A review of dipterocarps - Center for International Forestry Research

Non-Timber Forest Products
from Dipterocarps
M.P. Shiva and I. Jantan
Introduction
In the last half of the twentieth century timber has become
the most important economic product from dipterocarps,
but it does not have much impact on rural communities.
Instead, the non-timber forest products (NTFPs) from
dipterocarps such as nuts, dammar, resin and camphor,
have a larger impact on the economies of the rural people
and forest dwellers. In the past several decades synthetic
materials have diminished the value of some dipterocarp
NTFPs but at the same time others are beginning to gain
value. As a result researchers have paid little attention to
NTFPs and there is little detailed information on them.
Their value to rural communities would have been better
appreciated and critical in balancing the forces favouring
logging against other socio-economic benefits. The
advantages of managing NTFPs, previously known as
minor forest products, are often ignored. Unlike timber,
they are available at more frequent intervals and their
harvesting is usually less destructive to the tree. Their
value can be high, and as in some cases described here,
may even pay towards the establishment of plantations
for their production. In this chapter, the various NTFPs
from dipterocarps are described, and wherever possible
additional information on the methods of extraction,
their industrial application and economic value is given.
Ancient Records of Dipterocarps
Perhaps the oldest written records of dipterocarps come
from India; records of utilisation of dipterocarp timber
and other products exist there since ancient times. The
birth place of Buddha was Lumbini, situated on the bank
of the River Rohini where there were groves of Shorea
robusta (sal), called ‘Mangala Salvana’. Sukraniti and
Kautilya have regarded sal amongst the strongest timber
Chapter 10
yielding trees of the forest. Plant remains excavated from
Pataliputra show that sal was used for a wooden palisade
made 2000 years ago. In Southeast Asia there is a long
tradition of the use of NTFPs from dipterocarps. Their
trade was extensive, and from the 1st century A.D.
Chinese and Indian traders regularly visited the Southeast
Asian ports for these products. Marco Polo’s chronicles
of 1299 mention the trade of camphor (from
Dryobalanops aromatica) by Arabs since the 6th
century.
NTFPs From Dipterocarps
Much of the knowledge on the use of dipterocarp NTFPs
is concentrated in two main regions, South Asia and
Southeast Asia (mainly Indonesia, Malaysia, and the
Philippines). In both regions, the dipterocarp products
are essentially the same and four broad classes are
predominant, viz., resins, dammar, camphor and butter
fat. Besides these principal products, other plant parts,
such as leaves and bark, are used to derive certain
products. In both regions the extraction methods are
common, however, the specific species yielding these
products vary. Despite their importance, they have not
been systematically exploited and have remained
undervalued.
Resins
The dipterocarps are an important source of resins. The
resin is secreted in cavities, and normally oozes out
through the bark. The resins are of two kinds. The first is
a liquid resin which contains resinous material and
essential oils (oleoresins), remains liquid in nature and
has a distinct aroma. It is often referred to as oleoresin
in literature. Commercial production is often through
artificial wounding. The second is the hard resin which