Workshops on gPromoting Certified and Verified Legal Tropical Timber and Timber Products in Japanh
IGES supported and participated in two workshops in Tokyo and Osaka on 29 and 31 July 2008 on gPromoting Certified and Verified Legal Tropical Timber and Timber Products in Japanh. The workshops were organised as part of an International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) project that aims at establishing a gfair wood centreh in Japan as a clearinghouse for information on verified legal and sustainable timber. The project is being implemented as part of the FairWood Campaign, which IGES actively participates in.
The workshops, which were open to the public, brought together Japanese buyers (home builders, furniture makers etc.) and Indonesia and Malaysian sellers of tropical timber, as well as NGOs from abroad and Japan, and research institutions, such as IGES. The workshop discussed the results of two risk assessment reports for timber procured from Indonesia and Malaysia that were recently completed as part of the ITTO project. Other sessions discussed the experiences of suppliers in establishing legality assurance systems or having their forest management certified and the procurement policies of Japanese tropical timber buyers.
The IGES Forest Conservation Project presented its research on the certification of community based forest management (CBFM). The participants noted that:
Certification of CBFM is accelerating and in some countries may be easier to acquire than certification of industrial-scale concessions.
Sustaining the certification of CBFM through establishing viable community timber enterprises remains a major challenge.
Community forestry could provide small volumes of solid timber to the international market and some buyers may be willing to provide flexible orders suited to the capacities of communities.
Although demand for certified timber in Japan remains low, some Japanese companies are developing policies that favour legal and sustainable timber. These companies see environmental and socially responsible procurement policies as one way of differentiating themselves in the market place.
