Aug/Sept 2007

Illegal logging in Indonesia could be cut down radically through a tracking system implemented by Sybase iAnywhere in association with Helveta, a specialist in this field. Its solutions are designed to provide auditable traceability and chain of custody control in the timber and food production sectors.

The TracElite solution is being used in the vast 2.5 million hectare Perum Perhutani plantation, which is managed under the advice of The Tropical Forest Trust. It combines handheld computing and Internet technologies, drawing on iAnywhere's UltraLite and MobiLink mobile technologies.

The logging process starts with pre-harvest inventory recording in the plantation using a sophisticated but low-cost barcode tagging system. The system pinpoints tree locations, giving 'back-to-stump' traceability, and uses this approach to prevent timber of non-verifiable origin entering the supply chain.

Initially the system is being used in two pilot sites, but later it will be rolled out to a further 55 locations.

 

According to Sybase research, 1.5 acres of rainforest are destroyed every second as a result of illegal logging - an activity the World Bank estimates is costing developing countries in excess of $10 billion a year.