PEFC takes center stage at leading European timber tradeshow

27 June 2014 News

Early June saw PEFC International take to the stage at Europe’s leading timber tradeshow, Carrefour International du Bois, to discuss PEFC certification and tropical wood.

Taking place every two years in Nantes, France, the Carrefour International du Bois brings together over 500 exhibitors and 10,000 visitors from 60 different countries, promoting its 100% wood concept through a dedicated trade show and a wealth of side events taking place over four days. Held at the heart of the event was transition2020, a space dedicated to discussions and debates on different aspects relating to the wood sector.

“Here at the Carrefour du Bois we can really work with the different actors to create more demand for certified sustainable forest products from both the tropics and the entire world,” highlighted Sarah Price from PEFC International on the transition2020 roundtable. “It is this demand that motivates the forest producers, and is what gives them incentive to implement sustainable forest management.”

“From PEFC’s perspective working in producer countries, we can foresee additional supply of certified material coming into the marketplace, especially from the tropics,” continued Ms. Price. “What we need to do is balance this supply with demand to create the momentum, to really promote sustainable forest management around the world.”

Along with Stéphane Marchesi, Secretary General of PEFC France, and Rose Ondo, President of PAFC Gabon, Ms. Price discussed PEFC’s progress in supporting sustainable forest management and the development national forest certification systems in tropical forests around the world.

Following an introduction to PEFC by Mr. Marchesi, Ms. Ondo provided a snapshot of the situation in Gabon, outlining the current status of sustainable forest management in the country and steps they took to gain PEFC endorsement of their national forest certification system. She also highlighted the growing interest of concessionaires in the country to get their forests PEFC-certified.

Further Information

To listen and watch PEFC’s discussion or others featured on the transition2020 platform please visit the transition2020 website.