice age. In Alaska where the glaciers are retreating, you can see the beginnings of the return of vegetation.
The pressure for land use conversion is quite simply due to an expanding human population. More homes need to be built to cope with the increasing population, there are more mouths to feed, and hence more land is converted to crop growing. Even the increase in the number of vegetarians causes the creation of more monoculture food crops.
The use of paper products is likely to increase. Some people believe we should make paper out of hemp or cotton, but to do this we would have to use the land to grow these as monoculture crops, so why not just grow trees on the land instead? Even a plantation of trees for paper pulping provides a richer habitat than a crop.
How do we combat these pressures which cause land to be permanently converted to suit these needs? It is simple g to say that we only need to curb the population growth, make agriculture production more intensive and design our cities for a higher density of inhabitants. Once we fully understand these concepts we need to turn the words into reality.
There is a growing consensus amongst ecologists and resource management specialists that just protecting areas of natural forest will never adequately protect bio-diversity. Stimulating a species-rich ecosystem is only one goal for today’s environmentalists.
Other forest functions
Clean air, fresh water, the reduction of soil erosion and pollutants are equally important in order to increase areas of bio-diversity. Planting trees is a good way forward towards tackling all of these issues.
A forest has an ability to maintain its own microclimate. A forest is a watershed, meaning that it acts like a large sponge, storing rainfall and then releasing the water slowly over time. This steady release of fresh water into the waterways and lakes is vital for the survival of aquatic ecosystems, and, of course, the constant human demand for water. The forest “sponge” protects us against flooding. Tree foliage and root systems protect the soil from erosion and also protect us from natural catastrophes such as landslides and avalanches.
Reforestation and afforestation
Trees are planted to promote areas of bio-diversity, stabilize soil, convert carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into a carbon “sink”, generate a renewable wood source for material and energy use, and to moderate climate change. It is not just about planting and protecting trees, however a successful forestation strategy must consider the needs of forest-dependent people. The forest sector will affect, and be affected by, other sectors and so this interaction is also a consideration. Sustainability must also be modelled in a successful forestation strategy and be proven by independent accreditation.
Planting trees must be commercially viable. Many plantations grow trees for paper, palm oil, rubber etc. but harvesting techniques and costs usually restrict plantations to a monoculture which are not desirable as they do not provide such bio-diversity. Clear-cut harvesting exposes soil to erosion and depletes the nutrient content which is usually maintained by wild fires and natural decay and over time, the plantation growth rate is reduced and forest-dependents are displaced and/or deprived of their livelihood in subsistence farming. They also lose the range and use of naturally occurring plants.
However, another reason for tree planting is to earn “carbon credits” under the terms of the Kyoto Agreement. Tree planting is, therefore, not only favoured by the international community for preserving the environment, but also allows for trading in carbon credits or to offset them against carbon dioxide emissions.
Modern day tree planting theory has also changed. As stated in “A Revised Forest Strategy for the World Bank”, July 2001, it is “…to integrate forest with agro-forestry and small enterprise activities into rural development…”.
Gold Teak
Gold Teak aim is to improve the livelihood of local people, most of whom are poor and dependent on the land. Our scheme promotes local community forest management and agro-forestry. Involving the rural population in Gold Teak teaches them forestry while at the same time allowing them to grow to produce to feed themselves. We hope to inspire the locals to be proud of their work by making them essential components in the success of Gold Teak and by doing so they receive an improved income.
Our clearing, cultivation, protection and harvesting models reflect our wish to preserve forest bio-diversity as much as possible. Ours, is therefore, a plantation with a difference. We recognize that our Gold Teak project cannot fully replace the rain forest in its diversity of species, but the teak produced represents an alternative source for a raw material which is in very high demand. In this way, we hope to protect the natural forest while at the same time creating a sustainable ecology of tropical hardwood, which is a habitat for flora and fauna, albeit a plantation. The venture also has to be economically sound to give the man-made forest longevity.
Think of the pattern of a chessboard . The checkerboard enables leaves some land to be used for agriculture (the white squares on the board) and the rest is planted with teak trees (the green squares).
