PROMOTINGRESPONSIBLE FORESTTRADE OF LESSERKNOWN TIMBER SPECIESGOOD WOOD AND FORESTCONSERVATION

Many will find it strange that WWF, the globalconservation organization, would promotetimber and logging -- particularly in tropicalforests. But the fact is that WWF does supportforest industries in all parts of the world providedthat they practice socially and environmentallyresponsible forest management. While WWFcontinues work to protect the most ecologicallyvaluable forests in reserves, we see responsibleforestry as a key component of sustainabledevelopment that can and should go hand inhand with forest conservation.

THE FOREST THAT PAYS IS THE FORESTTHAT STAYS

The link between responsible forestry and forestconservation is a vital one in the developingworld, where pressures on forests are great. Ifforests are to be preserved in regions wherepoverty and population growth are challengesand the need for development is acute, localpeople must perceive them as having economicvalue, or they risk being converted to farms,cattle pasture, and other uses.

Forests can generate income for people in thedeveloping world in a variety of sustainableways: ecotourism, non-timber forest productssuch as rubber, shade-grown coffee andmedicinal plants, and research activities, amongothers. All of these can all help incentivize localpeople to maintain the forest as forest. Buttimber is the primary forest product, and inmany places, responsible forestry can play acentral role in conservation-based development.

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Responsible forest management can work hand in handwith nature reserves and preservation, giving local peoplean economic stake in defending the managed forest withoutcompromising its ecological integrity and future productivity.In Bolivia, numerous indigenous and rural communities,as well as private companies and forest concessions, workunder this model. In fact, Bolivia has over 5 million acresof tropical forests certified to the stringent environmentaland social standards of the Forest Stewardship Council(FSC), more than any other country.

Managed forests can protect forest preserves by acting as buffer zones where local people canmake their living and stand between parks and the forces of encroachment and deforestation.

DEVELOPING MARKETS FOR LESSER-KNOWN TIMBER SPECIES– A KEY TORESPONSIBLE FORESTRY IN BOLIVIA

Responsible forestry and forest certificationcannot succeed in the tropics withoutdeveloping appropriate uses and markets forlesser-known timber species (LKTS).Consumers are accustomed to purchasing avery limited range of timber species, and aregenerally unaware that thousands of usefulwood species exist.

Using a broader range of species conformsdemand to what natural forests can producesustainably and can reduce the chances thatwell-known species will be overexploited.

For example, of the hundreds of tree speciesthat occur in Bolivia’s forests, only a relativehandful are commonly used for wood productsand fewer still are recognized abroad. Well-know woods like mahogany (Swieteniamacrophylla) are quickly snapped up bybuyers.

In the natural forests of Bolivia, mahoganyand other valuable trees tend to grow widelydispersed: it is common to find only a fewharvestable trees in a given area of forest.

The problem is that the fixed costs ofresponsible forest management – trainingworkers, completing forest inventories andmanagement plans, buying necessaryequipment and building access roads,obtaining FSC certification, etc. – areconsiderable. Well-known species are rarelyavailable in sufficient quantity to cover all ofthese costs, and this means that marketsmust be developed for LKTS in order to makegood forestry economically sustainable overthe long term.

To illustrate the point, in the Chiquitano DryForest of eastern Bolivia, there are about 120tree species, only about two dozens of whichare useable for lumber. Of these dozens, afew are highly valuable, a few more aremoderately valuable, and the remainder iscurrently lesser-known and low value.

Colonists

illegal loggers

Poachers Cattle ranchers

Miners

Industrialagriculture

Mixed-usebuffer zone

Natural forestmanagement

Plantationforestry

Eco-tourism

Shade-growncoffee

Chicle andBrazil Nuts

Rubber-tapping

Orchids andornamentals

Fieldresearchstations

Medicinalplants

Partnershipswith

indigenouspeoples

Core forestpreserve

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In several acres of this type of forest, youmight expect to find only 4 or 5 maturespecimens of the dozen of useable species.Furthermore, in doing responsible forestry,you need to leave one tree behind for every4 trees you remove to provide seed for futureregeneration and harvests (you would expectto come back into the same area of forestevery 20 or 30 years to harvest the valuable

trees that were too young and small to cutthe first time around). In this type of highlyselective forestry, the volumes of timbercoming out of the forest at each harvest aresmall, and fully half of the available volumemay be from LKTS. Finding markets for thelatter can make the difference between aprofitable venture and one that is not viableover time!

