PROJECT DURATION
October 1966 – October 1976
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
In the 1960s wood research constituted a very young field of science in Thailand and only very limited knowledge on the qualities and characteristics of local woods and timber was available. Due to the overexploitation of the Thai forests, however, the amount formerly frequently used woods such as teak was declining. In order to maintain a steady supply of timber for export and domestic use the Forest Products Research Division had been assigned the task of analyzing local wood species (especially lumber) with regards to their possible utilizations. In this framework Thai-German technical cooperation supported the Forest Products Research Division over a period of ten years. A very important aspect of the project was material assistance, i.e. the procurement of machines and the equipping of laboratories. Furthermore counterpart training played an important role, for example in the form of briefings concerning the handling of machines, introduction to systematic working methods, and the development of work and research plans. By combining these activities a viable institute could be established which at the end of the project’s duration was able to conduct research independently and in the long term promises to have positive effects of the management and preservation of the Thai forests.