Author: John Halkett (Page 6 of 7)

The orangutan ranks amongst our closest relatives and is perhaps the ultimate wildlife emblem of Southeast Asian forests.

Orangutans need trees

October 19, 2016 / John Halkett

The orangutan is perhaps the ultimate wildlife emblem of Southeast Asian jungles. Its compelling facial expressions and thoughtful, emotion filled eyes have instant appeal. The orangutan ranks amongst our closest relatives. Genetically they are about 97 per cent identical with us – they are intelligent, thoughtful and inventive. Now only in Borneo and Sumatra – the red apes, as they are sometimes called – possess a culture and a sense of beauty. Their name is composed of the Malay words for person (orang) and forest (hutan) that means person of the forest.

The orangutan is the world’s largest… Read more “Orangutans need trees”

Dr Lyndall Bull, director, Forestry Tasmania, and Cr Christine Sindt, Latrobe City, Victoria, congratulate John Halkett at the book launch at the Melbourne Outlook and Insights Conference.

Jungle book now available

September 14, 2016 / John Halkett

Billed as the Book of the Month for September Jungle Jive: Sustaining the forests of Southeast Asia takes a constructive look at jungle conservation, arguing that implementing economic measures that value jungle trees is the way to sustain them and their biological values. The central thesis of the book is the need to inject a dose of economic realism into a subject that has been long on superlatives and emotion, but short on commercial reality.
The book sets out an argument for that in part lies in the increasing prospects of sustainable, legally verified wood production and climate change abatement… Read more “Jungle book now available”

Radiata pine now one of the major plantation trees across temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere and the basis of substantial forest industries.

Radiata pine – ‘super wood’ of the 21st century

August 28, 2016 / John Halkett

Pine plantations began to be established in Australia from the 1870s as insurance against diminishing supplies of timber from native forests. Early attempts to find suitable pine plantation species for Australian conditions gave rise to planting trials using a wide variety of species. Pines from north and central America, Europe and the Mediterranean, from the Himalayas and Eastern Asia were all tried.

While several showed promise, the most successful was Monterey or radiata pine. This species grows naturally only in three small localities on the central Californian coast, in an area … Read more “Radiata pine – ‘super wood’ of the 21st century”

Buttress roots supporting tropical forest trees, Brunei

Buttress roots in Brunei

August 28, 2016 / John Halkett

Been working in Brunei Darussalam recently, including having a look around the Temburong National Park. The park is notable for its extensive pristine tropical forest on hill country, with some interesting inhabitants, including the endangered Proboscis monkey. The trees in the park are numerous in terms of numbers of species and size. The average height of the taller trees rarely exceeds 50 to 60 metres, though individual trees may grow up to 90 metres tall.

Buttress roots are a fascinating feature in tropical forests and I saw some great examples in Brunei. Unlike temperate forests where… Read more “Buttress roots in Brunei”

Stone pines amongst the remains of ancient Rome.

Stone pines – feature of Rome

May 24, 2016 / John Halkett

Just back from working in Rome. Many would say that the defining feature of the place is the colosseum and other ruins from Roman times. Sure they are impressive, but a more universal feature of the city is the extensive plantings of stone pine as street and decorative trees. These highly manicured trees give Rome a distinct look – more so in my opinion that the remnants of Julius Caesar and his mates.

Stone pine (Pinus pinea) also called Italian stone pine, umbrella pine and parasol pine is native to the Mediterranean region, occurring in Southern Europe, Israel, Lebanon and Syria. The tree has been… Read more “Stone pines – feature of Rome”

Jungle Jive: Sustaining the forests of Southeast Asia. — Jungle Jive: Sustaining the forests of Southeast Asia coming soon.

Early warning – book on its way

May 4, 2016 / John Halkett

A bit of early warning, my new book: Jungle Jive: Sustaining the forests of Southeast Asia should be published in the second half of May. You can go the publisher’s website to place an early order if you want to do so.

This book attempts to paints a picture of the critical role and importance of the jungles to Southeast Asia, detailing their diversity, the home they provide for countless animals large and small; their importance to tens of millions of human inhabitants, and the beauty and versatility of the timber and other products they provide. It sets out an argument for the management of tropical… Read more “Early warning – book on its way”

Harvesting radiata pine – blog coming soon.

Feedback on correspondence

May 4, 2016 / John Halkett

We have had an issue with the posting of comments directly on the blog site – corrected now. That aside, I have received some interesting emails and even a positive, pleasant comment from the Federal Government Department of Apiculture and Water Resources – so thanks.

Roger Underwood from Western Australia likes the blog and sent me an article advocating the planting of northern hemisphere deciduous trees in bushfire-prone areas of WA. His article also provides a really interesting commentary on H L Edlin’s “wonderful book” Trees, Woods and Man.
The article is really quite long Roger so we are… Read more “Feedback on correspondence”

Sole remaining mahogany tree from those planted in 1885.

Penang mahogany tree

April 12, 2016 / John Halkett

Just back from working in Penang, Malaysia. This mahogany (Khaya senegalensis) tree is the sole remaining survivor of those planted in the church grounds in1885.

The church, St George The Martyr, is the oldest Anglican church in Southeast Asia. It was built by convicts brought in from India in 1819. A critical component of the church’s construction was mahogany beams that travelled from India to Penang on the same ship as the convicts.

The church was damaged by Japanese bombing in 1941 and repaired in 1948. It was given national heritage status by the Malaysian Government in 2007, together… Read more “Penang mahogany tree”

Confiscated boat to be disassembled and the timber recycled.

Disassembling and recycling confiscated boats saves trees

April 12, 2016 / John Halkett

For perhaps a couple of decades now governments in Southeast Asia, and the Australian Government have been sinking or otherwise destroying boats seized because of alleged people smuggling and illegal fishing activities. The motive behind this action seems to have been to deny perpetrators the opportunity to reuse these vessels for unlawful purposes.

Most of these boats originate from Indonesia and are made from high quality Indonesian or Malaysian hardwood timber. Some contain teak.

To their credit the Malaysian Government has recently permitted confiscated boats to be disassembled,… Read more “Disassembling and recycling confiscated boats saves trees”

Eucalypt group comprised of more than 700 species of trees and shrubs.

Gum tree – world’s most successful tree

March 21, 2016 / John Halkett

Considering that Australia is the home of the gum tree, compared with other countries, we have been slow in planting our own eucalypts in tree plantations. Although more than 14 million hectares of gum trees have been planted across the world.

Eucalypts account for more than 70 per cent of the trees in Australia’s natural forests and woodlands, growing in a wide range of climates from the hot tropics to near-desert inland plains to alpine snowfields. Evolving from rainforest ancestors, eucalypts have adapted to an environment where nutrient-poor soils are common and a dry environment has become… Read more “Gum tree – world’s most successful tree”