The forest is the main source of material and energy for the Malagasy people. It is a raw material available for those of limited income. Wood has many uses: furniture, construction, structures (civil engineering), tools, arts, wood energy or charcoal, fibers, molecules of interest,... In recent years there has been an increase in the consumption of timber for construction, lumber, and timber for other uses, particularly in urban environments. The alarming rate of deforestation limits production and added to this there is illegal exploitation and illegal trade in precious wood. One of the important issues for conservation of Madgascar's forests is a rational and sustainable use of forest resources.

The sustainable use of forest resources calls for knowledge of the properties of the wood and how they vary, in order to choose the right species for different uses, to insure both biological sustainability and the strength of wood material, and to match resources and uses. It would then be possible to propose alternatives to better known species and species that are unwisely exploited. The use of these species, hitherto considered  as secondary, will avoid the total disappearance of some species of precious wood like rosewood (Dalbergia sp.).

The effect of genetic and environmental factors on the properties of wood must be known in order to choose the species suitable for future reforestation. 

It is important to optimize wood processing, to increase yields, reduce losses and waste, especially during primary processing, and to make the best use of related products and co-products at each stage of the production systems in place. Finally, it is essential to develop (i) tools appropriate to the Malagasy context that can be used to characterize the properties of woods rapidly and inexpensively, (ii) and tools to help identify wood to facilitate the traceability of timber and help fight against illegal trade in timber.

The research topics concerning these considerations are as follows:

• What is diversity of woods in Madagascar? What are the determinants (genetic, environmental, forestry practices) of the variability in wood properties?
• What possibilities are there to replace Malagasy species in their main applications?
• How can the transformation of wood be optimized?
• Can near infrared spectroscopy be used to estimate the properties of native and exotic woods and to identify wood species?

The expected results are:

•  Models of variation of wood properties
• Tools to make good use of the co-products of wood processing
• Tools to disseminate available information and data on Malagasy species.
• Near infrared spectroscopy calibration models to predict some wood properties and to identify wood species.