The Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) is WWF’s initiative to eliminate illegal logging and drive improvements in forest management while transforming the global marketplace into a force for saving the world’s valuable and threatened forests, while providing economic and social benefits for the businesses and people that depend on them. First established in 1991, it is the world’s longest-running and largest forest and trade programme of its kind—providing assistance to hundreds of companies. GFTN’s global-to-local, on-the-ground presence mirrors the global forest industry by maintaining a global network of national or regional GFTN offices, which provide knowledge and technical assistance in 34 countries throughout Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.

The GFTN represents a rare opportunity for local communities, businesses, non-governmental organizations, governments and other key partners to work hand-in-hand to ensure that the world’s forests are well managed for a long and sustainable future. Likewise, this unique collaboration guarantees that people’s livelihoods are maintained in harmony with a robust, natural environment.

Striking this balance is the trademark of the GFTN programme, as this global network partners collaboratively with industry to address illegal and unsustainable logging around the world and improve the management of the world’s forests. From local forests to global markets, from the theoretical knowledge to practical implementation, and from communities to corporations – the GFTN brings cutting-edge, innovative and market-based insights to WWF’s long-standing expertise in forest conservation.

http://gftn.panda.org/ 

WORK UNDER RAFT

 Legality Training Seminars

GFTN together with TRAFFIC are building industry capacity to comply with the US Lacey Act and emerging policies that require companies to demonstrate the legality of their wood product exports with the introduction of Exporting in a Shifting Legal Landscape – a guide to legal exports. This unique guide provides producers and processors in Asia with the information they need to protect their market access by maintaining compliance with domestic laws and sourcing timber that was legally taken in the country it came from.

The guide has been disseminated to hundreds of wood manufacturing company and industry association representatives through trainings in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam, conducted from July-September 2010 . Kick-off events in each country brought together US and local government officials to express their support for the shared objective of bringing legality and transparency to the global timber trade that links Asia-Pacific producers and processors to consumers in the US, Europe and elsewhere. Exporting in a Shifting Legal Landscape is available in English, Bahasa Indonesia, Chinese , Malay and Vietnamese.

Contact: Betsy Hickman (betsy.hickman@wwfus.org), GFTN Communications Manager

 Improved Forest Management Support

GFTN is working with 4 forest concessions covering 651,072 hectares of tropical forest in Malaysia, supporting these forest managers through a stepwise approach to achieve and maintain Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. This includes working with forest companies to demonstrate legality, as well as to identify and manage high conservation value forests (HCVF) with trainings and technical support.

GFTN has used this on the ground experience working with concessions to develop an HCVF Toolkit for Malaysia. The Toolkit provides practical guidance to forest managers and other stakeholders to identify, manage and monitor HCVFs in Malaysia. In 2009, the Government of Malaysia, in its 4^th national report to the Convention on Biological Diversity, recognized the Toolkit as a guide to be used for conducting HCVF assessments in the Malaysian context.

Contact: Audrey Lee Mei Fong (mflee@wwf.org.my), GFTN-Malaysia Manager

 Chain-of-Custody (CoC) Certification Support

GFTN is building demand for legal and certified timber by training approximately 200 wood products manufacturers in China – the largest importer of raw wood materials worldwide – to raise awareness and provide technical assistance on responsible sourcing and trade, particularly focused on achieving Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain of custody (CoC) certification.

GFTN is bringing its global network to bear by working with responsible buyers in Europe and the US to influence the sustainability of supply chains across Southeast Asia. For instance, Walmart and Kingfisher, both participants in the GFTN, have conducted training workshops on responsible wood sourcing with their suppliers. By actively engaging with their supply chains and communicating the requirements of their timber sourcing policies, these committed companies are driving improvements in the sustainability of this key forest products market.

Contact: Jin Zhonghao (zhhjin@wwfchina.org), GFTN-China Manager

Photo credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Allison Bleaney (Participant asks about the difference between Lacey Act requirements and voluntary certification schemes, kick-off event and legality training, Jakarta, Indonesia); Photo © Cole Genge (WWF staff discuss current forest management practices with concession manager, Malaysia); © Brent Stirton/Getty Images/WWF-UK (People working at Nature flooring factory, Shanghai, China).