The benefits of collaborative research in the timber and forest industry
2022-02-25
Gerak Saga and Asian Forestry Company (Sabah) (“AFCS”); companies managed by Forest Solutions Malaysia, are two of the seven proud members of the Borneo Forestry Cooperative (“BFC”) along with Sabah Softwood Berhad, Acacia Forest Industries Sdn Bhd, Sapulut Forest Development Sdn Bhd, Samling Reforestation Sdn Bhd, and Sabah Forest Industries Sdn Bhd.
The BFC was founded in 2009, jointly by Sabah Softwoods Berhad and AFCS. This collaboration began with a set of principles under which forestry companies in Borneo could work together and share research findings to improve the productivity and profitability of tree plantations. With the common goal of facilitating research toward a successful and sustainable future for the timber industry in the region, BFC and its members have well-established relationships and an open line of communication that greatly benefit all parties.
The collaboration under BFC allows research and development workloads to be spread across members’ plantations and reduces the cost of establishing research trials and germplasm capture. This is a major benefit where research can be extended beyond what an isolated company can achieve, as they will face limiting factors such as access to funding, location, resources and manpower. It also increases the effective research population size, where there is more genetic gain from more trials and more genetic variation expressed across more sites. The BFC collaboration also serves as one of the risk mitigation efforts for members, having germplasm spread across sites and with the availability of backup germplasm from threats such as fire and trial damage.
This type of collaborative research in the forest plantation allows for the exchange of ideas while fostering an environment for staff of the members to improve their skills and capacity through expert mentoring and skills transfer on tree improvement research, seedling management and growth, plant nutrition, nursery management, tree assessment, data analysis and interpretation, and pests and diseases monitoring. Through this, the robustness of studies are improved, maintaining integrity and transparency across the board.
As BFC operates under the principles of participation, collaboration and education, it encourages its members to do so too. When research is shared across an industry like forest management, outputs are maximised, networks are expanded and funding is attracted.
Embracing the new and progressive future is essential to success, and encouraging stakeholders of the industry to take initiative is something that Forest Solutions stands by, and it can propel sustainable forestry towards a successful and profitable future.
