Brazil Sees Profits in Sustainable Forestry
10/11/99
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Title: BRAZIL Sees Profits in Sustainable Forestry
Source: Environment News Service, http://www.ens.lycos.com/
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: October 11, 1999
MANAUS, Brazil, October 11, 1999 (ENS) - A two-day meeting with the
theme "Sustainable Wood Production in the Amazon Region: Business
Opportunities" saw all sectors of the forest industry sitting down at
the table to combat waste. More than 110 people gathered October 5
and 6 -- representatives of lumber companies and sawmills,
purchasers, investors, members of certifying entities, and
environmentalists.
Even parties opposing each other in lawsuits participated together,
the Brazilian newspaper "Folha de Sao Paulo" reported.
The forest industry waste they are addressing is twofold. On one
hand, only 32 to 40 percent of the wood cut ends up being processed.
On the other, there is an international market as yet unexplored by
Brazil.
Brazil is the world's largest producer of tropical wood, but the
conditions for selling into today's international market are
demanding. They include the elimination of predatory practices, the
adoption of sustainable forest management, and certification.
Presently, only one of the 4,000 lumber companies in Brazil's Amazon
region has been certified by the best known entity, the Forest
Stewardship Council.
Brazil is also one of the world's largest consumers of wood products.
According to Adalberto Verissimo, from the Man and Environment
Institute of the Amazon Region (Imazon), only 14 percent of the
production from Brazil's natural and plantation forests is exported.
In addition to the World Bank, the meeting's organizers include NGOs
such as Imazon, Friends of the Earth, the World Wide Fund for Nature,
and the investment bank Axial. They want to demonstrate that
sustainable forest management and certification are economical
options and not environmentalist fantasies.
John Forgach, vice-president of Axial, remarked: "Certification
represents profits for the environment and for society, but also for
stockholders."
Ovidio Gasparetto, a representative of the industry sector, claimed,
"Certification has become a business and will become increasingly
widespread. The wood sector obviously will have to evolve towards
that modern status."