F&P is increasing activities in the US

 

A new strategy has been launched to raise awareness of and grow support for the Fair&Precious (F&P) tropical timber promotional campaign in the US

F&P founder, the International Tropical Timber Technical Association (ATIBT), has appointed US-based Nathalie Bouville as the focal point consultant for the project. She’s tasked with cultivating interest in the campaign and encouraging US organisations and companies to join and become partners. “My role centers on formulating a growth strategy tailored to the USA market and steering this initiative to bolster membership engagement”, she said. The pivotal moment to date in the communications effort was the presentation of ATIBT and F&P at the World of Wood Convention held in Charlotte, South Carolina, in April 2023. “The event, organized by the International Wood Products Association (IWPA), provided a prime opportunity to showcase ATIBT and to present the distinctive features of the F&P platform”, said Ms. Bouville. “Building on this foundation, I am proactively engaged with a specifically targeted group of tropical wood importers via email, phone calls, and webinars, to introduce them to the value of F&P. The aim is not only to facilitate familiarity but also to cultivate a dynamic community of tropical wood importers integrated into the ATIBT/F&P ecosystem.”

She reports that, while most US importers are familiar with Latin American wood types, they are less knowledgeable about African species and their properties. “They are not used to dealing with Africa, especially the francophone central region”, said Ms. Bouville. “Some might even have negative preconceived ideas about African timber, so they are curious to learn more. They want support to identify new sources of supply, help in understanding legal frameworks, and in general how to do business in these unknown territories.”

 

The American tropical timber market is reported traditionally to have been price-led and focused on ensuring transactions are legally sound. “The notion of sustainability up to very recently was not necessarily seen as a priority”, said Ms. Bouville. “But the climate crisis and the need for a drastic change in environmental practices has finally hit the American public and therefore the business world has to adapt to it. There is an increased pressure to green all business sectors and I can testify from my interactions with importers that sustainability will be top of their list in the future. I am optimistic, therefore, that they will see the benefits of joining ATIBT and F&P. Furthermore, the new CITES listings which will restrict imports of ipe and cumaru and the general narrative about tropical wood from the Amazon can be seen as a market opportunity for wood from other regions, contributing further to a more sustainable timber market in the USA.” ATIBT is also sharing its market resources and insights on the African tropical timber sector with the IWPA and the organizations are in the process of signing a partnership agreement. They have already had several joint meetings on CITES topics.

 

Fair&Precious Partners in the spotlight: Eticwood

 

In the latest of our interviews with Fair&Precious partners, the STTC/F&P Newsletter talks to Jerome Laporte, Founder and Director of tropical forestry and agroforestry consultant and solutions provider ETICWOOD  

STTC/F&P: How would you describe ETICWOOD, who you are, what you do, and what you stand for as a  business?

Jerome Laporte: ETICWOOD is a consultancy focused on sustainability in tropical forestry and agroforestry. Through advice, expertise, and technical assistance on the ground it aims to provide sustainable, inclusive solutions to the climate crisis and biodiversity erosion.
Eticwood comprises a team of dynamic engineers, supported by a network of international experts. It sees itself as an explorer and developer of innovative solutions, that align ecosystem productivity, the well-being of local populations, and the competitiveness of companies to preserve natural environments.  The economic and social empowerment of communities and the implementation of sustainable development initiatives in agriculture and agroforestry are among our ongoing concerns.  Eticwood is also committed to playing an active role in implementing the solutions proposed to customers. As such, teaming up with DURWOOD, it created the ECOCOA chocolate factory to produce zero deforestation, sustainable, and fair fine chocolate from cocoa beans from ETICWOOD’s field projects. Thanks to ECOCOA, ETICWOOD not only provides advice and technical assistance to forest communities involved in cocoa, but it also helps give value to their production at a fair price while guaranteeing and promoting its origin.

 

STTC/F&P: Why did you become a Fair&Precious partner?

