Supporting eco-certification of forest concessions in Central Africa

The ECOFORAF project lies within the scope of the preservation of biodiversity in forests in Congo Basin countries (Central Africa), all of which are members of the COMIFAC.

The ECOFORAF project’s main goal is to promote exploitation of wood resources while ensuring the preservation of forests and forest related services that present and future populations benefit from at local, national and global level.

The project makes it possible for the companies to make commitments in terms of certification with several perspectives in view:

1/ sustainable and legal long-term exploitation of wood resources in the world’s second largest forest area.

2/ promoting local development in this region by way of creating jobs, providing technical training within the timber sector, improving the populations’ living conditions, implementation of local markets…

3/ promoting certification labels carried by certified tropical timber products on the European market.

The project is grounded on four pillars:

1° Improving forest management plans and their implementation by the main project beneficiaries (forest enterprises, NGO, local administrations).

2° Training for these beneficiaries on the subjects of certification, chain of custody and timber legality through workshops, field visits and exchanges of experience and knowledge.

3° The adaptation of international criteria of certification in the Congo Basin (elaboration of regional certification standards).

4° Developing and promoting certified timber products on European markets through actions of consciousness raising, communication and assistance for the implementation of FSC chain-of-custody. And also the realisation of the very first market study gathering aggregate qualitative and quantitative data on the industry of certified tropical timber.