Posted on 27 February 2004

Gland, Switzerland - WWF has launched a comprehensive online guide on how to buy, sell, and trade timber responsibly. The Good Wood guide show how consumers, traders, retailers, architects, forest managers, governments, and financial institutions can help stop bad practices like illegal logging and trade. 

Illegal logging is one of the key drivers in growing deforestation and uncontrolled fellings around the world. Now a multimillion dollar business, illegal logging damages nature, people, national economies, and the reputation of the forest industry. Consumers, forest and retail industries, governments, and financial institutions need to reverse this trend to stop the current forest crisis. 
 
The guide offers practical information on choices and options for buying good timber — that is, timber that is not from an endangered species and that was not harvested by illegal logging.

For example, a consumer guide on tropical timber is provided, listing different timber tree species, their status (endangered, vulnerable, lower risk, etc), and what their wood is commonly used in, together with an image so that people can easily identify what they buy. Consumers are also given information on how to look for the FSC label, which guarantees that the timber product came from a well-managed forest.

Timber traders, manufacturers, and processors are given information on verifying the origin of timber, while governments are given information on excluding illegal and controversial timber from public works.
 
The Good Wood guide also gives a comprehensive overview on tools like credible certification (such as FSC) and current trends in responsible forest management. 
 
For further information:
Helma Brandlmaier
Communications Officer, WWF European Forest Programme
Tel: +43 1 48817 217 or +43 676 83 488 217 (mobile)
E-mail: hb@wwf.at