JL: Fair&Precious promotes sustainable and responsible business practices, which can enhance the reputation of our companies as supplying environmentally friendly, fair-trade brands. As a member, our companies should be able to establish relationships with like-minded businesses, which can support our growth. Fair&Precious also encourages transparency in supply chains, which can help our companies  improve the quality of our products and services and build customer trust.

 

STTC/F&P: Is enough being done to communicate that use of sustainable tropical forest products can benefit people and the climate?

JL: Social and environmental positives of tropical products are increasingly understood by consumers. As one of the main selling points we highlight that  “eating our chocolate helps to protect elephants and gorillas living in Africa’s rainforest, while providing jobs to remote communities”. That said, ETICWOOD’s field projects and ECOCOA are still small and  niche and we need to upscale.

At the same time, tropical goods bashing is still prevalent and many are still associated with deforestation and/or low social standards. Therefore, intensive communications campaigns have to take this on and promote success stories. We also believe a private agroforestry certification process, ensuring zero-deforestation, should be created to increase visibility and credibility of these goods. It is critical too that public donors  support local zero-deforestation commodity field projects, such as the responsible cocoa initiative ETICWOOD and Pallisco undertook in Cameroon backed by AFD, the French Development Agency. Furthermore, the introduction of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) means added  support needs to be provided to companies like ours, so it’s not just the most powerful businesses that remain competitive and able to keep selling to Europe.

I believe that the timber industry (possibly through the ATIBT and F&P) should also develop communication initiatives on FSC and PEFC certification to ensure and highlight that they retain value in the framework of the EUDR.

 

STTC/F&P: Can sustainable tropical forest products compete on price?

JL: Competing on prices is a tricky debate and depends often on business strategy. For example, ECOCOA’s chocolate is high-quality made from responsibly sourced, traceable cocoa, while our selling price is still comparable with, if not lower than that of other chocolates made from lower-standard cocoa in environmental and social terms. We would not source products or employ people at unfair rates, and we also believe that the products and services we sell must be affordable and not only for the elite. We don’t believe the two are mutually exclusive. It is just normal practice for us to ensure the fair origin of our goods and the good labor conditions of our workers and partners, while regulations such as the EUTR and EUDR exist to take care of unfair actors who might otherwise undercut ethical suppliers.

What we also see is the market becoming increasingly sensitive to ‘storytelling’. Consumers want to know what they have on their plate and where it comes from. Even the most concerned consumers may be unwilling to pay a premium to ensure the origin of tropical forest products, but at the same time, they may look to alternatives if unconvinced about the social and environmental claims of goods.

 

STTC/F&P: You are involved in the forestry/timber and cocoa sectors. Do you see these as compatible and complementary businesses in developing tropical countries?

JL: In the current context of developing tropical countries and especially in our remote working areas, with poor public services, where the economic development of an entire region relies often only on local timber companies, compatibility between forestry and agroforestry will become one of the key aspects of tomorrow’s forestry. Strategic partnerships between companies active in both sectors will help alleviate the pressure on timber companies from rapidly growing local populations around their concessions who are legitimately looking for economic opportunities.

ETICWOOD tested and implemented this compatibility with Pallisco in Cameroon while developing a sustainable cocoa sector with different communities around their concession. The outcomes are very promising in terms of capacity building of cooperatives, job creation in remote communities, and adding value to existing cocoa plantations. If the project was upscaled, we’d expect other significant outcomes. These include new business line developments for timber companies through the provision of services in line with the cocoa chain of custody and the establishment of carbon projects. It might also be possible to combine trees and cocoa fields (such as in Central America) to mitigate decreasing forest productivity in second and third rotations.

 

STTC/F&P: What would be your sales pitch for tropical timber– and for verified sustainable cocoa?

JL: To protect the forest, use wood, save the elephants, eat chocolate!

 

STTC/F&P: Are you optimistic about the future of the tropical timber sector?

JL: Definitely… but the right conditions must be met. As well as workshops and publicity we need support from public donors for real field actions.

