DRP006615
Timber Tracking Project IPB-WRI: Collection of physical timber reference material and setting up a reference data building pipeline for DNA of commercial timber species (Diospyros celebica. Bakh)
Ebony (Diospyros celebica Bakh.) is a tree species endemic to Sulawesi Island, Indonesia, a producer of luxury sawn timber that has high commercial value in Indonesia. However, exploitation that does not consider sustainable production and uncontrolled illegal logging practices has led to a decline in the ebony population in natural forests. Although the government has issued the Indonesian government the Minister of Forestry Decree No. 31 / KPTS-IV / 86 of 1986 regarding the control of ebony or the prohibition of new logging, but the practice of illegal logging continues until 2019. Apart from that, other challenges such as timber laundering, where illegal wood is mixed with legal timber and both are certified as legal, must also be faced because it is very difficult to distinguish between these legal and illegal logs in which logs look physically identical. Certainly, a method that can accurately distinguish the two origins of the wood is desirable and DNA identification is one that allows the identification and analysis of unique inherent variations in wood that can provide information on the species, origin and location of individual stumps or tree stands. Therefore, this study aims (i) to collect physical timber reference material and extract its associated DNA for the species Diospyros celebica (Ebony) and (ii) to build a genetic reference database for ebony (Diospyros celebica Bakh.) of 16 existing natural populations in South Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, and Central Sulawesi. This research is also conducted to provide wood ID services for the Indonesian timber enforcement community in the coming years.
Ebony (Diospyros celebica Bakh.) is a tree species endemic to Sulawesi Island, Indonesia, a producer of luxury sawn timber that has high commercial value in Indonesia. However, exploitation that does not consider sustainable production and uncontrolled illegal logging practices has led to a decline in the ebony population in natural forests. Although the government has issued the Indonesian government the Minister of Forestry Decree No. 31 / KPTS-IV / 86 of 1986 regarding the control of ebony or the prohibition of new logging, but the practice of illegal logging continues until 2019. Apart from that, other challenges such as timber laundering, where illegal wood is mixed with legal timber and both are certified as legal, must also be faced because it is very difficult to distinguish between these legal and illegal logs in which logs look physically identical. Certainly, a method that can accurately distinguish the two origins of the wood is desirable and DNA identification is one that allows the identification and analysis of unique inherent variations in wood that can provide information on the species, origin and location of individual stumps or tree stands. Therefore, this study aims (i) to collect physical timber reference material and extract its associated DNA for the species Diospyros celebica (Ebony) and (ii) to build a genetic reference database for ebony (Diospyros celebica Bakh.) of 16 existing natural populations in South Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, and Central Sulawesi. This research is also conducted to provide wood ID services for the Indonesian timber enforcement community in the coming years.