Scientist Zhang Huarong walks through the forest near his Hong Kong research lab, gesturing towards a rotting incense tree stump. It is one of over a dozen trees illegally cut for the valuable wood inside.
Not far from the city’s urban centres are forests home to trees that produce fragrant – and valuable – agarwood. Agarwood is used in several expensive products, from incense and perfume to traditional Chinese medicine.
Environmentalists say illegal incense tree cutting is on the rise in Hong Kong, fuelled by black market demand.
Scientists like Huarong are fighting back by taking DNA samples from each plant and creating a database to help authorities understand how the trees can be better conserved.
Hong Kong has long been a hub for sweet-smelling aromatic products. The city’s name – translating to “fragrant harbour” – is commonly linked to the area’s history of incense production and sale.
Agarwood is created when incense trees are cut, which causes the plant to produce a dark resin to prevent infection. The product then takes the form of fragrant resinous wood.
