Iwokrama operations get FSC stamp of approval

Iwokrama operations get FSC stamp of approval
Kaieteur News, 25 April 2008

The Iwokrama International Centre and its joint venture partner
Tigerwood Guyana Inc (TGI) have achieved Forestry Stewardship Council
(FSC) certification for the Iwokrama rain forest.
The Chief Executive Officers of the two companies, Mr Dane Gobin and
Sir Ronald Sanders respectively, made the announcement yesterday.
They revealed that the FSC certificate has been issued after the
forest management and sustainable harvesting operations in Iwokrama
were closely examined by FSC appointed auditors, Woodmark, of the UK
last year.
FSC's model of certification allows products that flow from certified
forests to enter the global marketplace with a credential that is
unique. Any FSC labelled product can be traced back to a certified
source, and confirms that forestry operations are conducted in
accordance with international social, environmental and economic best
practices. It also confirms that local communities are fully
integrated into the business both at the strategic and operational
levels and are involved in the decision making process.
Mr Gobin said: "This is a proud moment for Iwokrama and its joint
venture partner TGI. In securing the certificate for the Iwokrama
forest and its operations, Guyana has been placed firmly on the map of
responsible forestry management. We are the only venture in the area
of the Guiana Shield to now enjoy FSC accreditation".
He explained that the Guiana Shield underlies Guyana, Suriname, French
Guiana, as well as parts of Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil.
Speaking for TGI, Sir Ronald declared: "FSC certification was
difficult to accomplish. It called for a commitment to sustainable
harvesting that had to be backed with greater resources than a normal
harvesting operation in order to achieve higher standards".
Sanders pointed out that "the sustainable harvesting operation is also
contributing to the maintenance of the valuable ecosystem-services of
the forest which benefits all mankind".
The representatives of the two companies stated that harvesting is
being conducted in strict accordance with principles of Reduced Impact
Logging (RIL). The objective is to minimize damage and maintain the
forest in an intact condition. Felling blocks will be closed to allow
for natural regeneration of plant species according to a 60-year cycle
as soon as selective harvesting is completed.
They also drew attention to the fact that a significant number of
members of the surrounding Amerindian communities have been gainfully
employed in the forest operations and, as these expand adding
value-added activities, even more of the community members will find
jobs within the forest, thus helping to alleviate poverty and
contributing to community cohesiveness.
Mr. Gobin expressed thanks to the WWF Guianas programme and to the
Commonwealth for providing resources to the Iwokrama Centre for the
certification exercise.
The Iwokrama International Centre (IIC) manages the forest under a
mandate from the Government of Guyana and the Commonwealth
Secretariat.
In 1995, the Guyana government formally made a gift of the Iwokrama
forest to the Commonwealth (a group of 53 nations consisting of
Britain and many of its former colonies) with the objective of
demonstrating how tropical forests can be conserved and sustainably
used to provide ecological, social and economic benefits to local,
national and international communities.
Ten years later, the Board of Trustees of IIC decided to pursue a
limited harvesting operation through a business partnership involving
local communities and the private sector. A joint venture company was
formed with TGI investing the risk capital and providing the
management and marketing expertise.
The Iwokrama Centre had been working on forest certification since
2005 when a pre-assessment exercise was conducted to determine
compliance with FSC certification guidelines.
IIC and TGI decided from the outset that they wanted to pursue
international best practice in the sustainable harvesting of timber so
immediately on the formation of the joint venture company a year ago,
both ITI and TGI continued to pursue certification accreditation and
subjected themselves to close scrutiny and rigorous tests from
auditors appointed by FSC.