The policy of Gold Teak is to sustain the bio-diversity of the area through careful planning of plantations to minimize the impact on the local environment.
The other way to tackle the problem of deforestation of the natural teak rainforest is through consumer sympathy. If consumers are encouraged to buy products made from sustainable sources proved by certification then this will stop the logging of virgin forests.
Gold Teak aim is in line We are running a sustainable development. This means a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. For any operation to be sustainable it must be capable of repeat performances at the same level of output as the first. However, this does not just mean the same yield or monetary value; it also includes bio- and socio-sustainability.
For Gold Teak this means that we must protect our resources, the soil, the nutrients, etc and the local community interests.
Should we successfully achieve the accreditation it would allow our wood to be certified. The certificate follows the wood right through the processing chain so that the consumer has confidence that their purchase is supporting environmental good practices.
Gold Teak plantations are established to comply with modern perceptions of sustainable forest management in the hope of passing certification procedures for the export market and to gain the necessary national political support.
Ethical Investment
Ethical Considerations
Whenever you make important decisions in your life, you act in accordance with your values and beliefs. So why should you divorce ethical considerations from financial ones?
A socially responsible investment allows you to integrate your values and beliefs with your financial requirements. By investing in a socially and environmentally responsible manner, you put your money to work towards a better world and a just society.
Why Invest Ethically?
Everyone has values. Money is not morally neutral – it can be employed in a positive or a destructive way. Ethical investment provides you with a positive choice, and it need not be to your financial disadvantage. Just because socially responsible companies do not exploit people or the environment, this does not mean that they are not profitable. In fact the reverse can be true – by operating in a transparent and sustainable way, companies can ensure that growth is stable and sustained.
Investment in Gold Teak
Participating in the ownership of a managed teak plantation you can make a positive impact on the environment whilst accruing a return on your investment. Become a Global Guardian through ownership of this wonderful natural resource! All investment projects, from a few trees to thousands of hectares, might be managed you or by Gold Teak, ensuring that your investment is as secure as possible and that it will reap the maximum financial, social and ecological benefit.
The increasing demand for teak wood, combined with the current ever decreasing availability of this precious resource, makes this a very promising investment opportunity.
By investing with Gold Teak you can be assured you are sponsoring a project that aims to bring about reforestation in Indonesia. Even though we plant trees for harvest there will always be a tree habitat because of the thinning and re-planting program. We understand how important trees are for our climate and freshwater recycling. Our project also supports local farmers and their families through the uniqueness of integrating agriculture and forestry. While less species-rich than natural forest, this strategy preserves more bio-diversity than the alternatives of monoculture plantations or clearance for crop agriculture. Rural people are involved as much as possible by inviting them to be ‘stakeholders’ in the project rather than being alienated by it. Offering empowerment not only reduces the poverty of rural Indonesians but improves their quality of life.
Gold Teak has proven that its forestry management strategy is sustainable. We do this so that our wood can ‘shout out’ about how green it is. Consumers will support our efforts and those of other accredited forestry projects and eventually illegal logging and unsustainable forestry businesses will suffer. We support the use of more wood as a renewable resource. We support wood as a renewable ‘green’ energy, under some circumstances, since after all, burning wood will only release as much carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as it absorbed from it, and the tree planted in its place will reabsorb it!
Investment in Gold Teak is a sound choice from an environmental and social viewpoint of view. lease refer to the section describing our Pilot Project. Now for the economics!
Teak Investment Calculator
Some trees will be harvested after 7-10 years in order to promote the growth of the remaining young trees in the best manner. It can be assumed that 500 trees per hectare will be left standing after this initial harvesting. The trees cut down at this early stage will probably produce a low grade wood suitable for cheap furniture, packaging or paper pulping.
The total return on investment should include the trees cut down after 7-10 years, with a lower price per cubic meter. Gold Teak recommends using the values for wood at 7 years old. This would then be 600 trees at an average height of 10metres with a diameter of 22cms – yielding a volume of 0.38 m3 per tree.
The prices for teak at the Indonesian Government Auctions recently were as shown in the attached file.