Miljö

Permits have been granted for the felling of legal timber, but this says little about how the forest is managed. In some cases, the forest even disappears completely!

You place a facade or a garden deck. As long as it’s legal tropical wood it’s fine. Wood is wood, right? Is the forest managed sustainably? Is there child labour? Do the locals benefit from it? Will poachers be stopped? Protect the animals?

If the forest is FSC certified, strict rules are applied that guarantee the preservation of biological diversity and ensure that people who live and work in the forest are treated with respect. Legal timber does not provide such guarantees.

Permission has been granted for the felling. That’s all. And that is far too little. The legal is just not good enough.

The following questions/answers about tropical wood come from FSC Netherlands. We have translated the questions into English. https://hierhoutdaarbos.nl/

There are two reasons for using tropical wood. Certified tropical wood is a very environmentally friendly material that often surpasses the properties of local wood.

It often has a longer lifespan. 35 to 50 years is the rule rather than the exception. And 100% circular. In addition, the choice of tropical FSC wood leads to the protection of very vulnerable forests and their inhabitants, people and animals. After all, FSC forest may not be felled for soy or oil palm plantations. The forest remains a forest by choosing tropical wood more often.

The following questions/answers about tropical wood come from FSC Netherlands. We have translated the questions into English. https://hierhoutdaarbos.nl/

Logging is not the main cause of deforestation or climate change. By choosing tropical FSC wood, you ensure that the forest continues to exist.

20 years ago, intact tropical forests still stored 17 percent of man-made emissions. Forests lost about 25 percent of their area, while global emissions increased by 46 percent. Intact tropical forests are a crucial storage for CO2 and play a key role in the fight against climate change. In the forests managed by FSC, 99 trees grow for every tree harvested that absorbs CO2 again. By using certified tropical wood, you prevent the use of building materials that emit a lot of CO2 and you stop the felling of tropical forests (to make way for soy or palm oil), which counteracts climate change.

The following questions/answers about tropical wood come from FSC Netherlands. We have translated the questions into English. https://hierhoutdaarbos.nl/

The use of FSC tropical wood has a positive climate effect in two respects. It is an alternative to polluting materials and it also protects the forest, which plays a decisive role in combating climate change.

The production of materials for the construction industry accounts for 11 percent of global energy and process-related emissions. About half of all concrete, brick and steel goes to the construction industry. If we do nothing, the increasing global demand for housing will cause huge CO2 emissions from materials such as concrete, steel and glass. While wood, including tropical wood, stores CO2 during growth. A lot of CO2 is released when manufacturing steel, concrete or plastic. In addition, choose tropical FSC wood because then no forest dies. The forest will be preserved precisely because it must not be turned into a plantation for soy or palm oil.

The following questions/answers about tropical wood come from FSC Netherlands. We have translated the questions into English. https://hierhoutdaarbos.nl/

Since the transport takes place by ship, which transports thousands of containers of timber, the environmental impact per kilometer is considerably lower than transport by truck. There is no denying that tropical wood comes from far away, traveling many kilometers before being used in a lock gate, bridge or construction. This often translates into high CO2 emissions. Nevertheless, the environmental impact is not so bad, as shown by environmental calculations.

It is not only the kilometers that are important, but also the means of transport. Have you ever seen a truck with 8000 containers? Transport by ship is much cleaner per kilometer than by truck.

The environmental damage caused by transport is determined by both the distance and the method of transport. This calculation example shows that transporting softwood from Europe can sometimes even have a higher environmental impact than wood from tropical areas.

The following questions/answers about tropical wood come from FSC Netherlands. We have translated the questions into English. https://hierhoutdaarbos.nl/

Is FSC wood more expensive? Or is other wood simply too cheap? This becomes apparent when calculating the actual costs of using non-certified timber.

Just like meat, coffee or energy, it is good to look at all circumstances and not just the price tag. I f you care about people, animals and the planet or welfare, a low price expressed in money is done in no time. But what is the real cost? What happens when you calculate the actual cost of non-certified.

Because this choice means that the risk of damage to climate and biodiversity can hardly be expressed in monetary terms.

The following questions/answers about tropical wood come from FSC Netherlands. We have translated the questions into English. https://hierhoutdaarbos.nl/

Remember that although modified or preserved wood approaches the properties of tropical wood, it requires processing of the wood. To increase the performance of softwood, for example, substances are added or the wood is heated at a high temperature. Modification sometimes also requires specific conifer species, which still have to be imported from far away. All this has a negative impact on the environment.

Tropical hardwood does not need that extra treatment, is naturally strong, has a long life and is also sustainable for people, animals and the planet. Because by choosing certified tropical wood, you also stimulate sustainable management and thus protection of our most vulnerable forests.

The following questions/answers about tropical wood come from FSC Netherlands. We have translated the questions into English. https://hierhoutdaarbos.nl/