Stakeholders joining efforts to develop the Congo Basin’s wood sector

17 October 2013 News

"PEFC is a viable alternative for forest certification systems to promote sustainable forest management in the Congo Basin." This is one of the key messages that PEFC will bring forward next week at the International Forum on the Sustainable Development of the Wood Industry in the Congo Basin, which will bring together key actors of the tropical wood value chain in the region.

Organized by the PEFC International Stakeholder Member ATIBT (Association Technique Internationale des Bois Tropicaux) and held under the auspices of the Ministry of Forestry and Sustainable Development of the Republic of Congo, the Forum will address four key themes over two days of presentations and panel discussions:

• Advancing wood processing
• Market outlooks
• The FLEGT Action Plan and forest certification systems
• Forest plantations

The biodiverse forests in the Congo Basin are home to an estimated 10,000 species of plants and diverse wildlife that includes many rare and endangered species like the forest elephant and mountain gorilla. They provide food, freshwater and shelter to more than 75 million people throughout the Congo Basin, and the industrial use of these forests is one of the largest contributors to the gross domestic products of the countries in this region, with the forest sector providing 100,000 direct and one million indirect jobs. 

Carefully balancing the need to conserve this unique forest resource with the needs to alleviate poverty, promote stability and economic growth is therefore tremendously important towards achieving sustainable development in the region. Forest certification offers an important mechanism to achieving such a balance and to verify the implementation of sustainable forest management practices on the ground.

Yet while forest certification has been available in the Congo Basin for almost twenty years, less than one percent of tropical timber traded internationally is certified. The solution offered by PEFC, which emphasizes a bottom-up approach that highlights the importance of the participation of all interested local stakeholders, is therefore considered a viable alternative to existing forest certification systems. PEFC’s global reach will additionally be able to offer an important contribution towards changing market perceptions concerning the sustainability of tropical timber.

A side event will be held on the second day to further elaborate on these opportunities, with representatives from PAFC Gabon and PAFC Cameroon, PEFC’s two African members developing and implementing national forest certification systems in their respective countries, sharing their first-hand experience of forest certification in the Congo Basin. A representative from PEFC International will also be present for further information.

Taking place on 22 October 2013, the side event will look to discuss:

• What signals must be sent to the international markets to reposition certified African wood products on the cutting edge?
• What conditions are necessary to bring a fresh market boost to certified African wood products as well as providing an attractive economic option for Africa’s wood industry?
• Could the Republic of Congo spearhead the emergence of PAFC certificates at the national level in the field, as well as for promising export markets by turning this label into a new ambassador of ‘African certified product’ quality?

An anticipated outcome of the Forum is to build consensus on actions to be undertaken to support sustainable development of the wood value in the Congo Basin, to be enshrined in the 'Brazzaville Declaration'.