WOOD
Illegal logging in the Amazon has
long attracted the attention of
environmentalists in Brazil and abroad,
but the issue is becoming increasingly
urgent. Climate change and other
challenges faced by the planet in the 21st
century mobilize businesses and require
a new approach by the government to
ight predatory uses of the forest. Fraud
takes many forms, from the initial timber
harvest to its inal use in furniture and
construction, which complicates efforts
to stem and control illegal trade. This
challenge requires a broad effort to
ensure the conservation of natural
resources for future generations.
From the forest to the consumer
W
ood - F
rom the f
or
est t
o the c
onsumer
How to address the swirl
of interests, emotions and
actions surrounding the most
important tropical forest in
the world? The Amazon Forest
reveals innumerable dilemmas
that our interconnected planet
faces today. One of the most
pressing matters is associated
to wood and its economic
applications – an issue that
encapsulates the challenge of
conserving natural resources
for future generations.
Addressing these issues is
the mission of the Friends
of the Amazon Network, an
initiative by the Center for
Sustainability Studies and the
Center for Public Management
and Government Studies at
the Getulio Vargas Foundation.
The network uses information
as a strategic tool to mobilize
governments, businesses and
society as a whole towards
changing attitudes.
We went deep into the Amazon
in search of the stories behind
forest, all the while maintaining
the objective and investigative
spirit of true journalism. The
result is a useful synthesis of
the best available statistics and
scientiic studies to support the
eforts of those who – within
governments or in civil society
– are trying to conserve the
forest.
With its detailed graphics and
documentary style, this book
reveals how pervasive fraud has
traditionally controlled timber
production, transport and
trade. We also demonstrate the
ingenious ways in which good
practices are spreading and
building a new economic model
that reconciles development
and conservation.
Malu Villela
Coordinator, Friends of the
Amazon Network
Peter Spink
Coordinator, Center for Public
Management and Government
Studies
Initiative Support Sponsorship
WOOD
First Edition
São Paulo
FGV RAE
2011
From the forest to the consumer
Sérgio Adeodato
Malu Villela
Luciana Stocco Betiol
This is a publication by t he Cent er for Sust ainabilit y St udies and t he Cent er for Public Management and Government St udies at Get ulio Vargas Foundat ion
Writing and editing: Sérgio Adeodat o
Research: Mart ha San Juan França, Silvia Torikachvili, Gust avo Faleiros (SP), Efraim Net o (Brasília)
Technical Coordination: Malu Villela (FGV)
Supervision: Mario Monzoni (FGV), Luciana Stocco Betiol (FGV) e Edson Vidal (ESALQ/USP)
Technical support: Daniela Sanches (FGV), Carlos Pignatari (FGV), Carolina Reis (FGV) e Thiago Uehara (FGV)
Copydesk: José Julio do Espirit o Sant o
English language translation: Flavia Pardini
Designer and art editor: Walkyria Garot t i
Graphics: Sandro Falset t i
Image processing: Momédio Nasciment o
Producer: Bel Brunharo (FGV)
Printing: Neoband Soluções Gráficas
Cover image: Morley Read/iSt ockphot o
We acknowledge t he collaborat ion of expert s around t he count ry who agreed t o be int erviewed; research organizat ions t hat supplied st at ist ics and st udies – especially t he Global Growt h Inst it ut e (GGGI); and t he Conservat ion Int ernat ional (CI- Brazil) for t he images t hat illust rat e t his book.
Funding: The Depart ment for Environment , Food and Rural Affairs of t he Brit ish Government – DEFRA
Support: European Commission
We authorize reproduction and distribution of this publication or parts of it, by any printed or electronic means, for study and research purposes only, and as long as the source is attributed.
The Getulio Vargas Foundation is a high quality educational center that strives to contribute to scholar development in Brazil. In view of its policies to promote debate, as well as the production of data and information, FGV is one of the most important institutions in Brazil. It also contributes to educate citizens ethically and make them aware of their responsibilities as transformative agents in society. This publication received support from the European Union. FGV is solely responsible for its contents, which do not necessarily reflect the European Union’s vision.
Cat aloging
Timber from end t o end: t he way from t he forest t o t he consumer / Sérgio Adeodat o, Mario Monzoni; Luciana St occo Bet iol and Malu Villela - São Paulo, SP: FGV RAE, 2011.
p.128;
ISBN: 978- 85- 63620- 02- 6
1. Responsible consumpt ion of t imber. 2. Environment al Conservat ion. 3. Deforest at ion. 4. Amazon - Forest . 5. Illegal t imber. 6. Fraud. 7. Product ion chain.
WOOD
First Edition
São Paulo
FGV RAE
2011
Sérgio Adeodato
Malu Villela
Luciana Stocco Betiol
Mario Monzoni
From the forest to the consumer
Preface
Illegal logging causes a number of environment al and social dama-ges in count ries where wood is sourced from nat ive forest s. Logging in prot ect ed areas is an act of irresponsibilit y t hat exacerbat es t he loss of biodiversit y. In addit ion, uncont rolled deforest at ion and bushfires may aggravat e climat e change, not t o ment ion t he negat ive effect s t hey impose on local populat ions, such as t he impoverishment of rural com-munit ies whose livelihoods depend on forest product s.
Several st udies show t hat Brazil ranks high in t erms of irresponsible use of nat ural resources, including nat ive wood from t he Amazon.
Even more worrisome is t he fact t hat t he st at e, despit e being res-ponsible for regulat ing logging act ivit ies, is one of t he largest consumers of nat ive wood, which subvert s t he goals of any government commit t ed t o sust ainable environment al management .
By monit oring t he development and impact s of illegal t imber pro-duct ion and consumpt ion around t he world, t he Friends of t he Amazon Net work – an init iat ive by t he Get ulio Vargas Foundat ion wit h support from t he Brit ish Government and t he European Commission – ident ified a need t o describe and evaluat e, in a brief and inst ruct ive manner, t he different mechanisms t he st at e has available t o reverse t his predat ory pract ice. One of t he aspect s discussed in t his book is t he role of civil servant s in major effort s aimed at repressing illegal logging and t imber product ion, as well as ident ifying product s derived from t hese act ivit ies in order t o prevent t heir consumpt ion.
In it s four chapt ers, t his book offers an overview of t he forest s and t heir ecosyst em services worldwide, as well as an evaluat ion of challen-ges and obst acles inherent t o responsible t imber product ion and con-sumpt ion. It discusses effort s t o use t echnological resources in order t o enhance t he government ’s act ion and t o minimize conflict s in t he forest , reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reverse t he enormous t ax evasion result ing from illegal logging.
This challenge is furt her compounded by t he fact t hat t he govern-ment is indeed a major consumer of t imber. Economic t ools have been developed and are available t o t he government t o encourage t he res-ponsible purchase of product s and services – especially t imber – in what is now being called “sust ainable procurement ”.
In addit ion t o t he barriers and challenges posed by illegal logging, we hope t hat readers will also be able t o ident ify t he possible solu-t ions solu-t o solu-t his problem. There are opporsolu-t unisolu-t ies for building a responsible business t hat benefit s t he forest and t he communit ies t hat inhabit it , encouraging everyone t o part icipat e in t he conservat ion and best use of t he environment around us.
Enjoy your reading!
São Paulo, March 4t h 2011.
