Netherlands-based Wijma says it can now treble production of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified tropical species after its African subsidiary achieved FSC certification on a second forest concession in Cameroon.
The new certification, together with an existing FSC-certified concession (certified in 2005), means Wijam Douala SARL now has 120,000ha of FSC certified forest area.
Additional FSC volumes will include the species azobé/ekki and tali for construction projects such as lock gates, bridges, piling and balconies, plus the likes of sapele, sipo and iroko for the international timber trade.
Wijma Africa managing director Maarten Wijma decribed the successful certification as a milestone. “It is a tremendous effort to achieve this under not always very easy circumstances,” he said.
Wijma Douala SARL, a subsidiary of Koninklijke Houthandel G Wijma & Zonen BV, has been active for more than 40 years in Cameroon.
It has two sawmills in the country – Bidou and Nguti – and manages forest areas intended for timber production on a 30-year cycle.
The Wijma group has about 1,300 employees and also has production units in the Netherlands and Brazil.
