Posted on November, 04 2008

GOOD WOOD AND FOREST CONSERVATION
Many will find it strange that WWF, the global conservation organization, would promote timber and logging -- particularly in tropical forests. But the fact is that WWF does support forest industries in all parts of the world provided that they practice socially and environmentally responsible forest management. While WWF continues work to protect the most ecologically valuable forests in reserves, we see responsible forestry as a key component of sustainable development that can and should go hand in hand with forest conservation.

Responsible forestry and forest certification cannot succeed in the tropics without developing appropriate uses and markets for lesser-known timber species (LKTS). Consumers are accustomed to purchasing a very limited range of timber species, and are generally unaware that thousands of useful wood species exist. Using a broader range of species conforms demand to what natural forests can produce sustainably and can reduce the chances that well-known species will be overexploited.