Mario Prestes Monzoni Neto
Coordinat or, Cent er for Sust ainabilit y St udies at Get ulio Vargas Foundat ion
Luciana Stocco Betiol
Forests are vital for the planet and a
renewable source of wealth and income
From the opportunities in harvesting
timber to its consumption
The guarantee of legal and sustainable
origin for timber still faces challenges
Policies for responsible production
and c
onsumption and their efects
1
8
26
62
98
2
3
4
WOOD
Index
Forests under the spotlight
Chain reaction
In pursuit of legal loggingl
In pursuit of legal logging
The power of public authorities
The power of public authorities
The world turns its attention to the
sustainable economic use of this natural
treasure as a guarantor of biodiversity, water,
climate, income, and industrial raw materials
Forests under the spotlight
ven f rom af ar, a visit or t o t he Royal Bot anic Garden is able t o
see a large iron st ruct ure covered in f ogged glass nest led among
t he ext ensive law ns, and rose and t ulip gardens. The building
may resemble a small cryst al palace, but it is act ually t he oldest greenhouse
f or t ropical species built in t emperat e count ries such as t he Unit ed Kingdom.
These are t he Kew Gardens, one of t he w orld’s most t radit ional bot anical
cent ers, sit uat ed on t he banks of t he River Thames, just a f ew kilomet ers
f rom London’s pulsat ing cent er. Sir Ghillean Prance, w ho direct ed t he Bot anic
Gardens f rom 1988 t o 1999, guides us t ow ards t he imposing greenhouse. He
explains t hat t he building w as f inished in 1848, w hen t he Brit ish Empire w as
at it s peak. It w as during Queen Vict oria’s reign and researchers at Her M
aj-est y’s service in Sout heast Asia, Sout h America and Cent ral Af rica w ere
send-ing back species f rom t ropical f orest s in t he f art hest corners of t he w orld.
The collect ion illust rat es t he import ance of f orest s t o t he w orld. From
t he Amazon, species know n f or t heir economic value w ere t aken t o t he Kew
Gardens, such as t he mahogany – Sw iet enia M acrophylla – w hose w ood w as
t he most prized of Sout h America’s t ropical f orest s. The Amazon Forest holds
hundreds of renow ned t ree species and most of t hem are commercially
valu-able. The f act t hat t hese species are so abundant ly represent ed in bot anical
collect ions abroad ref lect s somet hing else ot her t han past ef f ort s t o conserve
t he global genet ic herit age. These collect ions ref lect t he st rat egic import ance
of st udying and conserving t hese species, not only f or t heir economic and
social value, but f or t heir import ance t o t he planet ’s climat e.
Inside t he greenhouse, t he chill from London’s evening is immediat ely
replaced by humid and warm air. “The t emperat ure is kept at 24 degrees,” says
Prance. Underneat h a mane of whit e hair, lurks t he keen research mind of one
of t he most renowned bot anist s specialized in species of t he Amazon. In 1964,
aft er t aking part in an expedit ion t o t he
forest s of Suriname, he arrived in
Bra-zil t o st art research in part nership wit h
t he Nat ional Inst it ut e of Amazon
Rese-arch (INPA in t he Port uguese acronym),
founded a decade before in Manaus.
“I got to Brazil just as the cycle of
large scale deforestation was beginning,
advanced mainly by government projects
such the Trans- Amazonian highway,” he says. Prance witnessed the onset of an
accelerating process of destruction that today, many decades later, has already
destroyed 17% of the original forest – an area equivalent to three times the state
of São Paulo.
Making sure t hat species f rom t he Amazon are prot ect ed in bot anical
gardens allows f ut ure generat ions t o get t o know t hem, but it does not mean
t hat t oday t he impact s of def orest at ion on ecosyst ems are smaller t han bef
re. On t he cont rary, f orest s are const ant ly t hreat ened by f ragment at ion, def
o-rest at ion, f ire, climat e change and loss of biological diversit y.
Despit e t he slower pace of deforest at ion seen in t he last decade, absolut e
numbers are st ill high. The lat est report from t he Unit ed Nat ions Food and
Agri-cult ure Organizat ion (FAO) published in 2010, shows t hat t he average forest
area cleared annually has fallen from 16 million hect ares in t he 1990s t o 13
million hect ares over t he last 10 years. In sum, every year an area equivalent t o
one and a half t imes t hat of Port ugal is lost . Sout h America and Africa are t he
leaders and account for more t han half of global deforest at ion.
This sit uat ion is worrisome because t hose regions cont ain t he largest
areas of nat ive old f orest f or f ut ure logging. This nat ural preserve is under
cont inuous pressure. In part s of t he world t hat have a longer hist ory of using
f orest resources, such as Europe and Asia, current ef f ort s f ocus on ref orest
a-t ion and recovery. On a-t hese cona-t inena-t s, in spia-t e of some gains in f oresa-t ed area,
t here are st ill high rat es of def orest at ion in order t o meet world demand f or
energy, wood and ot her f orest product s.
Nature’s cornucopia
Forest s are t errest rial ecosyst ems essent ial f or t he survival of t housands
of living creat ures. Nat ive or plant ed f orest s cover one t hird of t he Eart h’s
surf ace and t heir dist ribut ion is concent rat ed in f ive count ries: Russia, China,
Brazil, Canada and t he Unit ed St at es. These ref uges wit h diversif ied landscape
and climat e support t he reproduct ion of lif e and hold more t han half of all
animal and plant species in t he planet .
When we t hink about t his expanse of green it is nat ural t o immediat ely
connect it t o t he necessit y of prot ect ing biodiversit y. However, t he benefit s of
conserving forest s are much larger t han simply saving species. Forest s perform
ecological funct ions essent ial for t he planet ’s well- being – services ranging
from t he supply of clean wat er t o cit ies t o t he product ion of t imber for building
houses and furnit ure, as well as t he manufact ure of cosmet ics and a wealt h
of ot her common product s t hat depend on t he healt h of ecosyst ems. These
services cont ribut e t o t he climat e’s st abilit y and are essent ial fact ors t o food
product ion such as rain pat t erns, soil st abilit y, nut rient accumulat ion,
pollina-t ion and pespollina-t conpollina-t rol.
Nat ural abundance is on display everywhere in t he Brazilian Amazon,
of a mosaic of ecosyst ems: floodplains, freshwat er swamp forest s, wet lands,
Cerrado and mount ainous refuges. The forest is an enormous reposit ory for
commercially valuable wood, as well as ot her forms of carbon, a st rat egic
“commodit y” in t he fight against climat e change. The region is irrigat ed by t he
world’s largest river net work, which cont ains 15% of t he planet ’s pot able
wa-t er – a resource wa-t hawa-t is becoming scarce due wa-t o polluwa-t ion, populawa-t ion increase
and economic growt h in emerging count ries. The Amazon also holds significant
pot ent ial t o use wat er t o generat e energy. The region’s capacit y is est imat ed at
105,500 MW – a t hird of t he current inst alled capacit y for hydroelect ric
pro-duct ion in Brazil according t o t he Nat ional Agency for Elect ric Energy (Aneel).
Despit e it s import ant role for t he st abilit y of global environment , t he
Amazon, like ot her t ropical rainforest s, is t arget ed for dest ruct ion.
Approxi-mat ely 40% of global forest s were cleared in t he last cent ury. According t o UN
researchers, t he pace of ext inct ion may have negat ive effect s on t he economy
and on t he st ocks of food and wat er crucial t o t he growing human populat ion,
which is est imat ed t o reach 9 billion by 2050. The effect s of rainforest dest
ruc-t ion are global and noruc-t limiruc-t ed ruc-t o some far- off furuc-t ure. Scienruc-t ific sruc-t udies carried
out by researchers at t he Universit y of São Paulo indicat e t hat changes in forest
cover in t he Amazon have effect s on t he rain pat t erns elsewhere in Brazil, such
as part s of t he Midwest , t he Sout heast and t he Sout h. These regions support
most of t he agricult ure product ion and t he populat ion vulnerable t o disast ers
like floods and mudslides.
