CERTIFIED WOOD PRODUCTS
If your business requires the use of wood based products, we recommend that it come from second growth forests, which are managed in an environmentally sound way, and that are certified according to strict ecological criteria.
Selectively logged for the past 4 years, Al Hopwood's woodlot is part of the solution.
An Example of Responsible Forest Stewardship
This logging operation depicts one of the solutions being proffered. It is an eco-certified second growth woodlot in BC's temperate rainforest. Locally controlled and operated, it provides seven times the provincial average for logging jobs per cubic metre of wood cut.
The wood is available for local sawmills and furniture manufacturers as well as open log markets. The local economy is stimulated by the provision of sustainable jobs and wood supply. Ecologically, it is a second growth forest on a gentle slope with no salmon streams. It is selectively logged and has been independently certified according to strict ecological criteria by the Silva Forest Foundation, a Forest Stewardship Council accredited certifying body. This is one of the first operations in BC to receive FSC certification. This is the future direction of forestry around the world.
Logging Certification
There are currently numerous certification schemes on the market that claim to be stamps of ecological responsibility. However, only two certification processes are currently being supported by both the environmental and native communities as being a measure of ecologically stringent and socially just practices. These are the Silva Forest Foundation in BC, and the international Forest Stewardship Council*. These two alone safeguard high conservation value forests.
In addition to second growth certified products, The Markets Initiatives also supports forest products that originate from native and long-settled, forest-dependent community operations in ancient forest areas if the products are independently certified according to strict ecological criteria (The Markets Initiative currently recognizes the Silva Forest Foundation and the Forest Stewardship Council).
Click here to find companies that sell certified wood products.