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News articles on Certification

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Mongabay.com news articles on certification in blog format. Updated regularly.

Malaysia to use certification to crack down on illegal logging
(3/27/2007) Malaysia will ask its timber suppliers in other countries to provide certification on the origin of wood according to a report from the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). The move will help Malaysia fight allegations that its timber processors are complicit in the illegal logging industry.


Timber industry teams with greens on new anti-illegal logging bill
(3/15/2007) A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill to ban the use of illegally-harvested timber and wood products. Led by Congressmen Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Robert Wexler (D-FL), and Jerry Weller (R-IL) the legislation would make it a crime to import, export, possess, purchase or sell illicit timber.


Can new loan really bring sustainable cattle ranching to the Amazon?
(3/12/2007) Brazil's second largest exporter of beef has won approval of a controversial loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private equity lender of the World Bank, according to a report from the Associated Press. Environmentalists say the deal will drive further deforestation in the biologically rich Amazon rainforest. Cattle ranching is responsible for more than half of forest loss in the region.


New Zealand implements 'green timber' policy
(12/19/2006) New Zealand's government will only buy timber and wood products only from legally and sustainably managed forests according to a new policy paper put out Monday by the minstry of forestry.


Amazon soy becomes greener
(7/25/2006) Brazilian soy crushers and exporters will implement a two-year moratorium on trading soybeans grown on newly deforested lands in the Amazon basin. The governance program takes effect in October 2006 and applies only to forest cleared after that date.


New tropical timber pact takes aims at illegal logging
(2/1/2006) Late last week, countries that export and export tropical timber reached a 10-year agreement to help promote the sustainable development of forests while fighting illegal logging.


Scent-tagging wood could cut illegal timber smuggling
(1/5/2006) In the future illegally harvested timber could be tracked by their scent according to researchers at Oregon State University.


Saving the Amazonian Rainforest Through Agricultural Certification
(6/3/2005) John Cain Carter is a Texan rancher who believes that landowners, despite being held in low regard by environmentalists, may be the potential saviors of the rainforest. Carter, among other somewhat environmentally-conscious, yet profit-oriented landowners, wants to promote responsible agricultural practices by encouraging consumers to provide incentives to growers and producers.


Sustainable Logging in Rainforests - Timber certifation, trade restrictions
(3/1/2005) Although as much as 80 percent of tropical timber is consumed internally by producing nations, consumption of tropical timber by the U.S. and other industrial countries plays a significant role in tropical deforestation. The U.S., with less than 5 percent of the world's population, consumes 17 percent of the world's output of timber and is the third largest importer of tropical timber, shelling out more than $800 million annually for 1-1.5 million cubic meters. The best actions to reduce the damage caused by logging activities are to impose strict restrictions, even banning, imports of certain tropical hardwoods; developing more sustainable means of extracting rainforest timber; certifying timber with regards to its origins and whether it was sustainably harvested; and beginning to use alternatives to tropical wood products..


Sustainable Logging in the Rainforest - Overview
(3/1/2005) In most tropical countries forests are government-owned and ownership by parties other than the state is often prohibited. Timber is often harvested under concession agreements awarded to private logging firms who, without securimg legal rights to the land, are reluctant to make investments in forest management. Thus it is no surprise that a recent study found that less than 0.1 percent of tropical forests are sustainably managed and less than 1 percent of the area used for logging is under any form of management. Nevertheless, tropical countries see timber as a major source of revenue and continue to grant huge concessions at below their market rates. Forestry is important to the world economy, contributing 2 percent to world GDP (4 percent of GDP in developing countries) and making up 3% of international trade; it is also vital to the local economies of many countries. For example, the logging of tropical timber provides work for 100,000 people in the Sarawak province of Malaysia and generates US$ 1.5 billion annually in exports. However, the resource management of tropical forests is grossly underfunded, causing numerous problems..


Reducing the impact of cattle ranching in the rainforest
(3/1/2005) Clearing for pastureland and land speculation purposes is a major cause of tropical forest loss, especially in Latin America. Cattle are an attractive investment for Amazonian farmers because they are a highly liquid capital asset with low marginal costs once forest has been cleared. Cattle are used to establish land claims on otherwise "unoccupied" rainforest land and can be used as a hedge against inflation..


Saving Rainforests Through Sustainable Development--Agriculture
(3/1/2005) In seeking a "solution" to deforestation of tropical rainforests--whether it be through debt-for-nature-swaps, extractive reserves, selective logging, ecotourism, or another strategy--the ultimate fate of forests rests in the hands of local people. While some would argue that rainforests can be "saved" by restricting economic growth, it is necessary to realize that parks and reserves will not persist unless local communities are persuaded that it is in their material interest to conserve.


How to Save Tropical Rainforests - Introduction
(3/1/2005) Today tropical rainforests are disappearing from the face of the globe. Despite growing international concern, rainforests continue to be destroyed at a pace exceeding 80,000 acres (32,000 hectares) per day. World rainforest cover now stands at around 2.5 million square miles (6 million square kilometers), an area about the size of the contiguous 48 United States or Australia and representing around 5 percent of the world's land surface. Much of this remaining area has been impacted by human activities and no longer retains its full original biodiversity..



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