 

Film focuses on sustainable management social benefits

 

Photo: World Bank

The third in a trio of films from ATIBT on sustainable tropical forest management focuses on its social impacts, with input from local people, civil society and logging company workers.

‘For the well-being of the population’ was shot in the Congo Basin, where the forest stretches across six countries, covers 2.5 million km2 and supports the livelihoods of 75 million people. It is also, of course, an area rich in resources, home to major industries including mining, forestry, oil and agro food production.

The challenge, states the film is how to balance the needs of the local population and economic interests ‘to reconcile conservation and the commercial exploitation of the natural environment’. Sustainable forest management is a key part of the solution, it says. ‘FSC and PEFC certified companies harvest wood, while limiting their impact on eco systems and seeking to preserve the culture and natural resources of forest inhabitants’.

One of the latter, Emmanuel Bokouaka, whose family lives in a Congo Brazzaville forest community said certification had changed his perception of foresters.

‘Before we had the preconceived idea that foresters were destroying the forest with the agreement of the state,” he said. “But now they’re working  to improve the condition of our villages. They take trees that interest them and protect our food sources.”

Norbert Gami of the Congo Wildlife Conservation Society describes the forest as the ‘pantry’ of local communities and says any form of commercial exploitation that destroys their resources is not sustainable. Certified forest management, however, engages forest inhabitants in ‘social mapping’ with logging companies to ensure their interests are taken into account and the forest remains an area that provides them with food, medicine and other resources, and respects their social heritage.

The film acknowledges local populations can’t prevent granting of concessions to state owned forest in the Congo, but stresses their involvement in the process.

Jeveline Nguimbi of IFO Interholco’s social team describes the ‘sensitisation’ work that’s done with communities before harvesting commences in a concession. Together with locals, she undertakes geo-referenced mapping to delineate production zones and protected areas.

A key part of a sustainable forest management plan, says Eric Mvouyou, head of IFO Interholco’s social team, is establishment of a local development fund to share part of the profits from logging operations with communities. This underpins development of micro-projects by local people, with forest operations also supporting schools, health care and other community resources in their area.

Certified forest operations also, of course, generate jobs for local people. The film  highlighted that in the past communities relied on hunting and slash and burn agriculture, one cause of deforestation.  Mbané Joseph Florian, a heavy vehicle driver for Pallisco said his job enabled him to feed his family of 16 children and send them to a good school.

Norbert Gami concludes that the developing countries of the Congo need to balance conservation and development and in this respect sustainable forest management is a ‘model that works’. “It involves communities in decision making , which didn’t happen before, “ he said. “It’s not 100% perfect, but will improve with time.”

Besides IFO Interholco and Pallisco CIFM, ATIBT credits Rougier Gabon, Precious Woods and CIB OLAM for their support in making the film.

Click here to see all three films in the series.

Brazil’s Lula faces up to forest challenge

 

Photo: Ricardo Stuckert

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil says tackling Amazonian deforestation, which rose dramatically under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, is a government priority.

Demonstrating his intent, he has revived the Amazon Fund, which he set up as a REDD+ mechanism during his previous term in office in 2009 to attract investment from business and governments to combat forest degradation. This is now worth $1.3 billion, primarily donated by Norway, but with Germany and oil business Petrobras also contributing.

During his earlier term, President Lula did make significant advances in his environmental strategy, with forest clearance declining by 80% between 2004 and 2012. He has also now set up a ‘anti-deforestation task force’. His aim, he says is ‘zero deforestation’.

While welcoming his reversal of Bolsonaro’s policy, which was effectively laissez faire on deforestation, allowing mining and agro-business to clear more land and ignoring indigenous communities’ rights, some commentators raise significant question marks over President Lula’s chances of success in stopping land clearance. Chiefly they point out that his government lacks the resources for the scale of the task.

France 24 reports that he came away from a meeting with President Biden in Washington with only a ‘vague promise of intent’ that the US would back the Amazon Fund. Brazil has also appealed to the EU, France, the UK and Spain to contribute, but so far without success.

