13 Sep
2006 - Frankfurt, Germany – Danzer Group, a leading
global producer of hardwood veneer and lumber,
and WWF will start a broad cooperation aimed at
promoting sustainable forest management in Africa.
As part of this cooperation, Danzer subsidiaries,
IFO in the Republic of Congo Brazzaville, 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) from 2008
onwards. This is the largest concession area in
Africa currently being prepared for FSC certification.
Danzer Group has also announced
it will join WWF’s Global Forest and Trade Network
(GFTN). Danzer is working closely with the conservation
organization to draw 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. Danzer Group, with its portfolio of subsidiary
companies that produce and trade products made
from African wood, would become the largest GFTN
company of its kind. Globally Danzer Group has
production facilities and trading companies in
Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia.
The IFO concession, comprising
a total of 1.3 million hectares is scheduled to
achieve FSC certification during 2008. Gradual
certification of the five SIFORCO concessions
totaling nearly 1.9 million hectares is set to
begin in 2010.
This schedule for certification
will build upon the company’s comprehensive Environmental
and Safety Management System (ESMS) as well as
Danzer Group’s strict “Procurement Rules 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 own ESMS, Danzer
Group 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 (SGS).
The measures and schedule for achieving FSC certification,
which will be drawn up by Danzer Group and WWF
in the coming months, are a requirement of GFTN
membership.
“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 Danzer Group. “Illegal
logging is a threat to serious producer companies
and fair competition on world markets, and must
be stopped.”
“Through our joint efforts,
WWF and Danzer Group can make a significant contribution
to rectifying this situation. We also hope that
our joint activities will lead to a better mutual
understanding of ecological demands and private
economic interests in conjunction with sustainable
forest management. 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. At the same time
they are making an important contribution to the
economic development of one of the world’s poorest
regions.”
Danzer Group and WWF have been
in discussions about working together for some
time now. WWF has been active in the Congo Basin
for many years and has worked to establish and
oversee protected areas that would 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 improving the national economy and
livelihoods of local communities.
The Congo Basin forests contain
more than half of Africa's animal species, including
most of the forest elephants left in the continent,
and the entire world population of lowland gorilla.
The forests also provide food, materials and shelter
to some 20 million people. Despite their importance,
these 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. “WWF
looks forward to working with Danzer to realize
their commitment.”
In addition to certification
measures for its own concessions, the cooperation
with WWF will also cover procurement from third-party
suppliers and the trade in African timber by Danzer
Group. FSC’s current Controlled Wood Standard,
which establishes minimum requirements with respect
to legality and responsible forestry, will apply.
Danzer Group and WWF will also establish measures
aimed at preparing the company’s suppliers to
be able to meet the requirements of the Controlled
Wood Standard. These measures will be based on
Danzer Group’s “Procurement Rules African Timber”,
which have been part of the ESMS since 2005. The
procurement rules will ensure progressively that
African wood supplied by Danzer comes from legally
verifiable sources, and will help companies to
progress towards sustainable management.
End notes:
1. 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. A total
of 31 sales outlets worldwide take care of customer
needs. The Danzer Group employs a workforce of
some 4,700 staff and posted a turnover of approximately
418 million euros in 2005. www.danzergroup.com
2. 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.
3. 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.
