14 Sep
2006 - Frankfurt, Germany – WWF and the Danzer
Group, a leading global producer of hardwood veneer
and lumber, have agreed to work together in Africa
to promote sustainable forest management.
As part of the cooperation,
Danzer's subsidiaries, IFO in the Republic of
Congo and SIFORCO in the Democratic Republic of
Congo — which manage a combined total forest area
of 3.2 million hectares — are scheduled to be
certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
starting in 2008. This is the largest concession
in Africa currently being prepared for FSC certification.
The FSC — set up in the early
11000s by a diverse group ranging from the forest
industry to non-governmental organizations(NGOs),
including WWF — ensures environmentally responsible,
socially beneficial and economically viable management
of forests through standard setting, trademark
assurance and accreditation services for companies
and organizations interested in sustainable forestry.
Danzer has also announced it
will join WWF's Global Forest and Trade Network
(GFTN), a partnership between leading NGOs, companies
and communities aimed at eliminating illegal logging
and improving the management of valuable and threatened
forests.
“We look forward to working
together within the framework of our membership
of WWF’s GFTN and to jointly undertake long-term
efforts to effectively promote prudent and responsible
forestry in the Central African forests,” says
Hans-Joachim Danzer, CEO of the Danzer Group.
“Illegal logging is a serious
threat to producer companies and fair competition
on world markets, and must be stopped.”
Danzer is working closely with
WWF in drawing up a detailed timetable for implementation,
including detailed measures for its own managed
forest concessions, procurement from third-party
suppliers and all sales of African timber.
This schedule for certification
will build upon the company’s comprehensive Environmental
and Safety Management System (ESMS) as well as
the Danzer Group’s strict procurement rules for
African timber. The ESMS is based on the ISO 14001:2004
standard and covers the Danzer Group’s entire
global African supply chain from forest management
and sourcing of timber to the processing and sale
of products.
Through its ESMS, Danzer has
already met a number of requirements for certification
of its own sustainably managed forests. Both IFO
and SIFORCO have been granted an independently
verified legality certificate by the Swiss auditing
company, Société Générale
de Surveillance. The measures and schedule for
achieving FSC certification, which will be drawn
up by WWF and Danzer in the coming months, are
a requirement of GFTN membership.
Danzer's IFO concession, comprising
a total of 1.3 million hectares, is scheduled
to achieve FSC certification in 2008. Gradual
certification of SIFORCO's five concessions, totaling
nearly 1.9 million hectares, is set to begin in
2010.
"By adhering to the requirements
set forth in a certificate, customers can rest
assured that the wood they buy from us comes from
responsibly managed sources," added Hans-Joachim
Danzer.
"We also hope that our
joint activities with WWF will lead to a better
mutual understanding of ecological demands and
private economic interests in conjunction with
sustainable forest management...while at the same
time making an important contribution to the economic
development of one of the world’s poorest regions.”
WWF has been active in the Congo
Basin for many years and has worked to establish
and oversee protected areas that provide safe
habitats for endangered species such as gorillas,
forest elephants and other wildlife in the region,
as well as promote responsible forestry for the
benefit of national economies and livelihoods
of local communities. Despite their importance,
the Congo's forests are threatened by illegal
and destructive logging, poaching and smuggling
of wildlife, and the illicit bushmeat trade.
“We believe that the cooperation
between WWF and Danzer represents an important
shift towards responsible forestry for some of
the world’s most threatened forests in the Congo
Basin,” says Per Rosenberg, GFTN Director.
"We are working to ensure
that African wood supplied by Danzer comes from
legally verifiable sources, and will help companies
to progress towards sustainable management."
END NOTES:
• Danzer Group operates six
veneer factories and five sawmills in Europe,
North America and Africa, making it the world’s
largest manufacturer of hardwood veneers. These
facilities primarily process regional timber to
produce high-quality veneers and lumber. The Danzer
Group employs a workforce of some 4,700 staff
and posted a turnover of approximately €418 million
in 2005.
• The Global Forest & Trade
Network (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.
• In 2003, WWF launched the
Producers Group (Forest and Trade Network) Initiative
for Central and West Africa with the aim of eliminating
illegal logging, improving the management of the
world's valuable and threatened forests, and promoting
credible forest certification within Africa.