Alt hough t he use of t ree plant at ions t o supply t imber for indust rial uses
is increasing, t he world largely consumes t imber from nat ive forest s. It makes
sense t hen t o ensure t hat it s ext ract ion is done sust ainably. The world has lost
a t hird of t he genet ic resources used for agricult ure and food product ion in t he
last cent ury. The UN’s Millennium Ecosyst em Assessment , compiled by
resear-chers from several count ries, shows t hat of t he 24 ecosyst em services crucial
t o human survival 60% are in a st at e of advanced degradat ion. The human
can nat urally replace, causing negat ive effect s for t he qualit y of life and t he
supply of raw mat erials t o indust ry.
The magnit ude of t hese t hreat s has moved t he issue beyond t he narrow
confines of environment alist s’ circles and int o t he realm of st rat egic planning
by government s and t he business agenda for companies. Because
consump-t ion is one of consump-t he causes of biodiversiconsump-t y loss, conservaconsump-t ion efforconsump-t s musconsump-t involve
economic act ivit ies and societ y as a whole. “Demand creat es supply,” says t he
coordinat or of t he Cent er for Sust ainabilit y St udies at Fundação Get ulio Vargas
(FGV), Mario Monzoni. That is also t rue for environment al issues such as t he
harvest ing of nat ive t rees. “The impact of consumpt ion is st ill marginal, but
increasing,” adds Monzoni.
The responsible product ion and consumpt ion of t imber are direct ly
re-lat ed t o t he challenge of conservat ion and, at t he same t ime, of ensuring
humanit y’s w ell- being. It is indispensable t o advance on t hat f ront if w e are
t o meet t he M illennium Goals by 2015, as set by t he UN. We w ill need t o
double t he ef f ort s, according t o Bill Jackson, deput y direct or general of t he
Int ernat ional Union f or Conservat ion of Nat ure (IUCN), t he oldest and largest
Source: INPE/2010
2004
27,8
19,0
14,3
11,7
7,5
6,4
12,9
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
D
ef
or
est
ed ar
ea (thousands of k
m2/y
ear)
environment al organizat ion in t he w orld. He agrees t hat some advances w ere
made by 2010, deemed t he Int ernat ional Year of Biodiversit y. “There cert ainly
are a number of innovat ive policies f or t he management of f orest resources
arising in dif f erent count ries,” he says. On t he ot her hand, Jackson point s
out , “it seems t hat government s haven’t yet underst ood t hat cont aining
de-f orest at ion and it s impact s on biodiversit y is a condit ion t o reduce povert y
and misery”.
Ecosyst em services supplied by
f orest s, despit e being crucial f or
hu-man survival, are largely ignored and
have no assigned economic value. An
init iat ive by t he Unit ed Nat ions
Envi-ronment Programme (UNEP) at t
emp-t ed emp-t o change emp-t his semp-t aemp-t e of af f airs
in 2009 and 2010 by answering t he
quest ion, “How much is biodiversit y
wort h?” A group of expert s f rom all over t he world, led by Pavan Sukdev,
chief - economist f or invest ment f unds at Deut sche Bank, produced a series of
report s ent it led “The Economics of Ecosyst ems and Biodiversit y” (TEEB). More
t han once during his lect ures, Sukdev, a Brit ish cit izen of Pakist ani origin,
ex-plained t hat t he st udy does not necessarily seek t o est ablish a price f or f orest s,
but rat her t o ensure t hat societ y acknowledges it s value. “If t he goal was only
t o give f orest s a price, we would have an immediat e response: t he price is
inf init e, inest imable,” he usually says.
How ever, t he st udy came up w it h a value, based on economic act
ivi-t ies relaivi-t ed ivi-t o ivi-t he f oresivi-t , ivi-t o show ivi-t he cosivi-t s of def oresivi-t aivi-t ion. The conclusion
is shocking: t he dest ruct ion of vit al ecosyst ems cost s bet w een 2.5 and 4.5
t rillion dollars every year.
Nevert heless, t here is reason f or hope. On t he posit ive side, t he st udy
f ound t hat t here is increasing use of payment s f or ecosyst em services as a
t ool f or conservat ion, mainly in areas under int ense def orest at ion pressure.
It is clear t hat t hese prist ine areas are import ant f or t he livelihood of rural
communit ies, especially in developing count ries. According t o t he TEEB st udy,
ecosyst em services account f or 47% t o 89% of income of t he poorest people,
a segment of t he populat ion t hat occupies t he f ront line in t he supply of
f orest product s, including w ood.
The numbers are alarming. Nonet heless, t hey could have a dif f erent
sca-le if policies and t ools f or sust ainabsca-le product ion and consumpt ion of f orest
product s w ere put in place. St udies demonst rat e t hat f orest s are t he origin
of approximat ely 5 t housand commercial product s. The f orest ry sect or alone
account s f or 2% of t he global economy according t o t he M illennium
Ecosys-t em AssessmenEcosys-t published in 2005.
The economy of the forest
Timber product s account f or most of t he income generat ed f rom f orest s.
FAO’s dat a indicat es t hat bet ween 2003 and 2007, t he f orest ry sect or’s
reve-nues exceeded 100 billion dollars annually. Since 1961 global export s have
increased 25 f old. The value of non- t imber f orest product s, especially f ood,
was est imat ed t o be 18.5 billion dollars in 2005.
In Brazil, t he f orest economy involves subst ant ial numbers and af f ect s
t he social and economic condit ions in t he Amazon, home t o 21 million people.
Timber logs are an import ant resource and account f or almost half (47%) of
revenues f rom t he use of nat ive f orest s in Brazil as a whole. In t he Amazon,
t hat proport ion reaches t wo t hirds of revenues. These numbers were ext ract ed
f rom research done at t he Federal Universit y in São Carlos and at t he School
of Agricult ure Luiz de Queiroz at t he Universit y of São Paulo. Aiming t o build
a social mat rix f or t he Legal Amazon (a socio- geographic division t hat covers
t he ent ire Amazon Basin), t he st udy shows t he import ance of f orest ry t o social
development in t he Amazon, a region t hat covers 59% of t he count ry’s t
The product ion of t imber f rom nat ive t rees is a signif icant source of jobs
and income in t he f orest , as well as t hroughout t he supply chain unt il t he
product reaches t he consumer as f urnit ure, new houses or buildings. However,
Amazon product ion has been declining in recent years according t o t he Forest
Fact s 2010 report by t he Inst it ut e f or Men and t he Environment – Imazon (see
chapt er 2). Several f act ors explain t his decline, among t hem t he st rengt hening
of t he Brazilian real against t he American dollar and increasing ef f ort s by t he
government t o st op illegal logging.
Product ion numbers f or t he whole of Brazil reveal t he enormous size of
illegal act ivit ies wit hin t he logging indust ry, past and present (see chapt er 3),
as well as t he signif icant pot ent ial f or sust ainable management . The lat t er is a
viable and legal way t o supply indust ries wit h f orest raw mat erials and reclaim
t he space previously t aken by illegal act ivit ies.
