An Amazon Initiative

Moving towards certified sustainable forestry requires investment and therefore needs demand to back it up

That’s why as Van den Berg Hardhout BV we have chosen to join the joint initiative with a number of international players in the wood industry to support the sustainable development of the sector in the Amazon. Together we represent a substantial volume of the timber imported to Europe from Brasil. The initiative is called: ‘An Amazon Initiative’.

Deforestation in the Amazon has reached its highest level in 12 years, and the harmful deforestation has spread to the heart of the rainforest. This is obviously not the right development - but did you know that forestry in the rainforest can be part of the solution instead of the problem?

Making sustainable forestry a good business 

The crucial thing is that it is not always a good business to run sustainable forestry in the Amazon. Many of the trees are therefore burned or felled to make room for more profitable farming with soybeans and cattle grazing that quickly deplete the soil and drive farmers even further into the forests. In order to preserve the rainforest, it is therefore necessary to make sustainable timber production a good economic business and investment. Among other things, we can help by offering incentives through demand for certified tropical wood.

We continue to be interested in:

1. Timber of good and sustainable origin and non-destructive logging methods.
2. Forest management practices which sustain long term forest production
3. FSC certified timber, including more lesser-known timber species.

We hope that an initiative like this can help to inspire and illuminate the opportunities we actually have to make a positive difference and create sustainable development, not least for the population in some of the world's most vulnerable and biodiversity rich areas.

The letter has been sent to Forest sector Authorities and NGOs in Brasil today. We hope this initiative will support a movement for improvement in the Amazon.

Download the Portugese letter and Signatories here

Download the English letter and Signatories here

Picture: Amazon Rainforest 7 years after reduced impact logging