Sarawak is home to about 3,000 timber species. For research and documentation purposes, wood specimens are collected in a xylarium, or a wood library. Sarawak Forest Department’s xylarium, located at Timber Research and Technical Training Centre (TRTTC), was founded in 1956. Up to date, it housed a total collection of 16,000 wood samples (consists of 88 families, 361 genera and 1573 species).

Sarawak Xylarium – Wood Collection Library

TRTTC had started the digitalization of wood anatomy database in 2015 and at the moment a total of 500 timber species had been digitized. This activity is still on-going.

Wood anatomy is very important for microscopic identification of timber. This anatomical method still represents a highly efficient and effective way for wood identifying and wood grouping in regard to trading, enforcement purposes, wood related conflict resolution and to wood conservation effort especially the CITES listed and protected species.

Programs/initiatives planned:

• To strengthen enforcement capacity through wood identification on illegal logging and timber trade - To develop AI models of Sarawak timber genus for automated wood identification application through smartphones.
• To establish Forest Department, Sarawak through the Xylarium as credible center of reference for wood ID in tropical timbers - Collaboration with –IAWA IUFRO bodies or any international recognized institution in wood Id technology

These programs are carried-out under the RMKe-11 project funding.

A paper on wood identification and anatomy entitled “GTTN: A Sarawak’s Experience through Sarawak Timber Legality Verification System (STLVS) and Identification of Woods” was presented during the IAWA-IUFRO International Symposium, Beijing, China in May 2019.

And, FD/TRTTC Xylarium was featured in IAWA-IUFRO website in February 2020.