31
Jul 2008 - Yaoundé, Cameroon - WWF
today announced that more than one million
hectares of Congo Basin forests have achieved
certification under the world’s leading
sustainable forestry scheme.
The world’s second largest
block of rainforests, the Congo Basin is
a haven for indigenous peoples and endangered
species like elephants and gorillas. It
is also important in sequestering carbon
and safeguarding water supply and quality.
“With rampant illegal
logging, vague logging concession boundaries
and massive blocks of pristine forest destined
for the chainsaw, this is a laudable step
towards avoiding an ecological disaster,”
says James P. Leape, Director General of
WWF.
Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC) certification has now been achieved
for forestry operations on 1.2 million hectares,
a significant step towards WWF’s Green Heart
of Africa network initiative goal of having
certification achieved for 50% of production
forest in the Congo Basin. The certification
involves logging companies SEFAC, Transformation
Reef Cameroon (TRC) and WIJMA in Cameroon
and CIB in the Republic of Congo.
“While the certified
forests will have to be maintained according
to acceptable international standards, there
is urgent need for other timber business
operations in the region to adopt responsible
forest management practices in order to
ensure the conservation of this unique forest
ecosystem for the benefit of people in the
region and the world,” added Mr. Leape.
To promote responsible
forest management and trade in the Congo
Basin, WWF-CARPO has set up the Central
Africa Forest and Trade Network (CAFTN),
a part of WWF’s Global Forest & Trade
Network (GFTN) – which works to provide
support, advice and guidance to logging
companies to help them better understand
how good logging practices can contribute
to conservation of biodiversity, improve
the livelihood of local communities and
lead to a market advantage.
“Illegal forest exploitation
and forest crimes are largely due to poor
governance and insufficient law enforcement,”
said Laurent Somé, WWF Central Africa
Regional Programme Office (CARPO)'s Representative..
“WWF also recognizes that responsible forest
management plays an important role in the
economic growth of tropical countries and
reducing poverty in forest communities.
“WWF is convinced that
the adoption of responsible forestry schemes
by logging companies will contribute greatly
to the conservation of the Congo Basin forests
and towards improving the national economy
and also improve the livelihoods of local
communities,” Mr Some said. “For the success
of responsible forestry in the Congo basin,
there is a high need for government to set
up enabling conditions that include enacting
adequate legislation and enforcement, and
promoting good governance while providing
support to responsible forestry initiatives.”
By 2012, WWF expects
that 7 million hectares of forest in the
Congo Basin will be under credible certification
while another 5 million hectares will be
progressing towards credible certification.
