Overview
The project aimed to encourage investment in planted timber resources in Vanuatu through better management and use of whitewood-based plantation and agroforestry systems.
Whitewood is a native timber species in Vanuatu that was previously harvested from natural stands and recently has been grown in plantations and woodlots. To offset the funds expended on large volumes of imported pine, a whitewood plantation industry is being encouraged to develop.
This project addressed technical and social issues around developing a plantation-based industry along the entire value chain. This project, along with the first Whitewood project (FST/2005/0890), researched silvicultural and agroforestry systems to grow trees quickly and efficiently and developed products and markets for low value wood that must be used to make plantation growing profitable.
It also investigated options for grower groups to provide extension and market access for many small growers, and to analyse the economics of whitewood plantations using the information and data generated.