Protection strategies
Nat ural st ocks are immense. The Amazon holds more t han 356 million
hect ares of nat ural f orest and 84.7% of t he nat ive w ood available in all
of Brazil’s biomes according t o t he Brazilian Forest Services (SFB). M ost of
t hese resources might be used sust ainably, given t hat t he government f inds
solut ions t o landholding issues and ot her problems t hat limit progress in t he
region. If t he f orest is managed f or low impact – and t hat t ool is used as a
mechanism t o increase t he value and conservat ion of nat ural resources –,
t here are billions of dollars t o be made.
M any count ries prot ect t heir f orest s t o secure f resh w at er sources
and t o reduce t he spread of degradat ion, w hich af f ect s one f ourt h of t he
planet ’s soils. Conservat ion reduces erosion of riverbanks and slopes, and
regulat es t he inf ilt rat ion during groundw at er recharge, says t he Convent ion
on Biological Diversit y (CBD). The w at er supply of 35 of t he w orld’s largest
105 cit ies comes f rom f orest ed w at ersheds.
t he silt ing of rivers, seriously damaging f resh w at er supplies. Forest
conserva-t ion measures are imporconserva-t anconserva-t because conserva-t hree quarconserva-t ers of conserva-t he w orld’s accessible
f resh w at er come f rom f orest ed w at ersheds. How ever, only 8% of t hese areas
are locat ed inside parks and reserves w here soils and w at er are prot ect ed.
M ost of t hese prot ect ed areas are in Asia – mainly in China –, a cont inent
t hat st rives t o supply w at er t o ever increasing indust ries and populat ions. In
Af rica, ecosyst em prot ect ion is also aimed at reducing t he process of
envi-ronment al degradat ion t hat leads t o w at er def icit s.
In addit ion t o prot ect ing w at er sources, f orest conservat ion ef f ort s also
f ocus on biodiversit y. Today t here are 463 million hect ares under prot ect ion
due t o biodiversit y concerns, 20% more t han a decade ago. Success in
main-t aining f auna and f lora species relies on main-t he exismain-t ence of primary f oresmain-t s,
A wArnIng AgAInsT povErTy
The majority of municipalities that
produce timber in the Amazon live
below the poverty line, despite the
richness and economic potential of
their forests. The more illegal and
predatory activities present in any
given municipality, the lower its
Human Development Index (HDI),
shows research done by the Institute
for Men and the Environment
(Imazon). “The state of the Amazon”
study, published recently by Imazon,
evaluates the region according
to efforts aimed at reaching the
Millennium Development goals –
targets related to inequality, health,
education and infant and childbirth
mortality set by the Un in 2005. A
t hose t hat have not yet been exploit ed and st ill keep t heir original
charac-t erischarac-t ics. M ore charac-t han one charac-t hird of f orescharac-t s on charac-t he planecharac-t are primary f orescharac-t s,
according t o a FAO report t hat does not include f orest s in t he Congo,
Came-roon, and Venezuela. Regionally, Sout h America has t he largest concent rat ion
of primary f orest s, f ollow ed by Cent ral America, Nort h America and Europe.
The w orld has a reasonable amount of f orest land and a port ion of t his t ot al is
suit able f or economic use. What is w orrisome, how ever, is t he f act t hat in one
decade t he planet lost 40 million hect ares of f orest – w it h most of t he ef f ect s
concent rat ed in t ropical count ries w it h high rat es of biodiversit y.
The largest net loss of f orest s in t he 1990s occurred in Brazil and
In-donesia, but bot h count ries have since reduced t he pace of def orest at ion.
In 2009, f orest areas cleared in t he Amazon w ere 42% smaller t han in t he
previous year, calculat es t he Nat ional Inst it ut e f or Space Research (INPE). In
2010, t he rat e of def orest at ion f ell t o t he low est level in 20 years and t he t
o-t al area cleared o-t hao-t year w as 13.6% smaller o-t han in 2009. So-t ill, a o-t oo-t al of 6.4
t housand square kilomet ers, an area equivalent t o 80% of t he met ropolit an
region of São Paulo, w as def orest ed. Despit e t he descending curve in t he last
couple of years, sat ellit e images show t hat def orest at ion almost quadrupled
in t he second half of 2010 compared t o t he same period f rom t he previous
year.
Is t he dow nw ard t rend t urning around? What ever t he answ er, t he
num-bers demonst rat e t hat t here is much t o be done. Def orest at ion is usually
preceded by f ire or predat ory logging and t he Amazon f orest is alw ays
un-der pressure. It is a never- ending st ory w it h a complex plot t hat began in
t he 1970s and 1980s w it h development al drive of t he milit ary government ,
w hich built roads and encouraged mass migrat ion by promising set t lers
Eldo-rado. The environment had t o be conquered at any cost . Trees w ere f elled t o
give w ay t o t he new era and logging f inanced t he est ablishment of past ures
and lat er, f armland. Public land grabbing, squat t ing and t huggery w ere t he
The world’s native forest
2.5 to 4.5 trillion U.S. dollars
per year are lost with the destruction of vital ecosystems (source: TEEB, 2010b)
US$ 100 billion
is the total revenue per year of timber industry worldwide (source: FAO, 2010)
US$ 2.5 billion
was the gross revenue of the logging industry in the Amazon in 2009 (source: Imazon, 2010)
666.732
–10
–3.997
–3.414
–700
676
2.235
850.530
659.010
187.283
469.737
935.863
Native forest area (1000 ha)
Change in forest cover (1000 ha/year)* Period between 2000 and 2010
*Rate of change includes native and planted
main environment al problem and must be def eat ed bef ore any real progress
against def orest at ion can be made.
The perverse cycle of dest ruct ion last ed f or decades, mired in chaot ic
land arrangement s, unt il t he w orld t urned it s at t ent ion t o t he Amazon and
asked how a f orest so essent ial t o t he planet could be dest royed in such a
w ant on f ashion. One indicat or of t his abuse is in t he product ion of t imber,
most ly of illegal origin and w it hout any environment al regulat ion. The sit
ua-t ion is serious buua-t noua-t irreversible. In f ace of ua-t he environmenua-t al dilemmas of
t he 21st cent ury, scient ist s and public administ rat ors are present ing solut ions
t o change t he region’s f at e. M ore rest rict ive legislat ion creat ed new cont rol
mechanisms t o limit dest ruct ive pract ices. Dif f erent sect ors of civil societ y
f ormed alliances such as t he “Zero Def orest at ion” movement , launched by
seven organizat ions in 2007 w it h t he aim of st opping def orest at ion by 2015.
Forest management is one of t he most w idely used t ools t o reverse t he
economic drivers behind def orest at ion of t ropical f orest s in Brazil and ot her
count ries. Forest management est ablishes rules and met hods f or t he low
im-pact product ion of t imber and non- t imber product s. Follow ed correct ly, t hese
rules and met hods help t o maint ain t he ecological condit ions necessary f or
t he supply of ecosyst em services and t he f ut ure economic use of t he f orest
(see chapt er 2).
Besides cont ribut ing t o t he sust ainable use of f orest resources, f orest
management aims t o reduce t he pressures f rom illicit incursions int o
indi-genous t errit ories, nat ional parks, ecological reserves and ot her conservat ion
areas. In t his w ay, f orest management also cont ribut es t o biodiversit y
pro-t ecpro-t ion.
There is a large global ef f ort t o increase f orest cover w it hin prot ect ed
areas, w hich have doubled in size in t he last 20 years, according t o FAO.
