With over two million hectares of forests certified under Forest Stewardship Council rules, Bolivia has emerged as Latin America's leading sustainable timber producer. Its regional neighbors should look and learn. By Oliver Balch
Asked to name a South American country with joined-up government, commercial innovation and conservation, few would come up with Bolivia. But the beleaguered land-locked nation is spearheading the region's drive towards sustainable forestry.
For once, both environmentalists and business representatives agree why: certification. Working closely with the U.S. Agency for International Development, Bolivia's forestry administration began introducing basic certification techniques to both private and public sector operators in the mid-1990s.
Now more than five million acres -- over a quarter of the country’s forest coverage -- is certified according to basic environmental and social standards.
"One of the key successes of Bolivia was the willingness of the government, private sector and non-profit groups to work together to establish a system-wide arrangement that would in turn create the preconditions for sustainable forest management," says Daniel Arancibia, Latin American representative of the Forest Stewardship Council, a business-backed group specializing in sustainable forest certification.
The approach was helped by a new forestry law in Bolivia in 1996, which contained incentives for responsible forest management. Timber companies that meet the FSC’s standards, for example, are exempt from otherwise costly monitoring requirements by government officials.
Under the revised legislation, private timber companies are granted concessions to develop national forests commercially, but only under strict social and environmental conditions.
The groundwork for Bolivia’s certification program was laid by Bolfor, a joint project between Bolivia’s environment ministry and the U.S. Agency for international Development. The project is now entering a second stage, focusing on the consolidation of forest regulations, the promotion of local capacities and the conservation of forest biodiversity.
Timber companies are increasingly looking to the FSC for a benchmark standard. Today, 16 forest operations in Bolivia are certified according to the FSC’s rules, which cover issues such as the protection of water and other natural resources, respect for indigenous rights and the economic well-being of forest workers and local communities.
Supply and Demand
Yet supply is only one side of the equation of Bolivia’s success. Equally important is promoting demand. Under the guise of the Bolfor project, Bolivia’s forestry sector is trying to promote the "Bolivia certified" label in its overseas markets. The Tropical Forest Trust, a U.K.-based membership organization, is working to promote Bolivia’s FSC timber with European importers. Bolfor’s partners are doing the same in the U.S.
Bolivian FSC-certified forest products are now sold everywhere from France and Spain to Hong Kong and Singapore. Being a tropical hardwood, most ends up being sold as doors, furniture, floorboards, chairs, and sawn timber. Exports hit £9.1 million last year.
One of the main importers is the U.K. retailer B&Q. The home-improvement specialist has a commitment to ensuring all its wood and paper products come either from proven, well-managed forests or recycled material. In 2004, B&Q sourced 1,700 cubic meters of roundwood, mostly for use in its garden furniture range.
"We want to offer our customers a choice of sustainable products at affordable prices and our timber buying policy is aimed at achieving this," explains George Padelopoulos, B&Q’s social responsibility adviser.
Natural forests cover almost half (47%) of Latin America. That proportion is dropping. Every year, an estimated 58 million hectares of forest are lost to unsustainable and, all too often, illegal logging. If the trend is to turn around, more countries need to follow Bolivia’s lead.
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This article has been reprinted courtesy of Ethical Corporation. It was first published on March 28, 2006.
