Ecobreves – NICARAGUA: Better Forestry Practices

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

MANAGUA, Feb 9 2004 (IPS) - The World Wildlife Fund is promoting voluntary certification programs in Nicaragua for lumber processors and furniture factories committed to sustainable development of forests. Of 700,000 hectares of certified forests in Central America, Nicaragua holds at least 20,000, and the WWF considers it a priority to improve the situation, Steve, Gretsinger, the fund's regional forestry director, told Tierramérica.

Certifying products come from properly managed forests is a mechanism for halting deforestation and offers concrete benefits, such as more sales and broader acceptance on the market, he said.

The WWF has set up its second forestry business network in the region, known as Jagwood+, and has already certified four companies that produce or process lumber.

The Nicaraguan government is supporting the initiative through related laws and in the search for markets so that more companies will apply for certification