How ever, predat ory use of f orest resources is st ill t he norm, t he result of
economic and cult ural circumst ances as w ell as chronic problems such as lack
be overcome, a behavior change is necessary by all part ies involved in t he f
o-rest ry chain, f rom t he producer of f oo-rest product s t o t he indust ries, including
environment al agencies’ inspect ors, civil servant s w ho buy w ood f or public
w orks, and consumers at t he end of t he line.
In addit ion t o prot ect ed areas, payment f or environment al services t hat
replace predat ory act ivit ies and f orest management aimed at reducing t he
impact s of commercial exploit at ion, conservat ion st rat egies are also part of
t he f ront line of public policies – be it f or bet t er enf orcement and governance,
or as a driver of economic, social and environment al change. At t he core of
t his process, t here are market and governance inst rument s t hat encourage
t he sust ainable use of t he f orest . This is t he case of responsible public
pro-curement and socio- environment al cert if icat ion – a seal t hat dist inguishes
f orest product s w hose manuf act uring t akes people and t he environment int o
Source: Forest Facts 2010/Imazon
vegetation cover in the Legal Amazon region in 2009
State
Area (thousands
of km2)
Vegetation cover (%) Forests Non-forest native
vegetation
Deforested areas
Acre 152,6 87,0 — 13,0
Amapá 142,8 78,3 20,3 1,4
Amazonas 1.570,7 87,0 10,6 2,4
Maranhão 249,6 15,6 42,3 42,1
Mato Grosso 903,4 33,9 43,5 22,6
Pará 1.247,7 72,0 7,8 20,2
Rondônia 237,6 54,1 11,8 34,0
Roraima 224,3 61,7 34,7 3,6
Tocantins 277,6 6,2 83,6 10,3
considerat ion (see chapt er 4).
In the wake of climate change
Wit h climat e change on t he agenda, f orest s became cent ral due t o t heir
relat ion t o t he carbon cycle. Def orest at ion and f orest degradat ion are
res-ponsible f or large emissions of greenhouse gases. Thus, maint aining t he int
e-grit y of f orest ecosyst ems is vit al t o mit igat ion and adapt at ion t o already
oc-curring climat e changes. The UN Framew ork Convent ion on Climat e Change
(UNFCCC) est imat es t hat t he planet ’s f orest s st ore 628 Gt of carbon, or t w ice
as much as emissions cut by Europe f rom 1990 t o 2008.
Trees capt ure carbon f rom t he at mosphere during phot osynt hesis, but
f ire and def orest at ion release t hat carbon back int o t he environment . In t he
1990s, t ot al emissions due t o def orest at ion w ere subst ant ial: 5.8 Gt
year-ly, t he equivalent t o almost 10% of all carbon st ored in f orest s around t he
w orld. Because t his number w ent up, more recent ly it has been agreed t hat
avoiding f orest dest ruct ion might be t he most ef f icient alt ernat ive t o
redu-cing emissions in t he short t erm.
Brazil holds 20% of t he carbon st ored in biomass, w hich is t he mass of
all living organisms on Eart h. Ever since discussions f irst st art ed around a
global agreement t o cut greenhouse gases emissions, t hese numbers at t ract
at t ent ion t o t he Amazon, w here emissions due t o land use changes
inclu-de not only t he clearcut t ing of f orest s but also f orest f ires. In 1997 w hen
t he Kyot o Prot ocol w as signed, how ever, member count ries t o t he UNFCCC
decided t o exclude t he issue f rom t he list of measures designat ed t o mit
iga-t e emissions, poiniga-t ing iga-t o iga-t he dif f iculiga-t y in ef f icieniga-t ly moniiga-t oring large scale
emission cut s. It t ook eight years bef ore a coalit ion of t ropical count ries, led
by Cost a Rica and Papua New Guinea, w as able t o get a proposal t o cut
emis-sions due t o def orest at ion back on t he agenda. That w as 2005 in t he UNFCCC
meet ing in M ont real.
t he last f ive years and it is now known as REDD – Reducing Emissions f rom
Def orest at ion and Forest Degradat ion. This scheme involves f inancial
compensat ion t hrough project s support ed by int ernat ional part nerships aimed at cut
-t ing greenhouse gas emissions by s-t opping def ores-t a-t ion, conserving na-t ural
f orest s and ref orest ing of degraded areas. An advanced program known as
REDD+ provides compensat ion f or t he
sust ainable use of f orest s and opens a
range of opport unit ies t o expand t he
use of f orest management as an
emis-sion cut t ing t ool.
The ult imat e goal of t hese
mecha-nisms is t o est ablish an environment in
which t he dif f erence bet ween f elling
and plant ing, or regenerat ion of f orest s
is zero. There is pot ent ial f or 27 billion dollars in annual invest ment s in
sche-mes t o cut emissions f rom def orest at ion by 2020, according t o a 2008 st udy
commissioned by t he Brit ish government f rom a t eam led by businessman
Johan Eliasch. A t hird of t his amount could be raised in t he carbon market and
could be used t o encourage f armers, set t lers wit h t he land ref orm program,
and t radit ional communit ies t o preserve, wit h pot ent ial t o cut global def
ores-t aores-t ion of ores-t ropical f oresores-t s in half .
There is st ill a long w ay t o go. For t he REDD mechanisms t o
genera-t e benef igenera-t s, igenera-t is necessary genera-t o sgenera-t renggenera-t hen governance and enf orcemengenera-t genera-t o
end illegal act ivit ies. How ever, t here are some posit ive indicat ors. In 2008
t he Brazilian government creat ed t he Amazon Fund t o collect donat ions t o
prevent and f ight def orest at ion. During t he 15t h meet ing of t he part ies t o
t he UNFCCC in Copenhagen t he f ollow ing year, Brazil announced t hat it
w ill cut def orest at ion in t he Amazon by 80% f rom 2005 levels by 2020. The
commit ment is associat ed w it h volunt ary t arget s t o reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and should have ef f ect s on logging act ivit ies. There is expect at ion
As part of the efforts to
curb global warming,
forest management may
offer economic beneits
of new rules, cont rol met hods, incent ives and nat ional and int ernat ional
market requirement s, w hich w ill ref lect on t he pract ices employed t
hrou-ghout t he supply chain up t o t he consumer.
This is t he onset of a new era f or t he logging indust ry. The UN declared
2011 t he Int ernat ional Year of Forest s, w hich should expand ef f ort s t o
incre-ase f orest conservat ion and in t urn, t heir benef it s t o human beings.
“Biodi-versit y conservat ion requires not only t he engagement of t he government ,
but of all segment s of societ y,” says WWF Brazil’s Conservat ion Direct or
Claudio M aret t i. “It is necessary t o creat e prot ect ed areas w it h rest rict ed use
and w e have made some progress on
t hat f ront , but t his is not t he only
piece in t he game,” he adds,
empha-sizing t he import ance of using
eco-nomic policies t o change product ion
and consumpt ion pat t erns. He also
point s t o t he challenge of increasing
t he economic value of f orest s and
t heir product s so t hey can be used
w it hout damaging t he environment . The challenge is t o increase t he scale
and change t he st at e of af f airs, in w hich less t han 1% of t he value of
indus-t rial producindus-t s originaindus-t ing f rom biodiversiindus-t y remains in indus-t he f oresindus-t . “Wiindus-t houindus-t
sust ainable use, w e w ill burn our most valuable asset ”.
THE IMporTAnCE oF ForEsTs
Native forests are essential to the water supply, to the supply of raw materials to industries and to the keep the balance of the climate. Despite that, 40% of forests have been destroyed over the last century.
Is DEForEsTATIon DIMInIsHIng?
