These two sessions will provide a better understanding of the historical, religious, artistic and other social values of wood and forest culture both for wood and non-wood forest products. The talks will emphasize the economic, environmental, and scientific impacts to different regions or countries in the world as a result of these social values. Forests have provided a rich heritage to many parts of the world, as reflected in the ancient and modern wood and non-wood trade, contemporary art and literature, and the wide use of forests and forest products. Different regions of the world have developed distinct forest cultural tradition and utilization of various products from the forest. The first session will be more of the basic understanding and the second session will be more applied principles. For example in the applied area, we hope to have a wooden musical instrument maker show how the instrument is made.Our sessions fit very well into the Congress theme, A, by showing the vital role that forest and wood culture play in the lives of both rural and urban people. Forest ethics, forest history and culture, education, and community well-being are an integral part of this theme and our session objectives. Our sessions also fit well into the Congress theme, Forests and Forest Products for a Greener Future, by impacting the areas of managing conflicting needs of forest stakeholders; changing societal values, institutions and forest governance structures under different socio-cultural conditions and their role in sustainable management.
15:30 - 15:50
Wood has been part of Indian culture since time immemorial. Most religious and domestic architecture in India, from its very inception, was wood-based. In the year 1918 a detail account was published on Indian timbers mentioning the usage of over 1400 tree species. This knowledge became the basis for furthering scientific studies on wood identification, their properties and efficient utilization. Indian Standards were formulated to list wood species recommended for various purposes like Railway sleepers, Defense tools, construction, cooling towers, sports goods etc.
The presentation shall draw a chronology of wood traditions in India through pre-historic period and would throw light on how this knowledge has been utilized in recent time. An account shall be given on woods used traditionally for construction, dockyard, mortars, coffins, charcoal, sculptures, wicker work, toys, musical instruments, agriculture implements, incense etc. utilizing various properties of wood like strength, durability, shock absorbance, self lubricating, weight, calorific value etc. It shall also throw light on how this already prevailing age old knowledge has been presently useful in efficient utilization of the wood.
Wood species used in temples, shipbuilding, furniture, musical instruments, toys etc. suggest well-developed and immortal wood traditions in India that still holds relevance today. The tradition of usage of various medicinal woods is still in practice today, the account of which dates back to several centuries. The wood explorations have also led in throwing light on broad distribution of trees and thus provide useful information for their rehabilitation.
15:50 - 16:10
The aim of presentatiton is to describe and analyse history and current status, including ongoing conflicts and future prospects, of perception and protection of Schwarzenberg Floating Canal as an important cultural monument and heritage object of forestry, timber and wood utilisation in the Central Europe. The paper is based on study of historical sources, analysis of current conservation and heritage policies in the Czech Republic, public and media coverage of the topic and field anthropological research. The Canal - one of the most remarkable water structures of its times - was built in two phases from 1789 to 1822 to transport firewood and timber from the Šumava (Böhmerwald) mountains to Vienna, thus enabling utilization of formerly inaccessible parts of the Šumava forests. Total length of the waterway was 89,7 km and was complemented with hundreds of bridges, sluices, water moats and gates. Construction of the Canal intensified logging in the South-Western Šumava, provoked the colonisation of area and led to gradual transformation of the Šumava forests in the course of 19th Century. However only a shorter part of the Canal was used in the 20th Century and after the 2nd WW the waterway was abandoned and heavily damaged. On the other hand it has been listed as a cultural monument since 1963 and partly renovated from 1980s to 2001. After the establishment of Šumava national park in 1991, however, the Canal became an unwanted heritage: it clearly shows that forests in Šumava are much more of a biocultural heritage than untouched nature.
