WWF’s contributions to the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) work was recognised with a special award presented at the show.
George White, head of WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN), received an Outstanding Contribution to FSC award from FSC UK executive director Charles Thwaites.
WWF had come to Timber Expo fresh from celebrating the 20th anniversary of GFTN, which operates a stepwise approach to help companies move towards forest certification, transparent supply chains and responsible procurement of forest products.
On the stand, computer screens gave information on lesser-known tropical species and sample species were available to view.
WWF wants timber companies and specifiers to look at lesser-known species to remove pressure on popular timbers.
Mr White said of the 360 timber species in the Congo Basin, fewer than 20 were traded in commercial timber markets. “About 280 species have potential uses, with a large portion being good enough for use in the timber trade.”