Law enforcement and the appreciation of the Brazilian currency largely explain the halving of deforestation in the Amazon between 2008 and 2010. However, satellite images show that destruction has been gaining pace since the beginning of 2011.
DEsTrUCTIon BEgETs povErTy
The world loses 4.5 trillion dollars a year due to damage to natural assets. Deprived of income alternatives, local communities practice economic activities that damage the forest.
Loss oF BIoDIvErsITy
Most of the destruction occurs in tropical forests that are rich in biodiversity and important economic resources such as timber.
sTrATEgIEs For ConsErvATIon
Forest conservation strategies include the establishment of protected areas, the use of sustainable forest management practices and the payment for ecosystem services supplied by forests.
CLIMATE CHAngE
Brazilian forests hold 20% of all carbon on the planet. The country has the opportunity to become a leader in forest management and beneit from projects that reward conservation..
Opportunities, obstacles and power of
new attitude towards legal timber, from
logging to consumption
Chain reaction
delaide Fát ima, owner of t he Canaã t imber company in Rio Branco
– capit al of t he st at e of Acre, in t he Amazon region – caused a st ir
when over a decade ago she decided t o no longer use t he product s
of illegal deforest at ion in her business. Fát ima received economic incent ives
from t he st at e’s government and opt ed inst ead for wood harvest ed according
t o sust ainable forest management t echniques, which lower t he impact of
lo-gging on ecosyst ems and allow t rees t o regrow for fut ure use. She faced
re-lent less react ion. “I was even expelled from t he loggers’ union,” says Fát ima.
Nowadays she is t he president of t he st at e’s associat ion of indust ries t hat use
t imber from forest management (Asimmanejo). The ent it y was founded by a
small but ambit ious group of ent repreneurs who envisioned a new era for t he
logging business. “Aware of t he commercial success of compet it ors who chose
t imber from forest management and facing market requirement s, skept ical
en-t repreneurs joined soon afen-t er,” she says.
The sust ainable use of nat ive forest s has been a recurring issue in Acre’s
hist ory since t he assassinat ion of communit y leader Chico Mendes in t he t own
of Xapuri in 1988. His deat h exhibit ed t o t he world t he st ruggle of Amazon’s
rubber t appers against powerful lobbies t hat backed t he forest ’s dest ruct ion.
More t han t wo decades on, t he st at e of Acre adopt ed t he forest ’s economy as
it s cult ural ident it y and as a driver for development . Today 95% of t imber is
obt ained t hrough met hods t hat do not dest roy t he forest . The remaining 5%
st ill originat es from deforest at ion and it primarily comes from small- scale
pro-pert ies, according t o official dat a.
Timber companies made t his scenario possible by est ablishing a pact t o
st op predat ory deforest at ion. Wit h money from t he Pilot Program t o
Conser-ve t he Brazilian Rainforest (PPG7) – an init iat iConser-ve funded by rich count ries –,
for t wo years t hey invest ed in t raining people, upgrading t heir businesses and
disseminat ing forest management pract ices. “There was no t urning back, we
eit her made our businesses legal or we would have t o shut down,” says Fát ima.
She has been invest ing furt her. In general, t imber companies in t he region buy
t imber from landowners who had a
harvest ing plan approved by t he st at e
environment al agency. “Now, inst ead
of buying from t hem, we will apply
t o have 2.7 t housand hect ares in t he
municipalit y of Sena Madureira
licen-sed,” she says.
She will pay 1.7 million reais in
rent to the landowner to produce 45
thousand cubic meters of timber logs for two years, generating an estimated net
profit of 1.4 million reais. “We will start other projects in our own areas, acquired
in remote hard to reach areas, as soon as the state improves the roads,” says
Fátima. Her ambition is to supply timber for the housing projects included in the
federal government’s Growth Acceleration Program (PAC).
The association headed by Fátima focuses on improving techniques, raising
support, searching for incentives and exchanging experiences based on the best
practices as ways to turn the supply chain of sustainable wood into a viable
bu-siness. “If in the past there were 50 timber companies that harvested only cedar,
mahogany and Brazilian cherry, today the 23 companies in the state that apply
Timber companies
received inancial
support from the
government and ngos
to make a pact to stop
deforestation and shift
to sustainable wood
forest management techniques use more than 20 species, relieving the pressure
on overused stocks,” explains Fátima. She points out that the Amazon is not an
uninhabited green expanse and as a significant income source for the local
com-munities, timber production should be encouraged. However, the reputation of
the timber industry, despite the use of conservation techniques, is still linked to
the destruction of the forest.
Before migrating to Acre in the late 1980s, Fátima and her family illegally
harvested wood in the state of Rondônia. They had come from the state of
Pa-raná, in southern Brazil, to work using the wood left behind by ranchers
esta-blishing their pastures. “We even went into Paraguay looking for peroba wood,”
she admits, looking proud for having changed her ways. Time has gone by, but
there is still a lack of information and prejudice. “My daughter has chosen to
ma-jor in Forest Engineering in college to be able to keep the family’s business in the
future, but she is sharply criticized in school for coming from a logging family”.
Problems such as the prejudice against Fátima’s daughter will soon end if
the timber industry keeps operating legally. Just a couple of years ago, images
of forest fires in the Amazon, as well as trees being felled by tractors equipped
with chains were common fare on television. It will take some time to reverse
this perception as society fully comprehends the benefits of sustainable timber
production. Meanwhile, governments, businesses and NGOs support the path to
a new industry with policies and concerted action. As an example Fátima points
to the recent ecological- economic zoning conducted in Acre with an eye to
regu-late land use and encourage the establishment of legal forest reserves, especially
along highways, as a way to contain deforestation. “Once land tenure is sorted
out, land owners are able to overcome obstacles that prevented them from
adop-ting forest management, and that increases the number of areas available,” she
explains.
As a result of the move by timber companies towards forest management,
as well as the increased demand for sustainable timber, production in the state
meters of logs in 2010. The area licensed for logging increased by a factor of ten
over a decade and there is need for new investment. “There is no lack of forest to
explore, as long as you keep in mind a diversified use of natural resources and
so-cial inclusion,” says Acre’s Environment Secretary Sérgio Resende. Acre has a big
advantage in this, as forests cover 90% of the state’s area and half of them were
declared protected areas. Private properties hold 1.8 million hectares of forests,
an area equivalent to 15 times the size of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Half of those
private forests have received licenses for sustainable use.
The state of Acre offers forests and
incentives for legal logging
The rest of Acre’s vast t errit ory is composed of public and communit y
areas. This includes t he st rat egic Ant imary St at e Forest was t he first t o receive
cert ificat ion from t he Forest St ewardship Council (FSC) t hat at t est s t o it s
pro-duct s’ sust ainable origin. Timber companies and indigenous communit ies t hat
obt ained harvest ing right s t hrough public concession have been using Ant
ima-ry St at e Forest ’s area of 76.8 t housand hect ares since 2004.
In cont rast wit h t he federal management of forest s, Acre’s model is based
on explorat ion by t hird part ies, while t he st at e is responsible for auct ioning
t he t imber off t o sawmills and indust ry for processing. Families t hat live in t he
forest receive part of t he auct ions’ revenue and are allowed t o sell t he logs
t hey are able t o harvest in t heir parcels, as well as receiving t raining in forest
management . Harvest ing is only allowed during dry mont hs and generat es
be-t ween six and eighbe-t be-t housand reais for be-t hese families. “Local communibe-t ies feel
t he real pocket book effect s [of t his syst em and] choose t o preserve t he forest ,”
says Secret ary Sérgio Resende.
