Forests – in all forms – are essential to life on our planet. They provide clean air, water and climate regulation. As a renewable resource, forests are an important part of the solution to meeting global needs for foods, fuel, fibre, medicine and other essential products to our daily lives.

The global forest products industry is inherently renewable. ICFPA members are committed to sustainable forest management with some 300 million hectares of certified areas from which is sourced a significant amount of wood fibre used by the industry.
“By following best practices, well-managed forests of all types are a positively contribution to the provision of distinct products and services that are essential for human well-being and development. Thus our industry is helping to alleviate climate change impacts while provides social inclusion”, said ICFPA president Elizabeth de Carvalhaes.

“South Africa’s pulp and papermaking industry is built on the country’s large plantation forest industry, explains Jane Molony, executive director of the Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA) which is represented on the ICFPA. “Our plantations are managed in a sustainable manner, which means that as one tree is felled in one part of the forest, another is planted in another area. This ensures that the supply of trees for pulp and paper making is renewed into the future.”

Molony adds that trees are the source for thousands of products – from traditional products such as timber, pulp and paper and biomass energy to liquid biofuels, biochemicals, biomaterials, nanofibres or nanocrystals of cellulose to improve products used in such applications as automobiles, aerospace, defence, etc.

ICFPA is proud to represent the contributions of the global forest products industry to sustainable development, ensuring that environmental, social and economic benefits are available to current and future generations.

The 2015 ICFPA Sustainability Progress Report highlights the industry’s improvements across a range of sustainability indicators and focuses on the industry’s contributions toward a green economy, including the reduction on Greenhouse gas emissions intensity, the uptake in certified sustainably managed forests and a high paper recycling rate.

The ICFPA represents more than 30 national and regional forest and paper associations around the world. Together, ICFPA members represent over 90 percent of global paper production and half of global wood production.

For more information about the sustainability of the global forest and paper industry, visit icfpa.org.

The post Celebrating trees on International Day of Forests 2016 first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).

Forest certification is a voluntary, market-focused mechanism, which supports a broad range of social, economic and environmental benefits associated with sustainable forest management. It is of concern that, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), only 10% of the world’s forests are independently certified.

Led by 26 global companies along the forest products value chain responsible for nearly 40% of annual global forest, paper and packaging sales, the WBCSD Forest Solutions Group seeks to ensure that the supply of independently-verified sustainable wood and other forest products continues to increase to meet growing demand. To achieve this objective, all WBCSD companies involved in the Forest Solutions Group commit to:

• Work with stakeholders to spread sustainable forest management;
• Support and promote the expansion of forest certification;
• Set 2020 targets to increase the use of certification when sourcing forest products and fiber; and
• Grow markets for certified forest products.

The WBCSD also calls on all forest certification stakeholders to actively:

• Promote certification to forest owners and companies around the world to improve forest management practices with a priority focus on tropical forests;
• Fully utilize existing certification within their own programs, operations, supply chains, and investments; and
• Support approaches to sustainable development that include small forest owners, community forestry, indigenous peoples and agroforestry operators via forest certification and other tools.

We ask other stakeholders, including all WBCSD member companies that support the objectives of this statement, to lend their endorsement by contacting James Griffiths, Managing Director at the WBCSD (griffiths@wbcsd.org) to explore active collaboration. 

The post Leadership Statement on the Value and Future of Forest Certification first appeared on The Paper Story (PAMSA).