Europe welcomes first Central African FSC-certified logs

The 132m³ of sapele, sipo and acajou was shipped on the break-bulk vessel Glory to Nordenham, Germany.

Logs originate from the Kabo forest concession in Republic of Congo, the largest FSC-certified concession in tropical Africa, managed by Congolaise Industrielle des Bois (CIB).

The German Development Corporation supported the creation of a management plan in the concession incorporating ecological, social and economic considerations as part of a public private partnership project.

Karin Kortmann, parliamentary state secretary of the German ministry for development co-operation, said the shipment could be the start of a positive turnaround for the protection and nurturing use of African forests.

“This is a milestone towards good forest management in Central Africa,” added FSC executive director Heiko Liedeker. “I hope CIB’s success and the sale of these first logs send a signal to other African timber producers that FSC works.”

CIB is owned by the DLH/tt-Timber Group.

Sign up for our weekly news round-up!

Give your business an edge with our Timber Trades Journal.

Sign up