Posted on October, 02 2009

Forum in La Paz, Bolivia

On Thursday October 8th a Forum will be held in La Paz, Bolivia, to analyze the benefits generated from forests for Bolivian communities, companies and the forests themselves, catapulting the country as the world leader in sustainable management of native tropical forests. The Forum is organized by the Bolivian Council for Voluntary Forest Certification (CFV) and the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade (Ibce).

“Bolivia has 53 million hectares of forest –almost 50% of its surface area– of which 17% is destined to sustainable use. In addition, Bolivia, with more than 2 million hectares of FSC certified native tropical forest, is in a leadership position world wide, thanks to alliances between community forest enterprises, industry and the government. But today more than ever it is necessary to monitor that this development model is not destroyed”, said Juan Pablo Valdivieso, President of the CFV.

In turn, Adolfo Moreno, Director a.i. for WWF Bolivia, indicated that “with our support, the first group of Bolivian concessionaire leaders was trained in sustainable forest practices in the 90s. These leaders are currently community and private businessmen and play a key role in the country’s responsible forest management”.

“There is a tendency worldwide towards responsible consumption of forest resources. For example, the European Union and the United States, markets representing 70% of Bolivian forest exports, are working towards eliminating the trade of wood that has been illegally logged. This is a clear sign that we are not wrong in ensuring that Bolivia promotes a sustainable forest use”, added Pablo Antelo, President of the Ibce.

Benefits and challenges
The benefits and challenges regarding the forestry business at international level will be analyzed during the Forum, which is supported by the Bolivian Forestry Chamber, WWF Bolivia, the Center for Research and Management of Renewable Natural Resources (Cimar-Uagrm), the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the School of Forestry Engineers of Santa Cruz (CIF SC).

The Forum will be held on Thursday October 8th in the city of La Paz from 09:00 to 12:00 in the “Roble” conference room at the Plaza Hotel.

For further information:
Gualberto Vargas, Ibce, Tel. (03) 3362230, comunicaciones@ibce.org.bo, www.ibce.org.bo
Viviana Molina, CFV, Tel. (03) 3494670, cfv-vmolina@scbbs-bo.com, www.consejoforestal.org.bo
Nardin Pizarro, WWF Bolivia, Tel. (03) 3430609, npizarro@wwfbolivia.org, www.panda.org/bolivia