“Activists say Lula’s government needs to fight all-out on multiple fronts: massively upscale ‘command and control’ operations; bust organized crime groups that profit from destroying the forest; invest big in the ‘green economy’; and resume creating new Indigenous reservations,” reports French media network France24. “But environmentalists say his cash-strapped government is in a bind. it needs more money to reduce deforestation, but needs to reduce deforestation to attract more money.”

The severity of his problems was highlighted by the fact that in February, President Lula’s second month in office, the level of Brazilian Amazon deforestation hit a new high.

Analysis of the situation by Eduardo Porter of Bloomberg in a Washington Post article in March says the President must ‘think like a capitalist’ to achieve his green ambitions. He must convince businesses and notably farmers that his policies serve their interests too.

“For Lula to save the Amazon over the next 10 years, he must offer a viable business plan to farmers who live off it,” writes Porter. “They need a profitable way to keep land out of production. Lula will not come anywhere near achieving his goals without their help.”

This, he maintains, is going to take a lot of money, with the Earth Innovation Institute (EII) in San Francisco stating that Amazon forested land is worth just $300 per hectare, but four times that if cleared for production.

There is significant environmentalist opposition to using offsetting to support forest maintenance. But Porter says ‘without market mechanisms to draw private capital into the effort, zero-deforestation will be impossible. “The effort must come with capital for farmers to make ending deforestation work for them,” he writes.

But on a positive note he points to a ‘path-breaking deal’ Guyana signed in December 2022 to sell $750 million of carbon credits to US oil firm Hess to fund the government’s Low Carbon Development Strategy, which supports a range of environmental initiatives. A similar programme in Brazil, says the EII could generate $13-$48 billion by 2030 to ‘reward those who forgo the right to clear forest’. This, says Porter, could also fund forest monitoring, law enforcement and bio-economy start-ups.

Greenpeace Brasil’s Cristiane Mazzetti also strikes a more upbeat tone. At least, she says, Brazil is ‘back to having a quote-unquote ‘normal’ government’.

Buying into forest biodiversity

 

Photo: Ludovic Marin/AFP

A focus at the One Forest Summit in Gabon was harnessing markets in support of forest maintenance, including via biodiversity certificates.

The Libreville event in March included a roundtable discussion hosted by the ATIBT looking at the relation between domestic timber markets in Central African countries and uptake of sustainable forest management. It was described as ‘an increasingly important topic in [the region’s] forest economy’.

The conclusion was that development of its domestic markets, as well as exports, are ‘essential for the future of the sustainable sector’. But, it was agreed it wouldn’t be easy. “We need a fiscal approach to facilitate access to sustainable wood by consumers in our countries,” reported ATIBT. One suggested way forward was a cut in VAT on this timber.

The summit also included discussions on ‘innovative finance’, looking at new instruments that could attract global investment in forest maintenance and wider conservation. These opened with a presentation on a Global Environment Facility report ‘Opportunities and Challenges for Biodiversity-Positive Carbon Credits and Nature Certificates’. This explores market-based solutions for biodiversity conservation.

ATIBT was also involved in developing this theme for the Summit. It maintains that sustainability certification of forests, as ‘both economically profitable and environmentally beneficial,’ is part of the solution, alongside ‘classic conservation’ measures, for combating deforestation and degradation. At the same time, it acknowledges, that such approaches are not ‘valued to their full extent’. It notes in particular that the access of certified sustainable forestry and timber production to carbon finance is restricted as they cannot demonstrate the same ‘additionality’ of benefits as their non-certified counterparts. Moreover, the carbon market mechanism of ‘offsetting’ is itself also increasingly being questioned. Instead schemes involving business making ‘contributions’ to combating climate change are increasingly being put forward, including at COP27.

“We would then speak of a ‘carbon contribution’ or ‘biodiversity contribution’, without the right to offset,” states ATIBT. It goes on to support the view of CIRAD researcher Alain Karsenty that ‘we abandon the term carbon credits in favour of what could be “positive impact certificates” covering carbon, biodiversity and social issues’.

