Australian Acacia to be Grown for Timber in Roraima
Gazeta Mercantil Amazonas
August 31, 2000
A group of businessmen, led by Michael Vogel, is investing in a project to plant an Australian acacia, called acacia magium, in Roraima, to be exported to the European market with the ISO 14,000 "green seal". The project is called "Green Gold;" the acacia grows faster in Roraima soil than other species, and even provides a form of fertiliser for future generations in the ground cover of dead leaves, which is inhabited by a nitrogen- fixing fungus. Vogel plans to ship the harvested timber to Europe via Georgetown, Guyana, and is depending on the government project "Northern Arc" that will connect the Brazilian Amazon to Guyana, French Guyana, and Suriname. Otherwise, the timber will have to be exported via Belém, which would cost more. In any case, Vogel expects results in three years, when the first trees - about a third of the total number planted - are cut down.