Ebony tree in Indonesia on brink of extinction

Antara 18 Jul 08;

Depok, W. Java, (ANTARA News) - The ebony tree (Diospyros celebica) population in Indonesia is on the brink of extinction, Forestry Minister MS Kaban said here Thursday.

"Nowadays, we can hardly find ebony wood," Kaban said after a ceremony marking the anniversary of Al-Hamidiyah Islamic boarding school in Sawangan sub district in Depok.

He said the ebony population was growing much slower than the rate at which it was being exploited in its habitat in Central Sulawesi.

Ebony wood exports had reached its peak of 26,000 cubic meters in 1973 with the rare wood mostly going to Taiwan and China.

Exports continued to decline due to scarce supply in its habitat.

The so-called black wood sold at Rp5 to 6 million per cubic meter. It takes an ebony tree some 90 to 100 years to become fully grown.

Kaban said, the tree`s slow growth which was not balanced by replanting efforts had pushed the highly-prized tree to the brink of extinction.

The minister called on people to start replanting ebony trees. "This is for the future of the next generations," he added.

Ebony is a hard, heavy and durable wood. Some have dark brown color, black, or black with reddish spots. But the black colored one was the most highly prized.

In international trade, Sulawesi black wood was also known as Macassar ebony, Coromandel ebony, streaked ebony, or black ebony.(*)