New online forestry and timber monitoring and tracking systems will make it increasingly difficult for illegal loggers and traders to hide.
They will also provide tools for legitimate businesses to prove they’re following the rules.
These were among the conclusions of presentations at the recent International Forum in Amsterdam of the tropical timber body the Association Technique Internationale des Bois Tropicaux (ATIBT).
The event, themed "Strengthening Trust in Tropical Wood", also stressed the need for the international tropical timber trade to not just focus on driving sustainably and legally certified forest management and timber supply, but to support the global market for the resulting products. Without strong and consistent demand, the 150-strong international audience was told, advances in the sector’s environmental and legality performance could be undermined.
One of the new hi-tech monitoring systems available to industry, governments, NGOs and law enforcement is Global Forest Watch (GFW) (www.globalforestwatch.org). Launched in February, it is being developed by US-based World Resources Institute (WRI) in conjunction with Google, and with backing from US, UK and Norwegian governments.
GFW is still undergoing evaluation but, according to WRI Africa senior manager Matthew Steil, is already proving its worth in real-time forest area tracking.
"We use imagery from NASA’s Landsat satellites, and envisage adding data from the European Space Agency Sentinel programme," said Mr Steil. "From this we’re generating monthly forest clearing alerts worldwide to a resolution of 500m and are now increasing that to 250m, with annual cover loss reports down to 30m resolution."
GFW can monitor whether concession holders are following forest management plans. It can also identify illegal logging and the impact of fires and forest clearance for agriculture, development and other uses.
"The information can also be invaluable in supporting certification and due diligence illegality risk assessment as buyers can see instantly if suppliers are living up to documentary claims," said Mr Steil.
The goal is to provide even more data analysis options, and higher resolution imaging more frequently. "This will make it an even more potent weapon for combating illegal logging and deforestation," said Mr Steil. "Currently by the time illegal logging sites are found, the damage has been done. Using GFW, enforcement agencies can identify clearances virtually the moment they appear."
An even newer online development from WRI is the Forest Transparency Initiative (FTI), a "searchable repository on logging concessions and companies in Central Africa".
This collates information, from producer country forest and timber laws, to suppliers’ environmental and legality certification, accounts and other records. It also draws on news and data from NGOs, GFW, and international policing and enforcement agencies, including EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) Competent Authorities.
The result is a tool for differentiating "the bad guys from the good", not only enabling buyers to shun the former, but law-abiding suppliers to prove their legitimacy. "It identifies those operating legally and to recognised social and environmental norms, and those that aren’t," said Mr Steil. "That ensures there’s a market cost to illegal, unsustainable activity, as well as doing the right thing."
WRI also sees the FTI supporting European operators’ EUTR due diligence, and helping traders comply with other market legality requirements, such as the US Lacey and Australian Illegal Logging Prohibition Acts. It could also underpin the legality assurance systems of supplier countries signed up to the EU’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreement (FLEGT VPA) programme.
"It potentially offers a route around inefficient or corrupt administration too," said Mr Steil. "For instance, legitimate businesses’ tax payments sometimes vanish in the system. They’ll now be able to post proof of payment, even a scan of their cheque, on the FTI site."
The FTI pilot is under way in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), with the aim of rolling out to the DRC, then more widely.
Another new system for proving tropical timber legality is Brazil’s Sisflora2. It has been developed by environment agency IBAMA in association with SEMA, the environment secretariat of Pará, the Brazilian state that was a main focus of Greenpeace’s recent "The Amazon’s Silent Crisis" report on timber illegality in the region.
Robbie Weich of Tradelink Brazil told the Forum that Sisflora2, which is set for launch next year, should help Brazil tackle a key weakness in the timber supply chain.
The system entails authorities issuing radio frequency ID chips to logging companies against felling permits. These are embedded in the tree and then tracked to sawmills.
"In particular this combats the practice of loggers reusing documents issued against previous timber consignments," said Mr Weich. "And the technology is robust and straightforward, making it reliable and applicable elsewhere."
The ATIBT itself announced that it is now working with DNA-tracking specialist Double Helix and Germany’s Thünen Institute to develop a timber DNA database for central African producer members. ATIBT director-general Ralph Ridder said the system would log genetic reference data on main commercial species from certified concessions for use as chain of custody evidence.
"Using cutting-edge genetics to determine legality of African timber could help gain access to markets with strict legality and other procurement requirements, like the US and Europe," said Mr Ridder. "It could also possibly secure a price premium for the timber."
ATIBT would run workshops for the system in Africa, market it abroad and provide training for buyers and enforcement officers. Meanwhile, Double Helix estimates the cost of gathering DNA reference data for 10 African species across 10.3 million ha concessions at US$3m.
"It’s still at concept stage, but we are very positive about the project and now seeking donors," said Mr Ridder.
Tools such as satellite and DNA tracking could also prove invaluable in the vital task of international tropical timber marketing and image building, he added.
The ATIBT event was held against the backdrop of a shrinking European tropical timber market, and this and the need for concerted action to reverse the decline were core topics of discussion.
A contributory factor, it was agreed, had been the economic downturn. But also important were public perceptions of tropical timber and its still widespread automatic association with deforestation among specifiers, consumers and policy makers.
A main Forum sponsor was Dutch government-backed IDH – the Sustainable Trade Initiative, the body behind the international industry, government and NGO-based Sustainable Tropical Timber Coalition (STTC) which launched last year to boost EU sales of sustainably certified wood. Programme director Ted van der Put said tackling market misconceptions was becoming ever more urgent because the business case for converting forests to other uses, notably plantation crops like soya and palm oil, was growing.
"Fear of tropical timber, from governments down, remains the biggest enemy, not just of the timber trade, but of the forest," he said. "If it reduces demand, forest conversion increases."
Besides the STTC, Mr van der Put held up the Netherlands Green Deal initiative as a model for tackling negative market attitudes.
An alliance of timber companies, retailers, NGOs, local and central government, it uses a mix of promotion, education and procurement policy to improve tropical wood’s image and demand.
Architects and other specifiers were also identified as key market influencers the tropical trade needed on side. One, Machiel Spaan of Amsterdam-based M3H, led delegates on a tour of one of his projects in the city featuring untreated Brazilian batibatra cladding.
His profession, he said, was increasingly focused on sustainability, but stressed that wasn’t the whole story when it came to tropical timber. "We also need to know about carbon footprint and specific use benefits, and to see existing inspirational projects incorporating it," he said.
The EUTR and FLEGT VPA programme were also seen as having potential to strengthen consumer confidence in the tropical timber sector’s legal and environmental credentials. But room for improvement in both was also identified. In particular, small to medium-sized enterprises in producer countries needed greater support with such initiatives, said speakers, including ATIBT FLEGT expert Bérénice Castadot, who described her organisation’s work with the Unibois SME alliance in Congo Brazzaville.
"This is an ongoing project to help SMEs meet FLEGT VPA requirements," she said. "And it’s an initiative that could and should be applied elsewhere."
Eric Boilley of French industry association Le Commerce du Bois said EU businesses also required back-up in meeting EUTR demands. "In particular, we need a central EU information source on applicable producer country forestry legislation and proof of compliance," he said.
ATIBT communications head Tullia Baldassarri said that as a foundation for strengthening market acceptance of tropical timber, the industry also needed a better understanding of the market’s concerns. As a result, ATIBT has launched an international consumer survey, starting in France.