The first Brazilian forest reserve was creat ed in t he areas surrounding t he
Ant imary River in 1911 and it has been import ant ever since. Declared a st at e
forest in 1997, t he Ant imary Forest yields 22 t housand cubic met ers of t imber
much larger however, wit h t he current licensing permit t ing t he product ion of
700 t housand cubic met ers a year. “Large product ion in public forest s is st rat
e-gic t o cont rolling lumber st ocks and prices,” explains Resende. Acre’s model is
also safer from t he st andpoint of land t enure, a chronic problem t hat slows t he
progress of legalized and low impact logging in t he Amazon.
Wit h an eye t o long- t erm development , t hree ot her st at e forest s are being
prepared t o go t hrough t he public concession process in 2011. They are locat ed
in t he so- called Gregório River Complex, in t he west ernmost region of t he st at e
and encompass 480 t housand hect ares of public land, as well as 150 t housand
hect ares of privat e land. The whole complex may receive invest ment of up
t o 52 million dollars. The st at e government t ries t o at t ract foreign invest ors
by point ing out advant ages beyond abundance of t he forest it self: plent iful
energy from t he hydroelect ric complex being built on t he Madeira River, as well
as t he possibilit y of get t ing product ion
t o port in t he Pacific t hanks t o a new
highway connect ing Acre t o t he
Peru-vian coast .
Pot ent ial invest ors may be lured
by land availabilit y, t ax incent ives and
t he newly built infrast ruct ure, as well
as by t he new opport unit ies creat ed by
changes in legislat ion. Some invest ors
may migrat e from ot her part s of t he Amazon in search of opport unit ies t o
operat e wit hin t he law. Recent examples of t he changes t o legislat ion include
payment s for ecosyst em services – payment t o land owners and communit ies
for t heir effort s t o conserve nat ure and t hus, wat er supply, climat e balance
and biodiversit y. By t apping t he forest inst ead of dest roying it , t here is also
t he prospect of raising revenue t hrough carbon market s, especially t hrough
t he REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforest at ion and Forest Degradat ion)
mechanism (see chapt er 1).
Forest management,
the prospect of gains in
the carbon markets and
payments for ecosystem
Land value is t he best gauge of t he success of forest development . An
unused hect are of forest wit hin a radius of 100 km of Acre’s capit al was wort h
70 reais t en years ago. Today, an area of t he same size licensed for forest
mana-gement is wort h 500 reais. “Forest product ion can t ake us t o an enviable level
of wealt h in just 20 years,” predict s Resende.
The value of t imber product ion – which t oday amount s t o double t hat
of livest ock and 16% of gross st at e product – is expect ed t o increase as new
areas are open t o explorat ion and
public works are forced t o employ
locally produced t imber. “Despit e t he
availabilit y of so much forest for legal
logging, builders oft en buy cheaper
t imber of unknown origin, from ot her
regions,” admit s Resende.
The overall scenario is posit ive
in spit e of obst acles such as t he red
t ape involved in licensing f orest product ion and t he need f or public
subsi-dies. Pressure and support f rom environment al NGOs in f avor of sust ainable
pract ices have been crucial f or t he t imber indust ry. “We f inanced t raining
and t he f irst init iat ives in f orest management w it hin local communit ies and
even exchanged experiences int ernat ionally,” says WWF Brazil’s coordinat or
f or t he Rio Branco of f ice, Albert o Tavares, nicknamed Dande.
A cooperat ive w as creat ed as a result of NGO involvement and t oday it
has a seat at t he St at e Forest Council, w hich allow s it s members t o inf luence
local policymaking on f orest issues. The cooperat ive also helped businesses
t o mobilize, organize and go t hrough pilot project s, cont ribut ing t o make
cert if icat ion a realit y f or Acre’s t imber indust ry. “Right now our role is t o
link t hose t w o sides of t he chain – communit ies and businesses – in f avor of
collect ive development ,” says Dande.
If the challenge of
expanding processing
capabilities and capacity
is met, business
Almost half of t he st at e of Acre – an area of 6 million hect ares – could
be used f or sust ainable t imber log product ion, w it h est imat ed revenues of
1.8 billion reais annually. Cont rary t o w hat such large numbers may suggest ,
t here is no need t o irrat ionally exploit t he area and if t he st at e government ’s
plans are an indicat ion, t he only w ay t o use t his green expanse is t o harvest
w ood using low impact t echniques. Each hect are of t ropical f orest in t hat
area cont ains on average 200 mat ure t rees and a t housand young t rees. From
t he mat ure st ock, f our t o six t rees per hect are can be removed every 30 years,
leaving enough t ime f or t he area t o nat urally regenerat e.
From logging t o processing of raw mat erials in saw mills, w oodw ork
shops, plyw ood and f iberboard f act ories, t he indust ry numbers 400
busines-ses in t he st at e and employs 2.5 t housand w orkers. A st at e- built f act ory t hat
produces w ooden f looring and decks is now privat ely operat ed and adds
sca-le t o product ion in t he Indust rial Hub of Xapuri. Sit uat ed alongside a plant
t hat uses t he nat ural lat ex produced by rubber t appers t o manuf act ure
con-doms, t he f act ory produces one cont ainer a day of t imber product s f or export
and uses 40 t housand cubic met ers of logs annually.
Export s doubled f rom 2003 t o 2009, according t o government dat a. The
clust er of f urnit ure makers in Rio Branco – Acre’s capit al – is nat ionally
re-cognized f or t aking nat ive f orest product s t o t he main domest ic consumer
market s. A bit f art her aw ay, t he indust rial complex planned f or t he Juruá
Extractive communities join
the industrial production
The commodit y chain for t imber includes public nurseries able t o produce
4 million seeds annually. Forest product ion is also support ed by services and
machinery such as t ract ors wort h 2 million reais bought t o mechanize
produc-t ion by indigenous communiproduc-t ies.
“In exchange for help t o legally produce t imber, we are commit t ed t o
not burning t he forest t o est ablish past ure and crops,” says Evandro Araújo de
Aquino, who supervises Cooperflorest a, a cooperat ive of 511 families t hat live
off ext ract ive indust ries. Each family get s 500 reais per year if t hey join t he
st at e’s program designed t o give forest asset s a value. In anot her init iat ive,
t he st at e pays t he cost (6 t housand reais per family), does t he planning and
gat hers document s for t he communit ies t o apply for an environment al license
t o produce t imber.
“Once a communit y area receives a license and is able t o pract ice forest
management , [t he land] is wort h t en t imes more,” says Aquino. Twent y per cent
of families already have an FSC diploma t hat at t est s t o t he good management
of t heir land. “We look for part nerships wit h buyers and int ernat ional
organiza-t ions organiza-t o increase organiza-t he value for our differenorganiza-t iaorganiza-t ed producorganiza-t ,” he adds.
There are some supply problems, such as int ermit t ent product ion due t o
ext ended wet seasons t hat prevent logging, such as in 2010. Usually
communi-t ies work for six moncommuni-t hs during communi-t he dry season. Anocommuni-t her bocommuni-t communi-t leneck is communi-t he lack
of infrast ruct ure. “We need at least 150 km of new roads t o be able t o access
t he forest , not t o ment ion anot her 450 km t hat need upgrading,” Aquino
com-plains.
