February 21, 2007- On the initiative of Precious Woods and five other European companies, a new website on responsible forest management has been launched. www.whyFSC.com provides independent information about the FSC forest certification scheme. This information includes documents from scientists, non-governmental organisations, legal authorities and governments. The testimonials collected on the website come from such diverse partners as Rabo Bank, the Metalektro Pension Fund (PME), IKEA, WWF or the Belgian province of West Flanders. All of them substantiate the view that FSC certification is the only certification system to offer genuine certainty about responsible forest management.

Having a credible system at hand is important, as millions of hectares of forest are still being destroyed each year. The conversion of forests to oil palm and soya plantations is a major and growing threat, and both legal and illegal logging also contribute to the disappearance of large areas of natural forests. By managing forests in a responsible manner, logging companies are not just reducing their negative impact: they are in fact protecting forests from conversion to other land-use while at the same time providing people with a source of income.

Helping to manage forests in a responsible way is not just something for governments and forest owners. Every individual or company choosing FSC paper (for printing, copying and publishing), ensuring that FSC timber is used for their new offices, or investing in FSC-certified forestry operations, helps to strengthen the demand for FSC timber. This benefits forest-dwelling people, workers in the forestry sector, and the environment.

About FSC

The FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) was established as a third party forest certification scheme and the FSC-label was introduced to the timber and paper market in the mid 1990s. Since then, over 80 million hectares of forests have been FSC-certified. In response, a number of other certification schemes "“ most of them industry driven "“ have been set up. FSC, however, remains the only one able to provide genuine certainty that the forests are being managed in a responsible manner. FSC is unique because its decision-making seeks to balance economic, ecological and social interests. It is the only certification system for responsible forest management that operates in compliance with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice. Members of the ISEAL Alliance are leading international standard-setting, certification and accreditation organisations that focus on social and environmental issues. FSC enjoys wide support throughout the world from the business community, NGOs, governments and other interested parties.

About Precious Woods and its partners

Precious Woods is an active member of the FSC with more than 500,000 hectares of forests in the Amazon and 7,000 hectares of reforestations in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The company is active in the reforestation and sustainable management of tropical forests, downstream wood processing and trading of FSC-certified timber and non-timber forest products. Listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange, the company currently employs 1,800 people. Precious Woods has founded www.whyFSC.com together with the retailers Jysk and Kwantum, playground producer Kompan Netherlands and timber traders Lagae and GWW Houtimport.

Precious Woods

Precious Woods

Precious Woods is a world leader in the sustainable management and use of tropical forests. Based in Switzerland with some 1,800 employees, our company has subsidiaries in Brazil, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Holland and Switzerland. Sustainable Management of Existing Forests: In Brazil we manage existing tropical forest according to the guidelines of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), in a sustainable and low-impact manner, thereby ensuring its long-term preservation. Reforestations: In Central America we reforest pastureland according to FSC with a mosaic of teak and various indigenous species. Timber Industry and Trading: Our FSC products find applications in the construction, industrial, furniture, and do-it-yourself sectors, with customers in Europe, Brazil, Asia and the USA. Renewable Energy and Carbon Dioxide: The use of waste wood to produce energy and the sale of CO2 emission rights are integral parts of our approach to the sustainable management of forests and the timber industry.

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