Abstract :
Forestry is essential to the economies of many developing nations. However, this sector faces increasing social and economic pressures due to an increasing demand for products such as food, fodder, energy, wood and non-wood forest products. As a consequence, considerable areas of forest land have been converted into agriculture and other forms of landuse. In many countries, log production from natural forests is declining and will likely continue to do so in the future. In the case of Malaysia, over the last two decades, production of round wood from natural forests has reduced from 41 to 21 million m3. It is anticipated that the supply of logs will gradually decline and eventually stabilise at around 18 million m3 year%^-1. This log production falls short of the capacity of primary processing timber industries in the country. The shortfall will need to be met by promoting sustainable use of existing woody material. One solution is to utilise readily available cellulosic biomass resources from agricultural tree crops as they not only provide sources of wood products, but also produce other benefits that support basic human needs and economic development.
