WHAT FUTURE FOR THE TECHNOLOGICAL GAP BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH?
For most of the twentieth century, research and the resulting technological innovations were mainly in the hands of temperate industrialized countries. Seldom have innovations first developed specifically for tropical woods been transferred to temperate or cold-climate woods. One case that comes to mind is stellite tipping, a technique developed for metal machining and adapted by the International Cooperation Centre on Agrarian Research for Development’s Forêt programme (CIRAD-Forêt), the French forest research and development organization for tropical regions. The technique has now been extended to all sawing operations and is used as widely for temperate as for tropical woods. Tropical countries are increasingly in a position to benefit from the technological developments already introduced in the North, adapted to their needs if necessary. The emergence of a strong demand for wood as a construction material and a source of energy in certain tropical regions where there are highly in
