These are uneasy times for the tropical timber trade. The waters are choppy, the lens is foggy. Which way to go? It’s no wonder there’s confusion. In the media every other week, specifiers and consumers are told that tropical forests are disappearing. They learn that deforestation is linked to their own consumption, via demand for food raw materials like soy, beef and palm oil, and also for timber. They’re also told that deforestation causes climate change and it rings true when half the world is suffering freak storms and the rest is in drought. So, although people still love timber, many are now intensely wary of touching anything linked to tropical forests.
At the same time, the assurances offered through certification logos have lost their gloss. Certification scheme failures in one country, perhaps not even tropical, perhaps not even the same scheme, are reported globally and hyped on social media. These stories cast deep doubt on the integrity of the whole global certification world. I doubt that, on their own, traditional certification standards like those of the FSC, or legal verification systems, will be enough to reassure buyers for much longer. So, if we are going to provide real assurance to customers, we are going to have to move beyond seeing these as the be-all-and-end-all.
Amidst this uncertainty, there is one thing we can be certain of, and that is if you are involved in tropical timber in any way, it’s going to become even more essential to demonstrate your sustainability credentials. So what we as an industry need to do is show people that not only are we not destroying the forests, but we are acting as a bulwark against those that do.
Whether you are certified or not, if you are a good steward of the forest, or you are buying from someone who is, let customers know about it. Bring it to life. What’s that work you have been doing with indigenous people on your land? What steps have you taken to respect biodiversity? Where have you got to so far, and what are you aiming for? Tell people. It’s a much more compelling story than a badge ever will be.
In many countries where forests are being destroyed, it’s only the well-managed long-term management units that represent safe havens, bulwarks for their rich biodiversity and dependent communities. OK, there are national parks but these are under huge threat because governments fail to invest the funds needed to safeguard them. The sad reality is that most natural tropical forests aren’t well managed. But there are great stories from those that are which should be celebrated.
Congo-based forestry company Congolaise Industrielle des Bois (CIB), for instance, has a great bulwark story. Forest loss in the Congo Basin amounts to 4 million ha a year, but CIB has been managing its forests for the past 50. Its concessions support the traditional livelihoods of indigenous communities and are rich with endangered mammals.
The company has resisted pressure to clear and chosen instead to adopt responsible management practices throughout its 1.4 million ha of rainforest. It went beyond certification in, for example, setting up a radio station for the indigenous communities, which today broadcasts in 12 languages to 20,000 people. It is a leading example of what can be achieved to protect our tropical forests. Yet what does even CIB do to differentiate itself? It tells the world about its FSC certificates. It is not enough.
Italian company ALPI has been managing its Cameroon forest for nearly 30 years. The company’s values are about excellence in forest management and partnerships with local communities yet it fails to use these stories enough.
I believe it’s better to have some greenhouse gas emissions than see timber from tropical forests shunned completely with all the consequences that would have. Yes, well-managed forests store less carbon than untouched forests, but I’d rather have CIB than see the forest lose its value as a source of wood and be converted to oil palm plantation. So even if your story isn’t complete, tell people your progress. Communicate your values. Be transparent. The companies who don’t will lose market share. Nothing is certain but the prognosis for those that do is better than going out of business and seeing over-harvested tropical forests converted to agriculture. The industry must come together in this bulwark and communicate with NGOs so they might, in time, come to understand the important role wellmanaged productive forests play in a world with less and less forested landscape.
The current situation is presenting us with an opportunity. It’s a tough one and there is risk of telling stories in the wrong way, or falling into greenwashing, which will do no-one any favours. But doing nothing and relying on certificates alone will fail as a strategy to safeguard tropical timber businesses and the forests and communities that depend on them.
So for me it’s simple. Let’s start reflecting more on the good work that is being done and communicate it. In a world of rapidly disappearing forests, the responsible tropical timber trade has a rich and positive story to tell. Go and tell it!
