lun

17

mai

2010

Special issue Racewood 2010 - Front page

events · newsletter

Carry on efforts of forest certification 

 

RACEWOOD 2010, which took place in Cameroon’s economic capital Douala with some 300 participants from 35 countries, was an real success.

Discussions were initiated by Cameroon’s Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, Pr. Ngolle-Ngolle, Congo’s Minister of Sustainable Development, Forestry Economy and Environment, Mister Djombo and ITTO/OIBT Executive Director Mister Ze Meka before international and national institutions, NGOs, forestry scientists and experts, the timber processing and constructing industry, African forest companies and European importers and traders.

Certification for local manufacturing

 While the 2nd edition of RACEWOOD in Accra in Ghana truly launched forest certification, Douala demonstrates the spectacular progress achieved. In 5 years, the Congo Basin has gone from a few hundred thousand hectares to 4, 5 million ha of certified tropical forest in Cameroon, Congo and Gabon. During the next five years, emphasis will be put on directing timber processing towards higher added value products for the benefit of sustainable management and reduced forest pressure. Focus will also be put on the development of local and interregional markets.

How about pedagogy!
Pallisco-CIFM, Wijma and TRC opened their doors to fifty participants or so. On the agenda, two days in order to explore FSC® certified tropical forest concessions and related operating sites. The visits aimed for improved understanding of principles and criteria regarding FSC® sustainable management certification: Meetings with concession employees on their work place and living premises, reduced impact logging techniques (as a reminder, 1 to 2 trees are harvested per hectare following a 30 year rotation scheme), visits to tree nurseries, explaining forest management planning, social, health-related and environmental actions.
 
For further information, please contact us :
 catherinepeguillan@ifiasite.com ou +33(0)1 43 42 31 42
Or visit our website : www.race-wood.com