Can Barcoding Trees Combat Illegal Logging?

As the title suggests, a company called Helveta is experimenting with tagging with plastic barcodes to help combat illegal logging in parts of Africa, Asia and South America.

In tropical forests across South America, Africa and Southeast Asia, over a million hardwood trees have had plastic barcodes hammered into them, with the hope that IDing the trees will help with sustainable forestry practices and importation to countries like the US, as well as prevent illegal logging of the coveted hardwoods. Could going the grocery store route slow worldwide deforestation? Check out a video on how the technology works.

Helveta is the company behind the plastic barcode technology. According to Reuters, the plastic barcode tags are hammered into trees and the local forest managers use handheld computer devices to scan the tag as soon as the tree is cut, uploading the information via satellite, wifi or any other internet connection to a secure database. The database tracks tree inventory, including new tags hammered into the stump and felled tree, and provides immediate access to inventory maps, management reports, and audit histories. Trees can then be tracked from their location in the forest all the way through the supply chain to its final destination, lending transparency to the process.

Am I the only one who sees the irony in tagging a tree with a plastic barcode to protect the environment? At least they aren’t paper barcodes.

via Treehugger