CIB manages largest FSC tropical forest

Congo (Brazzaville) now has the biggest area of continuous FSC-certified tropical rainforest following the accreditation of a further 571,000ha of concessions managed by Congolaise Industrielle du Bois (CIB).

But the Tropical Forest Trust (TFT), which assisted with the certification process, says buyers abroad must start specifying more FSC material from West Africa to ensure the region’s continuing investment in certified sustainable forest management.

CIB previously had 729,000ha of FSC certified forest in Congo, taking its total now to around 1.3 million ha.

Olam International, which acquired CIB’s parent tt Timber International from the DLH Group last December, said that this meant it now managed the “largest contiguous FSC certified tropical rainforest in the world”.

Olam Wood Products president Robert Hunink said that, combined with its infrastructure and processing facilities in the Congo, the move was the “critical foundational enabler for the company to be a leading provider of tropical hardwoods globally”. It was also a response to growing demand.

“Our continued focus on getting additonal forest area FSC certified and enlarging that land bank reflects our proactive response to our customers’ growing demand for certified timber products,” he said.

TFT executive director Scott Poynton welcomed CIB’s accreditation as a “great achievement”.

“Credit should go to the company and its people on the ground, and particularly Robert Hunink who has backed certification from the outset,” he said. “When CIB began the process there was zero certified forest in the Congo Basin, but their success also encouraged and drove other companies to follow suit, and their latest certification takes the total area in the region to over 5 million ha.”

However, he added, the efforts to achieve certification locally have not been matched by a rise in procurement abroad.

“In the market, these companies are hurting at the moment,” he said. “We need to see more certified tropical timber specified and used and it would also be good to see the environmental NGOs stop just beating up on tropical producers and encourage the development of demand for this material.”