ATIBT is itself involved in the Organisation for Biodiversity Certification (OBC) initiative. This  ‘aims to create an operational tool for assessing local positive impacts on biodiversity or on the carrying capacity of biodiversity, based on technical and scientific consensus’.

ATIBT, through its ‘Carbon and Diversity Commission’ (CBC) is also addressing other opportunities for forest concessionaires to tap into carbon finance via ‘Improved Forest Management’ (IFM) projects, such as those adopting ‘reduced impact logging for climate change mitigation’ strategies. “Too few IFM projects exist, methodologies are complex and technical barriers are holding back forest concessionaires,” said ATIBT. “The CBC is studying how to remove obstacles and connect investors with project leaders on the ground.”

One Forest Summit attendees also issued the Libreville Plan, with its pledges including a political commitment to reverse deforestation by 2030 and securing remuneration for services provided to the rest of the world by forest countries.

It was also announced that €100 million had been committed by France, the Walton Foundation and Conservation International for Positive Conservation Partnership initiatives, with volunteer countries focused on carbon stock and biodiversity protection.

Thémis continues to evolve

 

Photo: webpage timber market survey

Plans for phase II of the Thémis sustainable timber trade monitoring and benchmarking tool and portal have been revealed. They include increasing the number of European trade federations employing the tool and further improving the functionality of the system.

Thémis was developed by sustainable timber and forestry analyst and advisor Probos and IT specialist Graphius and launched in 2021. It was backed by the Programme for Promotion of Certified Sustainable Forest Management (PPECF) and IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative.

Users in its first phase were trade bodies Le Commerce du Bois of France (LCB), Fedustria of Belgium and the International Tropical Timber Technical Association (ATIBT). Their members use the tool to gather data on their sustainable timber procurement on an annual aggregated basis. It is then analysed and presented in various graphical formats, including dashboards, on the Thémis portal. The objective is to increase transparency on levels of sustainable procurement, and to enable trade bodies to monitor progress in this area among members, to set sustainable purchasing goals and target interventions to help companies and federations achieve them.

Individual companies themselves can in turn benchmark their progress relative to fellow trade body members and ideally against targets set by federations and use this to set their own targets.

Probos Director Mark van Benthem said the data collection and analysis can also have market benefits for Thémis users. The environmental commitment and support for sustainable forest management it demonstrates, he maintained, can differentiate trade body members from non-members, while the openness it shows further builds buyer trust.

One of the early adopters, LCB, is linking the Thémis tool to its new environmental charter and will make its use mandatory for members, with a ‘quantified objective’ in sustainable procurement collectively adopted.

Growing the Thémis user base in phase II, says Probos, will increase its impact.

‘The more countries and organizations commit to responsible sourcing and embrace reporting via Thémis, the larger the impact on forests,” it states. “Enlarging the number of users also increases timber market transparency, which enables further analyses.”

Early in 2022 the Royal Netherlands Timber Trade Association (NTTA) and Netherlands Woodworking Industries Association (NBvT) adopted Thémis, with tailoring of the system to their needs underway. Plans for phase II also include building in extra Thémis features. These would be intended to give companies and Timber Trade Federations more insight in procurement developments and ‘make it more appealing for companies to submit their data in Thémis’.

In addition to the online dashboard presentation of data in the Thémis portal, users will also have the option of downloading a PDF ‘statement’ or ‘testimony’ presenting the development of their sustainable procurement over the year. Companies could then post these documents on their websites.

Fair&Precious Partners in the spotlight: Stratémark

 

Photo: CIFOR

 

In the latest of our interviews with Fair&Precious partners, we ask Bertrand Faucon, founder of Stratémark of France, about the company and its perspectives on the challenges and opportunities of the tropical timber sector.

 

STTC/F&P newsletter: How would you describe Stratémark?

