11/03/2005 – A Panamanian
forest company has become the first in the
country to commit to sustainable forest management,
selling tropical hardwoods according to Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC) certification standards.
The sale of teak and amarillo by Futuro Forestal
to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
(STRI) for construction material in a turtle
exhibition area is being welcomed by WWF and
several of its partners in Latin America.
“We are encouraging companies and buyers
to further promote the trade of wood and wood
products with the FSC certificate,” said Noemí
Pérez, Director of JagWood+, the Mesoamerican
and Caribbean Forest and Trade Network
Developed and supported by WWF Central America,
Jagwood+ is an independent network of timber
producers, intermediates and distributors
that enforces responsible forest management
through the sale, processing and trade of
certified timber products. The objective of
the network is to connect certified or potential
wood producers, forest owners, certified processors
and fabricators with buyers and investors
inside and outside the region.
“Jagwood+ was established with the goal of
better maximizing the benefits of FSC certification
and to ensure the expansion of responsible
forest management,” said Steve Gretzinger,
Forest Director of WWF Central America.
Forest certification is a system of forest
inspection that tracks timber and paper through
a "chain of custody" — following
the raw material through to the finished product
— to ensure that the products have come from
forests which are well managed and take into
consideration environmental, social and economic
principles and criteria.
Panama is one of a number of Latin American
countries that is now recognizing the growing
trend in certified timber.
“We as a forest investment company receive
requests from potential buyers asking for
certified wood almost every week and are happy
that we can now start delivering,” said Andreas
Eke, General Manager of Futuro Forestal.
Teak (Tectona grandis) and amarillo (Terminalia
amazónia) are both fast-growing, durable
tree species that are traditionally used for
veneer, furniture or yacht building. Futuro
Forestal’s certified wood reaches a price
of US$120 per cubic meter, almost double the
market price for uncertified processed wood.
Notes:
• Futuro Forestal is a German-Panamanian
reforestation and service company who has
developed an innovative model for sustainable
reforestation in the tropics, offering investors
a unique opportunity to own a forest, to invest
in a high yield product and to help improve
ecological and social development. Since its
foundation in 1994, the company has reforested
more than 2,000 acres and 600,000 trees in
the region of Las Lajas, in the province of
Chiriqui, near the Panamerican Highway. Futuro
Forestal has been voted by the independent
rating agency SICIREC for its innovative approach
“Best Forest Investment in Latin America”.
• The Global Forest & Trade Network or
GFTN is WWF’s initiative to eliminate illegal
logging, improve the management of the world's
valuable and threatened forests, and promote
credible forest certification. By providing
support to and facilitating trade links between
progressive forest industry companies, the
GFTN seeks to create market conditions that
will help conserve the world’s forests while
providing economic and social benefits for
the businesses and people that depend on them.
• The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is
an independent, non-profit, NGO based in Bonn,
Germany. The Council provides standard setting,
trademark assurance, and accreditation services
to companies and organizations interested
in responsible forestry. Founded in 1993,
FSC’s mission is to promote environmentally
appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically
viable management of the world’s forests.
