42 | Sector Focus: Tropical Timber
OF SOLUTIONS A FOREST
Providing a renewable raw material is just one benefit of sustainably managed tropical forests, says INTERHOLCO CEO Ulrich Grauert
SUMMARY
■All INTERHOLCO’s production in the RoC is FSC certified
■RoC is home to 23% of the total Congo Basin forest
■Congo has already put 45% of its forest area under protection
on INTERHOLCO’s culture of alliance and collaboration.
The world needs healthy forests. For indigenous peoples, ‘healthy forests’ mean they can continue to rely on them and their trees and timber as a source of food, fuel, medicines, and ultimately for their identity and livelihoods.
In urban communities, wood is ‘our second forest’, which is increasingly understood to be beneficial to our health and the wider environment. The building sector is a key source of emissions contributing to climate change. The concrete industry alone is responsible for 8% of all CO2
emitted from
human activity – if it was a country it would be the largest source after China and the US. Wood is the only building material proven to originate from responsibly managed and renewable sources, ie forests. And forests are vast repositories of CO2
and
thus a critical instrument in the fight against climate change.
But good governance and an ambitious forestry code alone cannot guarantee forests’ maintenance. This is where certification, such as that under the well-recognised Forest Stewardship Council Scheme (FSC), comes in. It provides a guarantee of responsible management (FSC®
C022952) and behind it
is a global community collectively driving forest protection.
As a leading international producer and supplier of hardwood from Africa committed to sustainability, INTERHOLCO shares FSC’s long-term thinking. All of our own production in the Republic of Congo (RoC) is FSC certified and, with this status, African hardwood has the potential to deliver so many wider benefits that contribute to meeting UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is hard to think of a comparably ‘generous’ material. This potential is based
The Republic of Congo is home to 23% of the total Congo Basin forest, the world’s second largest tropical forest area. Its forestry sector employs more people than any other industry after oil and gas. And covering 70% of its total land area, equivalent to Greece and Portugal, its forests and peatlands are a vast repository of carbon – so making a major contribution to achieving UN SDGs 13 and 15.
Consequently carbon trading has the potential to further remunerate effective forest protection in the Republic of Congo. Avoidance of deforestation and forest degradation can be encouraged with fiscal incentives and ‘zero-deforestation’ taxes, especially in consumer markets. It could be driven too through direct payment with carbon credits for ecosystem services, so helping meet SDGs 11, 12, 13, 15, 16 and 17. Then there’s INTERHOLCO’s alliance with the forests themselves. Congo has already put 45% of its forest area under protection, including two national parks close to INTERHOLCO’s concession. Together with the parks, the concession covers 33,000km2
,
an area the size of Belgium. The company harvests as little as 0.2m3
of wood per hectare
per year in only 1/30 of the concession production area. In 2020, the World Resources Institute recorded 0.22% deforestation in north Congo, where INTERHOLCO’s forest
concession is located. A vast, natural Eden is thus protected, with its wildlife including forest elephants and gorillas – as WWF and IUCN studies report (SDG 13, 15). Finally, INTERHOLCO is in alliance with people near and far; spanning employees, city inhabitants, consumers, scientists, activists, experts, architects and investors. Some 16,000 people live in its concession, including an indigenous population of 6,000, with whom the company had over 250 consultations in 2020 alone. Economic sustainability translates into funds for communities (meeting SDGs 5 and 10), for infrastructure (SDGs 3, 4, 7 and 9) and taxes to government (SDG 16). The needs of employees and their communities feed regional and sub-regional markets for food, services, transport and, supplies (SDGs 1, 2, 6 and 8). FSC-certified hardwood from Africa also empowers consumers and investors to drive change (SDG 11, 12, 17) and allows architects, designers and specifiers to build greener cities (SDG 11).
Sustainable hardwood from Africa is up to multiple challenges. It’s safe to use, eco-friendly, carbon positive and reusable, renewable and recyclable – it even has compostable bio-products. It is inherently durable, fire resistant and statically efficient, meaning it makes most effective use of local resources. An ideal ally to advance a circular economy, ‘build back better’ and to satisfy the needs of future-minded consumers. ■
Above left: INTERHOLCO Africa-made laminated scantlings Above right: Ideal for marine applications, azobe and tali
TTJ | November/December 2021 |
www.ttjonline.com
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