81%

12%

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Species with no currentcommercial value

Species with commercialvalue

Species with potentialcommercial value

Species available in theChiquitano Dry Forest

Three reasons to buy lesser-known timberspecies

• LKTS can often substitute for better-knownspecies in terms of performance andaesthetics in most applications, but theyare generally more cost effective becausethey are abundant and underutilized.

• The many LKTS available with rich, trulyexotic colors and textures provide newdesign opportunities for homeowners aswell as architects and designers.

• The use of LKTS can alleviate pressure onwell-known timber species and increasethe economic viability of sustainable forestmanagement

CONNECTING TO CONSCIOUSCONSUMERS IN THE DEVELOPEDWORLD

For better or worse, ecological awareness,“green” demand, and disposable income areall much higher in North America and Europethan they are in Bolivia and other parts of

Latin America. The best near-term opportunityto build support for LKTS from responsiblymanaged forests in Bolivia is to promote high-quality finished products made from them –products such as wood flooring, decking, anddoors that can be manufactured cost-effectively in Bolivia and exported to satisfygreen demand in the developed world.

WWF is proud to announce that a number offorward-thinking U.S. importers have chosento participate in this important initiative. Youcan help support responsible forestry and theconservation of Bolivia’s forests by purchasingwood products from the following companies:

• Flooring

• Decking

• Doors

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WWF AND THE FORESTS OF BOLIVIA

Bolivia has over 100 million acres of forest ofwhich 16% is currently devoted to sustainableuse. The resources of Bolivia’s natural forestsare a traditional source of subsistence forrural and indigenous people in the lowlands.

The timber growing in Bolivia’s forests is alsothe foundation for a growing forest productsindustry industry, generating employment andincome for the state as well as localgovernments (around 60,000 jobs and US$300,000 of national income). In addition, thesetropical forests provide a variety of criticalenvironmental services such as biodiversitypreservation, carbon sequestration, regulationof regional climate and rainfall, and productionof clean air and water.

In spite of their great value, Bolivia’s forestsare threatened by illegal logging and in many

places are being converted to other uses,including agricultural and cattle ranching, eventhough their soils are not fit for such activities.

WWF Bolivia's forestry work

WWF has been working on forestry issues inBolivia since 1993, when it began trainingcommunities in forest management in theAmazon watershed. Between 2001 and 2004,WWF Bolivia launched the regional communityforest project whose aim was to providetraining in sustainable forest management toselected community forestry operations, usingas a guide the principles and criteria of FSCcertification (Forest Stewardship Council). 

Geographically, WWF's work regarding forestmanagement is concentrated in the Amazonand Dry Chiquitano Forest with the goal ofpreserving their biodiversity and productivityfor current and future generations.

Currently WWF Bolivia has a Forestry Program thatsupports indigenous communities in practicingresponsible forestry and helps connect them withnational and international markets. An important partof this work is building demand for legally-harvestedwood coming from well-managed forests, includingabundant LKTS. ©

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FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL (FSC)CERTIFICATION

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)(www.fsc.org) is a non-profit organizationwhose internationally recognized Principlesand Criteria provide a consistent and credibleframework for independent forest certificationworldwide. FSC certification is a voluntaryprocess that ensures consumers that thewood products they buy were grown andharvested in a way that protects forests forthe long term. Certifiers assess the on-the-ground forest practices of a given operationagainst a stringent set of environmental, socialand economic criteria. Operations that meetthose standards may identify their productsas originating from an FSC-certified well-managed source.

Among many other things, in order to be FSCcertified, a forest owner or manager must:

• Meet all applicable laws

• Have legally established rights to harvest

• Respect indigenous rights

• Maintain community well-being

• Conserve economic resources

• Protect biological diversity

• Have a written management plan

• Engage in regular monitoring

• Maintain high conservation value forests

• Manage plantations to alleviate pressureson – NOT replace - natural forests.

FSC enjoys the support of WWF and manyother conservation organizations.

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FSC Trademark © 1996 ForestStewardship Council A.C.