Bertrand Faucon: Stratémark is a marketing consulting agency, created in Normandy in 1986, specializing in the fields of the environment and tourism.

 

STTC/F&P: Why did you become a partner of Fair&Precious and what do you think it can achieve ?

BF: We had the opportunity to contribute to the creation of the Fair&Precious brand in 2017 and immediately adhered to the values of its founder, ATIBT, and other companies committed to sustainable forest management.

FSC or PEFC-PAFC certified forest managers make considerable efforts to preserve resources and biodiversity and contribute to economic and local development. And I believe we must convince the public and consumers of the existence of this exemplary model for preserving forests, while at the same time taking advantage of this fantastic material that is wood.

 

STTC/F&P: The European tropical timber industry has struggled to retain market share in recent years. What do you see as its main challenges?

BF: We must first eradicate illegal timber from all markets, including in Africa. Legality compliance is a first step. And on that continent, our goal must be to engage as much of the Congo Basin as possible in sustainable management. Then you have to convince buyers and the general public that wood is the most ecological, valuable and attractive material that exists.

 

STTC/F&P: Do you think the tropical timber sector can rebuild its presence in Europe?

BF: Yes, most certainly. But for that, we must not set objectives of volume but rather of quality. The right wood for the right use. Tropical woods, for example, have natural advantages without chemical treatment. They also offer an incomparable variety of aesthetics.

 

STTC/F&P: In which markets do you see greatest opportunities for growth in sales of sustainable tropical timber?

BF: Marine engineering or hydraulic applications of course are key. But also the field of construction in general and luxury manufactured goods. The decking market should also remain an important tropical timber user and ATIBT’s ambition is to recover certified tropical wood’s market share in flooring.

 

STTC/F&P: Do you see new applications opening up for sustainable tropical wood in the future?

BF: I can see particular prospects for developing its use in the healthcare sector and retirement homes. The positive impacts on health and the well-being benefits of wooden interior environments is now widely documented.

STTC/F&P: Do you think it is important to increase the demand for lesser known sustainable tropical timber species and if so, how do you think this can be achieved?

BF: It takes time to introduce secondary species to the market because you have to carry out technical tests and then convince buyers they should try them. But it is necessary to diversify our species use to reduce supply pressure on the best known species.

 

STTC/F&P: What would be your sales pitch for sustainable tropical timber – how can the trade persuade consumers and professionals to specify it, buy it and use it?

BF: From my point of view, you should only promote FSC and/or PEFC-PAFC certified wood. In developing its use, not only do we not participate in deforestation, but on the contrary we contribute to protecting the forest by giving it value. In my opinion achieving these certification standards in tropical countries is even more demanding than in Europe. Fair&Precious forest managers in the tropics, for instance, have very strict obligations in terms of the fight against poaching and in supporting social development. We have to support them.

 

STTC/F&P: Looking at the challenges and opportunities, are you optimistic about the future of the sustainable tropical timber industry and trade?

BF: I am naturally optimistic. Both because nature always wins out and because, I hope,  younger generations will behave more and more like environmental protectors and not like predators. We must also favour renewable materials such as wood, while not harvesting more than the forest can sustainably provide.

We simply have to come to our senses, obviously combating illegal logging, but not embargoing use of tropical timber. Wood is obviously the material of the future and within the timber market, tropical wood clearly has its place.

New timber CITES listings criticised

 

Photo: Mark van Benthem, Stichting Probos

Question marks have been raised by leading Belgian academic and research body, the Gembloux Agro-Biotech faculty of the University of Liege (GBA), over latest new timber species CITES listings. The listings were passed at the UN CITES COP in Panama (COP 19). They include Ipe (Handroanthus, Roseodendron and Tabebuia spp.) and Cumaru (Dipteryx spp.). Following a 24 month transition period, they will be included in CITES Appendix II.

The other new listings are Afzelia/Doussie (Afzelia spp.), Padouk (Pterocarpus spp.) and African Mahogany/Khaya (Khaya spp.). They will be listed, after a 90-day transition period from the initial announcement, from February 23 2023.

