Forest industry stakeholders are coming together to urge Guyanese to use cheaper and equally good species of wood to help counter the shortage of popular and often used ones.
Theresa Madray of the Forest Products Development and Marketing Council (FPDMC) told Stabroek News that her organization and others want to make the public aware of the other species.
“We are trying to get the industry to look at other alternative species of hardwood in an effort to reduce the pressure on greenheart, kabacali, purpleheart and crabwood,” she said.
This move comes in the wake of a shortage of often-used species, a phenomenon that has caused government to impose an indefinite restriction on the export of logs and lumber. Govern-ment has also threatened to take back some idle or under-producing logging concessions to cater for the construction boom in the country.
Meanwhile, the FPDMC, Guyana Forestry Commis-sion (GFC) and the Forest Products Association (FPA) have suggested that fukadi, dalli, wadara, iteballi, futui and kurokai be used for furniture, interior and exterior joinery, broom sticks, light carpentry and plywood. Persons in heavy construction, posts, bridges, decking and doors can turn to limonaballi, burada, morabukea and suya.
Flooring and wall panelling can be done with darina, dakamaballi, itikiboroballi and wamara.
“These species are also found to be cost-effective and more available on the local market,” the entities said.
A sensitizing of the public exercise will be carried out at GuyExpo where persons will be given first-hand information and will be able to see and feel the textures of the alternative species.