One obst acle is t he ambiguous nat ure of land holdings. As a result of t he
ineffect iveness of t he federal government in solving t he problem, ext ract ive
set t lement s are unable t o obt ain land t it le and t herefore, t he license t o produce
t imber. Added t o t hese problems is t he lack of organizat ion and administ rat ion,
scale of t heir product ion despit e covering a larger area (2.7 million hect ares)
t han public and privat e owners. Environment al agencies have approved t he
harvest ing of 10 t housand cubic met ers of logs per year in communit y areas,
but current ly t here are only 6 t housand cubic met ers being produced. “The
si-t uasi-t ion used si-t o be worse, we used si-t o harvessi-t only a si-t hird of si-t hasi-t volume before
2009,” Aquino says.
To increase t heir revenues, communit ies are going back t o an act ivit y t hey
We drove 189 km from Acre’s capital,
Rio Branco, to the municipality of
Xapuri to investigate what has changed
in the forest where Chico Mendes used
to live. From the road we saw extensive
pastures dotted with solitary Brazil nut
trees, showing the power of the cattle
ranching business and its advance
on parts of the tropical rainforest. In
the distance, fragments of preserved
forest were still visible.
From Xapuri, it takes another 25 km
on dirt and winding roads to get to the
Seringal Cachoeira, a rubber plantation
that preserves the heritage of Chico
Mendes, the rubber tapper leader
assassinated in 1988. In the 1980s,
the area witnessed clashes between
rubber tappers and landowners who
wanted to occupy and clear the forest.
Today the rubber plantation is a
benchmark for forest management and
part of the Chico Mendes Agricultural
and Extractive Project. There we meet
Antônio Teixeira Mendes, nicknamed
Duda, a cousin of Mendes. “I was born
in the forest but really got to know it
ten years ago, when I started to use
forest management,” he says.
The porto Dias rubber Association
was the irst community area to
adopt, in 1996, forest management
techniques. The Seringal Cachoeira
followed two years later and in 2002
was the irst to receive a social and
environmental label for its timber. With
the certiication, wood became as
important a product for the community
as Brazil nuts and rubber. The timber
logs are sold for ive times more than
before receiving the label and today
represents the community’s largest
income source. “We get everything
we need from the forest without
destroying it,” says sebastião Teixeira
Mendes. He worked as a rubber tapper
for 45 years and now specializes in
explaining how forest management
works to visitors from all parts of Brazil
and the world
The native wood supply chain
Forest
The Forest Law allows deforestation within limits and establishes a Legal Reserve and areas of permanent forest preservation. Timber can also be harvested by selectively cutting trees based on a previously authorized management plan.
Correct harvest
The use of management plans decreases the impacts on forests, helps to maintain genetic stock and allows for future harvest. Regulated by law and directives, forest management plans may be submitted and carried out by the landowner, a timber company or a third party.
Transportation
Timber logs are transported on rivers or roads and must carry a forest document that attests to its origin and informs its destination. From the forest to the plants that perform the initial processing stage, timber travels 117 km on average.
primary processing
Sawmills transform logs into boards. Half of the wood is lost in the process and the residue is used to make charcoal or employed in brickyards. Smaller and less equipped sawmills produce more residue. More than 70% of the timber produced in the
Consumption
Regional markets use part of the Amazon processed timber. Most of it is exported or used in urban centers elsewhere in Brazil. Civil construction uses timber in residential and commercial buildings, as well as in public housing, bridges, overpasses, schools, hospitals and other public works. Furniture makers are the second largest user of timber, consuming lumber and its residues, woodblocks, boards, and plywood sheets.secondary processing
Lumber is processed with jointers to make laminate looring, decks, parquet tiles, baseboards, miter joints, panels and other products for furniture making and civil construction. Residues are used to make several products. Companies that do secondary processing use only 15% of the timber processed in the Amazon.
Lumberyards
abandoned years ago due t o administ rat ion problems: processing. They plan t o
st art in 2011 wit h 25% of t he t imber usually out sourced t o sawmills. “We have
buyers for all our communit y product ion, especially in t he Unit ed Kingdom,”
Aquino says. The communit ies want t o receive cert ificat ion by t he FSC as well
as a Fair Trade label, which at t est s t o t he product ’s origin and ensures t he
pro-ducers get paid 10% more t han t heir convent ional compet it ors. “We prefer t o
depend on t he market rat her t han on government welfare as is t he case wit h
t he communit y use of public forest s,” says Aquino, adding t hat t hings have
improved since Chico Mendes’ t ime.
A new vision for the logging
business in the Amazon
The model developed by Acre, despit e t he challenges it st ill has t o f ace,
is seen as a benchmark f or Amazon’s nat ive w ood. The lat est dat a suggest
t hat operat ing w it hin t he law and according t o sust ainable pract ices can
generat e long last ing commercial gains as w ell as development w it h social
benef it s and no environment al damage. In f act , Acre w as t he only st at e in t he
Legal Amazon region t o increase logging act ivit ies in 2009. In t he Amazon
Forest as a w hole, t he consumpt ion of t imber logs w as almost halved bet w
e-en 2004 and 2009, as indicat ed by a st udy f rom Imazon. The number of jobs
in t he indust ry f ell f rom 344 t housand t o 203 t housand.
“Product ion is likely t o keep f alling in t he short t erm unt il it reaches a
sust ainable level at w hich it is possible t o reconcile prof it s w it h low
environ-ment al impact in order not t o exhaust nat ural st ocks,” says Daniel Sant os,
a coordinat or of t he st udy “Amazon Forest Fact s 2010”. The survival of t he
indust ry, af t er all, depends on f inding t hat equilibrium.
There are pressures f rom dif f erent sources. “The appreciat ion of t he
Bra-zilian currency against t he American dollar, it s ef f ect s on export s, t he int
er-nat ional crisis t hat st art ed in 2008, variat ions in prices f or commodit ies such
t he low er product ion,” says Sant os.
Of t he 2.2 t housand t imber companies t hat operat e in t he Amazon t
o-day, slight ly more t han half are saw mills. Four years ago t heir numbers w ere
a t hird higher, according t o Imazon, w hich has been doing t he count ing every
f ive years since 1998. “We survey all t he saw mills in operat ion, spend an
en-t ire year moving around in en-t he f oresen-t en-t o inen-t erview a represenen-t aen-t ive number of
companies,” explains Sant os.
The researchers vent ure t o isolat ed places – small and rudiment ary
sa-w mills usually operat e in est uaries accessible only by boat , sa-w it h t he t imber
shipped by f erry. M any w oodcut t ers do not like t o give inf ormat ion aw ay,
es-pecially in areas w here product ion has collapsed. “M ost end up t alking t
hou-gh,” says Sant os, adding t hat t he survey allow s f or a bet t er underst anding of
local cult ural, economic and social realit ies. “It is not rare t hat loggers chose
t o operat e illegally due t o cost s, bureaucracy, t he lack of orient at ion f rom
environment al agencies and ignorance about low impact t echniques”.
The challenge of going
beyond the sawmills
Besides measuring t he decline in product ion, t he researchers also st udied
t he harvest ing and init ial processing of t imber. They found t hat sawmills buy
most of t heir t imber (61%) from t hird part ies inst ead of logging it t hemselves.
Sawmills are t he st art ing point of a chain t hat t ransforms wood int o t he
pro-duct s as we know t hem – furnit ure, doors, windows, et c.
The processing of wood involves many phases. The so- called “primary
processing” uses t ools such as circular saws t o t ransform logs int o clapboards,
planks, beams and raft ers. In t his init ial phase, vises are used t o process
har-dwood int o sheet s t o make plywood.
The “secondary processing”’ t ransforms lumber (sawn wood) int o
refi-ned and value- added product s such as flooring, decks, parquet s, baseboards,