Under the CITES rules, international trade in these species can be authorised, but requires an export permit, or re-export certificate from the third-party country and an import permit issued by the appropriate body in the importing country. Listing has significant trading impacts, imposing administrative barriers to exporting and importing Appendix II classified species. For species newly listed on CITES, producing countries must publish their Non-Detriment Findings (NDTs), to establish trade quotas. This will take time and the 90-day deadline for some species may not allow producer states to do this.

For EU importing countries, the transitional phase until entry into force of the CITES listings is also likely to raise practical questions. For example, what is the status of goods already in transit without a CITES export licence, but which would arrive in the EU after February 23 2023? Further, Appendix II listing will also lead to administrative burdens because valid export licences often expire while importers wait for import licences to be issued by their state’s competent authorities.

Jean-Louis Doucet, Professor of Tropical Forestry at GBA and president of the Care Forest is Life project, was quoted as saying that, while additional management measures were justified for certain commercial species, this should not include Padouk and Doussié. He added that the first ‘victims’ of the new listings will be companies committed to sustainable management, including FSC or PEFC-certified companies that export part of their production to Europe. He said Gabon will be among the first supplier countries affected. “Gabon forestry companies been faced with a doubling of energy prices in six months, making exploitation of most forest species unprofitable. Currently, only a handful are still being harvested, including Padouk and Doussie. To restrict their international trade is to put a noose around the neck of good forest management students.”

Dr Grace Loubota, who implemented the CARE project, with funding from the Programme for the Promotion of Certified Forestry (PPECF), shared Professor Doucet’s concerns. “Neither Padouk nor Doussie are threatened and logging them will not jeopardise their populations in the coming century. Their population densities are sufficiently high and these two taxa regenerate without difficulty,” said Dr Loubota, adding that these timbers had been listed because of the ‘difficulty of differentiating them from species considered threatened’.

Professor Doucet said that the additional trading costs imposed by CITES listings of these species could also lead to supplier countries switching to cultivation and export of other commodities, such as palm oil. This risked further forest conversion. “This catastrophe that could be avoided if we finally recognised the real virtues of tropical woods, whose image has been tarnished by decades of misinformation,” he concluded.

CIP and prospects for small-scale forestry FSC certification

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Mark van Benthem

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Forest Stewardship Council’s new Continuous Improvement Procedure (CIP) is a significant step forward. But further action could be taken to make FSC certification an even more viable option for small and micro community and family forest operations. This was the view expressed by Jens Kanstrup of Forests of the World in an FSC podcast in which he discusses the CIP with Vera Santos, FSC Programme Manager Community and Family Forests, and host Loa Dalgaard, Strategic Director of FSC Denmark. The CIP launched last year and is described by FSC as a stepwise approach toward forest management certification, specially designed for community and family forests.

Under the procedure, organisations managing community or small or low intensity managed forests (SLIMF) can achieve FSC conformity by initially implementing a subset of its criteria. At the same time, they draw up an action plan to adopt other criteria of the applicable FSC standard progressively over five years. “This simplifies their certification journey to give an opportunity to continuously improve their sustainability objectives in forest management and reduces their initial certification costs,” states FSC. “Additionally, the procedure includes an Action Plan and Conformity Self Check which can be used immediately by organizations to develop action plans to enhance their forest management practices.” At the same time, it adds, it is simplifying its standards to facilitate the step-by-step process and introducing more culturally adapted auditing. “The aim is for use of local experts to guide operations rather than experts from another reality,” said Ms Santos. “They can translate FSC requirements to local environments and help forest management understand the rationale of FSC rules and what it needs to see.”

Mr Kanstrup welcomed the CIP, but said the cost of certification for small and micro forest operations remain disproportionate and a barrier to uptake. He also said that, even under the CIP, they would ultimately have to comply with the full range of FSC principles and criteria, albeit over five years. He felt those for community and family forest operations could be further simplified and reduced. “As they may not be involved in certain site disturbing activities like skidding, they may only comply with some parts of FSC criteria on forest impacts,” he said. “Others should be silenced.”

