Summary
Timber certification
The world is slowly becoming aware of the growing depletion of tropical forests due to timber logging. Efforts by some countries to curb deforestation by banning the use of tropical timber may make forestry less competitive with agriculture and risk sustainable management projects. One alternative is through labeling of wood products, which will promote tropical timber produced from sustainable sources. The Forest Stewardship Council was put up in 1993 to set standards for the accreditation of organizations that aim to certify the sustainability of a productive forest.See the full content of this document
Extract
Labeling wood.
How timber certification may reduce deforestation.
A series of landmark developments, including satellite photography revealing massive burning of the Amazon and scientific findings confirming a link between deforestation and climate change, has greatly heightened public awareness about the loss of tropical forests in the past decade. The loss now amounts to more than 14 million hectares of tropical forest - equivalent to the entire state of Florida - every year. As a result, the international tropical timber trade has become a target of public campaigns to curb deforestation, the argument being that consumers can "save" the rainforest if they refuse to buy tropical timber products. In the United Kingdom, for example, more than 30 local authorities have ceased use of tropical hardwoods. Since 1992, approximately 200 city councils in Germany and 51 percent of Dutch municipalities have banned use of tropical timber. And in the United States, a growing number ...See the full content of this document
