Today, Interpol puts the value of illegal logging in the tens of billions, and the UN claims the estimated value of the illegal charcoal export trade from East Africa is over $360 million a year. Elsewhere, the story is similar. From Brazil to Haiti to Madagascar, forests are turned to dust for profit. Whether for charcoal, cattle ranching or rare tropical hardwood, the outcome is eventually the same. Bans don’t work when people are trapped financially.
Deforestation is big business and has been for a long time. Supposedly, the Romans cut down swathes of British forests to flush out the Celts and build settlements. In the 1700s British forests were so depleted that King George III sent teams of specialist surveyors to the unspoilt pine forests of the North American colonies, where trees were then plundered to source wood for ship masts.
Fortunately, we can fix an old problem with an old solution. Sustainable forestry is one of the most effective ways to combat deforestation, including illegal logging. Despite being highly destructive and indiscriminate, illegal logging is still driven by demand. Choosing sustainable forestry products and limiting the use of certain species (such as tropical hardwoods) reduces that demand. Increasing the demand for sustainable timber and other healthy rainforest products, such as rattan, allows communities to generate income without destroying their forests. If it becomes more profitable to be a sustainable forest operator than an illegal one, then the tide can turn.
This work has already begun. There is an established definition of sustainable forestry, and two main international non-profit organisations are currently at the forefront of sustainable forestry accreditation: the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). These groups work in slightly different ways but ultimately share the goal of promoting sustainable forestry.
The FSC sets out clear standards for sustainable forestry, which you can read more about here. It assesses, reforms and accredits logging companies, endorsing certified products with its FSC logo. However, the process is costly, which critics say penalises smaller companies and developing economies (about 83% of the FSC’s certified forest area is in Europe and North America), but the assessments are very thorough. This is well suited to large and multinational forestry companies in more developed economies.
The PEFC works more with governments to assess and reform national forestry standards and endorse sustainability schemes within domestic logging industries, allowing sustainably sourced products to bear the PEFC logo. This is better suited to smaller community and family forests, as well as developing economies. The standards can also be tailored to local environmental factors. Critics say this risks the standards becoming diluted; however, the overall benefit from registering and establishing a system at all is still vast.
As designers, supporting either the FSC or the PEFC by specifying products bearing their certification is worthwhile. Engineered timber, such as the CLT and Glulam used for construction, is almost always FSC or PEFC certified, and any good supplier has the capability to offer certified products. At present, the FSC certifies 200 million hectares of forests, and the PEFC certifies 330 million hectares. With some crossover between the two, the total global certified area amounts to 430 million hectares, which is just over 10% of global forested area (4 billion hectares), so there’s still a huge amount of work to be done.
At this point it feels fair to say that it’s not only green to chop down trees, but it’s essential for a sustainable future – when done responsibly and sustainably. People will continue to cut down trees, so it’s vitally important that they’re empowered to do so in a sustainable way. The role of forests in balancing our climate and sustaining life on earth cannot be understated, and the only way to protect them is to cut them down – nicely.