He also said the fact that FSC principles and criteria were initially developed to suit specific forest models, such as those in Europe and the US, needed to be further addressed. “For example Principle 10’s rules on silvicultural practice are mostly designed for the European and US plantation forest model, addressing how to minimise damage from that type of management,” said Mr Kanstrup. “But for community forest in Bolivia, [for instance] with its low intensity management and small volume extraction, most of Principle 10 is irrelevant and shouldn’t be included in certification. It’s not about lowering the bar, but setting it in the right place.” He added that the FSC’s ecosystem services procedure should also be made more accessible for small forest operations. He concluded that the CIP alone would not solve all the issues of small scale forestry certification and that further adaptation of FSC criteria and principles is necessary.

Ms Santos said she was optimistic on the issue. She noted that CIP was now in the implementation support phase, but that the FSC was still navigating new waters with the Procedure and ‘ready to course correct quickly’.

Click here to listen to the FSC podcast.

IMM project completes its activities

The tropical timber-focused EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade Independent Market Monitor (IMM) has wound down after nine years’ operation. The IMM launched 2014 with the objective of tracking timber trade flows from supplier countries in FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements with the EU, setting these in the context of the wider tropical timber market. Its role also included gauging market views and influence of the FLEGT Action Plan and FLEGT licensing. It was managed under contract to the EU by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), with this coming to an end as planned on December 31 2022.

During its operation, the IMM has undertaken quarterly analysis of international trade data from COMEXT, COMTRADE and other sources. This data has been ‘cleaned’ using a specially developed algorithm and presented on the IMM online Data Dashboard and the more detailed STIX (Sustainable Timber Information Exchange) website. From 2017 to 2022 IMM correspondents have undertaken around 800 interviews with EU timber importers and traders, with the results published in annual reports and newsletters.

Key conclusions from IMM research included:

Positive:

  • The green lane for FLEGT-licensed timber has made importing from Indonesia easier for EU operators;
  • EU operators value the ‘zero risk’ status of FLEGT- licensed timber and give preference where other commercial product criteria are equal;
  • While IMM has not identified any significant FLEGT Licensing related growth in timber and timber product trade between Indonesia and the EU, FLEGT Licensing may have contributed to stabilising Indonesia’s market share in a difficult and competitive environment;
  • Indonesian stakeholders consider FLEGT to improve forest management and governance;
  • Indonesian stakeholders see an increasing role for SVLK/FLEGT Licensing at a global level due to the growing number of regulated markets;

Negative:

  • Inconsistent messaging and lack of endorsement and promotion may have created confusion about the value of FLEGT Licensing and affected market development;
  • Inconsistencies in EUTR enforcement may have created loopholes that may have weakened the green lane advantage;
  • FLEGT Licensing so far being limited to just one country and a limited number of products has affected market traction and awareness of FLEGT-licensed goods at various levels (e.g. uptake in procurement policies, green building codes etc.);
  • The EUDR is raising question marks over the value of FLEGT licensing.

Stakeholders at consultations in VPA countries and the EU hosted by the IMM through 2022 said its work had been of significant value to them. It had increased understanding of market impacts and perceptions of FLEGT licensing and VPAs and helped inform policy and business decision-making.

Participants from business, government and private sector at the consultations in Indonesia, Ghana, France, and Viet Nam also said, based on their experience of the IMM’s work, they’d like to see some form of EU FLEGT independent market and trade monitoring continuing into 2023 and beyond. The implementation of the EU’s Regulation on Deforestation-Free Commodities and spread of timber legality import regulations in other consumer markets globally made it potentially more relevant still.

The IMM website (www.flegtimm.eu) is no longer maintained. However, IMM’s collected outputs will remain available online. In the near future the STIX database will be maintained by the ITTO at www.itto.int.