Timber companies in Africa log in to monitoring

WHEN European timber companies, environmental groups, research organisations, and African forestry officials sat down in early March in Douala, Cameroon, to negotiate the future of logging in central Africa, the discussion took an unusual turn.

After years of debating how to track logging practices in remote African rain forests, industry groups invited Global Forest Watch to start keeping tabs on their logging operations. “It’s a big step, the logging companies are asking us to monitor them and their practices in Africa,” said Dr Ralph Ridder, deputy director of World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Watch.”This is a breakthrough for improving the management of central Africa’s forests.”The central African rain forest, which is the second largest in the world after the Amazon, is threatened by poor governance and forest management.Illegal activities are commonplace, logging often extends beyond concession boundaries or into protected areas, and harvests often surpass the allowable timber cut.Widespread corruption in the region has been an obstacle to instituting better practices.Logging companies are under growing pressure from consumers in the European Union to ensure that the timber they sell is responsibly harvested.Some European countries are moving towards closing markets to all tropical timber lacking a certificate of legal origin.Consequently, industry is concerned that it may lose sales in European markets unless it develops a legitimate system to document forest management practices.So a number of more progressive logging companies approached Global Forest Watch (GFW) to serve as an independent monitor.GFW has partnered with the InterAfrican Forest Industries Association (IFIA), the World Conservation Union (IUCN), and the World Wildlife Fund to develop a monitoring system that can independently document the industry’s logging practices in the region, and highlight the companies that are making the most significant strides toward sustainability.The process began a couple of years ago, when an industry group representing many companies logging in central Africa, the IFIA, began drafting a code of conduct for improving the social and environmental performance of its companies.At the meeting in March, the participants agreed to be monitored on more than 30 performance measures that will be used to track the impact of their logging.To ensure transparency and neutrality, the industry has agreed to allow its logging data be reviewed by Global Forest Watch.”Ideally forest monitoring would be conducted in a way that is open and transparent to all parties,” said Jim Beck, a researcher at WRI.”The best way to ensure this is to have a neutral third party conduct the monitoring in collaboration with governments, industry, and non-governmental organisations.It is a monumental task in the Congo Basin, given the challenges facing countries there.”- World Resources Institute”It’s a big step, the logging companies are asking us to monitor them and their practices in Africa,” said Dr Ralph Ridder, deputy director of World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Watch.”This is a breakthrough for improving the management of central Africa’s forests.”The central African rain forest, which is the second largest in the world after the Amazon, is threatened by poor governance and forest management.Illegal activities are commonplace, logging often extends beyond concession boundaries or into protected areas, and harvests often surpass the allowable timber cut.Widespread corruption in the region has been an obstacle to instituting better practices.Logging companies are under growing pressure from consumers in the European Union to ensure that the timber they sell is responsibly harvested.Some European countries are moving towards closing markets to all tropical timber lacking a certificate of legal origin.Consequently, industry is concerned that it may lose sales in European markets unless it develops a legitimate system to document forest management practices.So a number of more progressive logging companies approached Global Forest Watch (GFW) to serve as an independent monitor.GFW has partnered with the InterAfrican Forest Industries Association (IFIA), the World Conservation Union (IUCN), and the World Wildlife Fund to develop a monitoring system that can independently document the industry’s logging practices in the region, and highlight the companies that are making the most significant strides toward sustainability.The process began a couple of years ago, when an industry group representing many companies logging in central Africa, the IFIA, began drafting a code of conduct for improving the social and environmental performance of its companies.At the meeting in March, the participants agreed to be monitored on more than 30 performance measures that will be used to track the impact of their logging.To ensure transparency and neutrality, the industry has agreed to allow its logging data be reviewed by Global Forest Watch.”Ideally forest monitoring would be conducted in a way that is open and transparent to all parties,” said Jim Beck, a researcher at WRI.”The best way to ensure this is to have a neutral third party conduct the monitoring in collaboration with governments, industry, and non-governmental organisations.It is a monumental task in the Congo Basin, given the challenges facing countries there.”- World Resources Institute