16:10 - 16:30
Wood culture can be defined as “The value and the way we use wood in our society.” The International Wood Culture Society (IWCS) was established over a decade ago to raise public awareness of wood as an eco-friendly biomaterial and encourage academic research and responsible wood usage for a sustainable wood future. The Society established World Wood Day (WWD) on March 21st each year to celebrate the human use of and activities with wood, as well as attitudes toward wood, wood products and wood-related environments. To manage these celebrations, the World Wood Day Foundation (WWDF) was established in 2013. The Foundation also manages funds and grants for World Wood Day and the global research, education and promotion of wood culture.
The first World Wood Day (WWD) celebration was held in Dar Es Salam, Tanzania in 2013; followed by a new country each year. Activities at each celebration include wood carving, wood turning, a technical symposium, tree planting, a wooden instrument musical festival, furniture making, wooden folk art, a children’s program, wood design, and a collaborative project. These programs continue our wood heritage and traditions with creative new ideas for our daily development and provide a greater appreciation for the interplay between wood, nature, and the people who work with and use wood. This talk will give examples of how these goals are accomplished.
16:30 - 16:50
To talk about the musical instrument production in the Ilha dos Valadares, and how the craftsmen over there work with the various types of wood to bring this instruments to life.
16:50 - 17:00
Selective logging have been occured for more than three centuries in the Amazon and, in the past, it was made for subsistence in lowland forests and, therefore, it was very low impact. The intensification of logging occurred in the 1970s, mainly due to the construction of roads, depletion of southern and southeastern stocks, and uncontrolled exploitation. These factors led the Amazon to the position of the world's second largest producer of tropical timber, in which Pará and Mato Grosso the main producing states. At Mato Grosso state, timber sector plays an important economic role, contributing strongly to the state's revenues and generating jobs. In this context, the present study aimed to characterize the municipalities in the north of the state of Mato Grosso considering their participation in the wood production chain, according to a typology of municipalities' influence patterns in the state's timber sector, and the profile socioeconomic context in which they are inserted. The results showed that there are five different patterns: 1) municipalities with highly developed industry, 2) municipalities with primary industries with high wood processing capacity, 3) municipalities with industries with low processing capacity and high lumber stock, 4) few lumber and small timber industries, and 5) municipalities with virtually no logging and poor-quality stock. Regarding the socioeconomic characterization, the results showed that the municipalities with high industrialization have the highest indicators analyzed.
17:00 - 17:10
The production of natural Christmas trees is a niche between forest and agriculture sectors. In Italy, Christmas tree cultivation is a traditional activity, typical in upper hills and mountains, which was very common and remunerative in some areas. Since a long time, the market of natural tree underwent the competition of the plastic one, which is often considered by customers as more practical, durable and efficient in terms of environmental sustainability. The aim of this study was to answer to the question: “is it better the natural or the plastic Christmas tree?”. To answer, under an environmentally point of view, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was applied to compare the two different kinds of product. The study has been divided in four phases:
- Analysis of customer preferences about Christmas tree;
- Data collection on the production of both natural and artificial trees, considering the most common products available on the market in central Italy (local production chain for natural trees and industrial production in China for plastic ones).
- Identification of system boundaries; the analysis is a cradle to grave LCA, being all the phases of life cycle included in the analysis, from raw material production to disposal of the product at the end of its life.
- Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) and comparison of results with Gabi software.
In this contribution, the best environmental profile and the hotspot in CO2eq emission, which is a parameter used as indicator for Greenhouse Gas (GhG) impact category, will be presented.
17:10 - 17:20
The art of Tea as it exists in Japan today is the legacy of Sen Rikyu, a 16th century Tea Master who lived when war prevailed among the provinces in Japan. After his death, his philosophy that focused on simplicity has lived in the art of Tea. Various kinds of utensils made from bamboo and solid wood that can be returned to the soil have been representing an important philosophy in old Japanese culture. It comes from a background that Japanese people tend to consider that beauty exists in humble simplicity, a gradual deterioration caused by the service life, and some fragility of biological materials. This paper includes introduction of traditional tea culture and craft items, which has survived for long years in Japan. It might give us some insight on how we can keep linkage between the tradition and the modern society.