COMPARING FOREST WOOD SUPPLY CHAINS OF NATURAL FORESTS IN VIETNAM USING SELECTED INDICATORS OF SUSTAINABILITY

Abstract

TRAN VT & BECKER G. 2013. Comparing forest wood supply chains of natural forests in Vietnam using selected indicators of sustainability. In the north of Vietnam, steep slopes are common. Harvesting is carried out using chain saws. Sawing of saw logs into small sawn wood is done at the felling site. The sawn wood is extracted by buffaloes to lower landing and transported further by trucks to the industry (FWSC1). In the centre and south of Vietnam, slopes are gentler. Harvesting is partly mechanised using chain saws for felling and tractors equipped with cables or winches for extracting saw logs to lower landing and then transported further with trucks to the industry (FWSC2). A sustainability impact assessment showed that FWSC2 had more positive impacts with 30% lower production cost, caused less occupational accidents but disturbed more areas on the ground compared with FWSC1.