In the Philippines, lapnisan or agar is found only in the heart of the thickest jungles of Mindanao and the Visayas. But lapnisan is an endangered species and the government has it under its protection. It is a favorite scent of perfumers, incense makers, and candlemakers. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) says it is illegal to buy, sell, collect, or transport any part of agarwood or. The treasure is one of the rarest trees in the world: lapnisan or agarwood. Darker wood likely means the tree has an infection and produces a fragrant scent. The Bubinga is among the most expensive wood in the world, which is also a flowering plant, belonging to the Fabaceae Bubinga family. It is an excellent wood for joinery and furniture, and often replaces the use of Lauan. The DENR official warned those planning to cut Lapnisan and Lanete trees that they will face charges for violation of the Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines and Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act. From June to early August this year, authorities have already confiscated 13.58 kilograms of agarwood with an estimated value of PHP1.33 million. Sellers hardly use the word agarwood or. On social media platforms, there are illicit groups that were created specifically for the sole trade of agarwood. It has notes of soft florals, but what makes its woody scent so unique are the accents of musk, vanilla, and bright fruits. "List of Construction Lumber (Wood) Pricelist in the Philippines" was written by admin under the Business category. Perfumers and incense makers are willing to pay millions of dollars for a liter of this “liquid gold.” In 2013, agarwood trade had a global value of $8 billion. “People in the communities are tempted to engage in this illegal activity since agar is the most expensive wood in the world and considered as liquid gold.”. It has been read 104753 times and generated 26 comments. “In the Philippines, we don’t have technologies to find out if the host tree has agarwood. This lucrative trade resulted in indiscriminate poaching of potential host trees,” Barcelo told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Thursday. Agarwood forms when such trees as Lapnisan and Lanete become infected with a type of mold. The blanket ban on lapnisan does not prevent poachers and traders from removing them from the jungles. © 2019 EsquireMag.ph, All Rights Reserved. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and … Relative to its value, it is actually illegal in the Philippines to buy or possess Agarwood. Foreigners travel to the Philippines and hike to remote villages seeking help to find the rare tree. There is a gold rush happening in the jungles of the Philippines. Who Is Joseph Pemberton, the Man Who Killed Jennifer Laude? You can tell if a tree is infected by looking at the color of its wood. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Regional Director Crizaldy Barcelo on Thursday (September 26, 2019) shows a piece of wood from Lapnisan tree cut by poachers in Southern Leyte in search of the expensive agarwood. A kilo of agarwood fetches as much as P750,000. The resin-embedded wood is valued in Arabic-middle eastern culture for its distinctive fragrance and used for incense and perfumes. On August 27, the DENR regional office here formed the Agarwood Watch and Response Team to formulate procedures and implement suitable courses of action to address relevant issues from the arrest of violators, administrative adjudication, filing and disposition of cases. Depending on the quality of the raw materials, agarwood emits different scents. Traders keep their transactions secret by masquerading agarwood as gadgets. There is a gold rush happening in the jungles of the Philippines. does not prevent poachers and traders from removing them from the jungles. The treasure is one of the rarest trees in the world: . The article was created on 08 March 2018 and updated on 08 March 2018 . It only becomes a sought-after material when it has become infected with a type of mold, which triggers a defensive reaction from the tree to produce a dark, fragrant substance. (PNA photo by Sarwell Meniano). By Sarwell Meniano is an endangered species and the government has it under its protection. We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on Esquiremag.ph. A kilo of the tree’s agarwood is worth P750,000. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use, SC clears NoCot guv, ex-hubby of criminal charges, NegOcc vice guv, prov’l board offices shut down for 7 days, Rebel returnees in Pangasinan get farm machinery, livelihood aids, Exec sees Baguio’s urban decay by 2043 if not addressed soon, NegOcc board members hold online session as offices sanitized, Ship-to-ship LNG transfer operations resume in Subic, Dinagat carpenters get help to build beds for Covid care centers, Baguio limits religious services to 10% capacity, Village councilor nabbed for hoarding, selling overpriced alcohol, Presidential Communications Operations Office. Tricia Robredo, Daughter of the Vice President, Graduates from Med School. Sellers hardly use the word agarwood or lapnisan in their dealings but would use codenames. DENR Regional Director Crizaldy Barcelo said some traders from Mindanao have been coming to the region, expressing their intention to buy agarwood -- sometimes described as liquid gold -- extracted from host trees locally known as Lapnisan and Lanete. It is also the world’s most expensive tree. The team from DENR, police, and military seized expensive forest products in Abuyog, Leyte; Silago, Southern Leyte; and Babatngon, Leyte. Below is an example of a post selling lapnisan online. It is hard to cultivate, which is why it remains a very rare species. Copyright 2020 Philippine News Agency.