ethically-traded wood from community-managed African forests

Transcription

1 ethically-traded wood from community-managed African forests

2 ethically-traded wood from community-managed African forests Sustainable Fair Trade Wood From Tanzania, East Africa Neil Bridgland Director Sound and Fair

3 Tanzania?

4 Tanzanian Forests Predominantly dry miombo forest Distinct dry / wet season Low tree density Slow growing trees

5 Socio-Economics Around 40% of land forested 35million hectares 87% of population rural Reliant on forest for livelihoods Average household income: Less than USD250 per annum

6 Free-For-All Until 2007 Under-funded forestry Poor control over harvesting Chronic abuse of permit system Massive revenue shortfalls High percentage of log exports Communities excluded from revenue streams

7 TRAFFIC study 2007 Lessons Learned from a Logging Boom in Southern Tanzania Rampant illegal logging 96% of forest fees unpaid Cost: USD58million per year Chinese import data = 10 x Tanzania s export data

8 National Outcry Nationwide action Log exports banned Overhaul of permit system Increased training BUT Forestry remained underresourced Unofficial target reduce illegal logging to 70%

9 New Approach Community-based Sustainable Forestry Management Forestry Act of 2002 Participatory Forest Management Village Land Forest Reserves Full ownership and management responsibility 100% of log sale revenue

10 New Forestry Landscape Number of villages involved: 2,000 Area of forest: 3 million hectares 15% of total public land forest (non-protected areas) Massive new local forestry force Research suggests illegal logging has fallen dramatically

11 Sound and Fair? Africa s first FSC certified communitymanaged natural forests Over 80,000 hectares now FSC certified Sound and Fair created to market FSC 100% fair trade wood Key to community based SFM: Ensuring sufficient value reaches forest base

12 FSC 100% Wood First and foremost African blackwood Dalbergia melanoxylon AKA grenadilla Very dense +1200kg per m 3 A joy to work with

13 African Blackwood Uses Traditional primary woodwind musical instruments Oboes, clarinets, flutes, piccolos and bagpipes Multiple recovery purposes Knife handles, pens, castanets, drum sticks, jewellery

14 Panga Panga Millettia stuhlmannii Same genus and characteristics as wenge 880kg per m 3 Markets - furniture, flooring Increasing interest from guitar sector

15 Pod Mahogany Afzelia quanzensis Same genus and characteristics as doussie 820kg per m 3 Markets - furniture, flooring Some interest from guitar sector

16 East African Padauk Pterocarpus angolensis Same genus and characteristics as African padauk Sometimes called mninga 625kg per m 3 Markets furniture, boats, consumer products Some interest from guitar sector

17 Ethical Trade Impact Local income USD1 per m 3 to USD100 per m 3 Social impact revenue for new schools, healthcare, clean water and enterprise Increased community capacity and cohesion People having some control over their destiny Improved forest protection and governance

18 A Good Start, but Capital investment required Expand harvesting and production Modern sawmilling technology to increase yields efficiency = log prices = social impact = incentive for SFM impact

19 Expanding FSC Forests Community forests: 15% FSC community forests: <5% Development investment gearing up Especially Scandinavian development agencies

20 Increasing Forest Value Newly available species Additional 5-10 hardwood species that may have potential Currently not well known Buyers wary

21 Fairtrade certification FSC / Fairtrade dual-labelling Fairtrade premium of 10% added to FOB price Fairtrade premium seems more acceptable Opportunity to differentiate ethically traded wood

22 Final Thoughts First and foremost COMMUNITIES ARE KEY TO NATURAL FOREST SFM Can enough forest be secured? Price - Supply Tropical hardwoods only used in premium products experimentation with new species Composite products

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