Being Brazilian and having visited several forest operations in the Amazon, I am often asked by local mill operators whether I can find a market for different species.
Forest owners, specifically those with certification, face an uphill struggle: how do they improve profitability if their supply is limited by nature and the price demanded for their products is set by market conditions?
Even if forest mills buy from other forest sources, there’s still a fixed quantity of trees available. No matter how deep they go into the virgin forest to “cherry-pick” the in vogue species, the challenge in the tropics is always about securing stocks of popular but increasingly rare (and therefore expensive) logs.
Forest operators certified by credible sustainable forest certification schemes – such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – have their hands bound even tighter, since they can only explore a small proportion of their own forest area each year (they can also buy from other small parts of other certified forests).
Certification schemes like the FSC take into account not only the “green” aspect of forest sustainability, but also social (stakeholder communities) and economic demands. None is easily satisfied, but the challenge of economic sustainability is especially hard for certified forests. Forest operators have a limited area to explore each year, with a fixed number of species in that area, regardless of whether these are the ones required by consuming markets. In fact, it is estimated that a single hectare of native tropical forests has around 350 different species of trees, many of which will be unfamiliar to specifiers.
Lesser-known species
The solution lies in focusing not on the aesthetics of single, popular species, but on the physical properties offered by both well and lesser-known species. It’s a solution recognised by the FSC UK Working Group whose Construction and Architects fact sheet advises: “Technical specifications as opposed to species specifications should be considered. This will give contractors much more leeway to find a suitable certified timber species to do the job required.”
There are clear benefits for all in adopting such an approach: forest owners (both certified and non-certified) could earn more by selling a wider variety of timbers, thus reducing the pressure on single species that lie deeper and deeper into virgin forest. The industry would also gain more clout by being able to offer clients more volume and keener prices.
However, this is a very difficult marketing feat since clients and specifiers don’t usually have enough time, courage or knowledge to consider a variety of different species – even if this means more volume availability and better prices. Stockists have to deal with a lot more information on different species; and clients undoubtedly prefer to use a species they already know, even if they have to pay more for it.
Greenheart substitute
At Ecochoice we promote alternative species such as FSC-certified eucalyptus cloeziana – a great greenheart substitute. And our Dutch partner Reef Hout’s certified African concession markets species such as tali and niove. But, despite the fact that several importers are also convinced of the benefits of promoting different species to the market, making people consider an alternative species is no easy task – after all, we’re talking about changing the customer’s behaviour and adopting something new.
Nevertheless, we have to keep pushing the message to end users because certification brings great benefits to forests and their communities and is a great marketing tool.
