Kapur (or kapor) is a dipterocarp hardwood from trees of the genus Dryobalanops found in lowland tropical rainforests of Malaysia, Indonesia and South-East Asia.[1] It is a durable construction tropical timber. One variety, D. aromatica, is a source of camphor.

Inside of a custom bass drum shell made of Malaysian kapur wood

Species

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The name kapur can refer to the following species from the Dryobalanops genus:[citation needed]

Deforestation

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Kapur is logged from old-growth forest, often illegally. These forests have developed over the course of hundreds of years. When harvested, these trees are often between 250 and 1000 years old.[2] For a tree from the family Dipterocarpaceae, it takes approximately 100 years to reach a height of 30 meters.[3] Most of the species that are sold as kapur are listed on the IUCN Red List for endangered species. For example, D. fusca is critically endangered.[4]

Overexploitation has led to large scale deforestation in the tropics. The International Tropical Timber Organization is concerned with conserving the habitat of trees producing tropical timber.[citation needed]

According to FSC, certified tropical hardwood can counteract deforestation. Forests that are managed according to the FSC standards, become economically valuable and might therefore not be converted to farmland.[5] However, other organisations advise consumers to stay away from kapur altogether to avoid logging of centuries-old trees.[6][7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Kapur Archived 2010-10-23 at the Wayback Machine at Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation
  2. ^ "Rainforest Relief".
  3. ^ "Rainforest Journal".
  4. ^ "Search for Dryobalanops". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  5. ^ "Together We Are FSC | Tropical timber, part of the solution". marketingtoolkit.fsc.org. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  6. ^ "Rainforest Relief - Kapur".
  7. ^ "Wet Tropics - Good Wood Guide" (PDF).
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