The UNCT project has included installation of a pulley system (above) for low-impact transport of logs to community sawmills, and implementation of a sustainable timber-management plan. (Photo by ONF Andina)
The world leader in judging the sustainability of timber-management plans has certified a native-forest stewardship project in Colombia that will be conducted by nine Afro-descendant communities in the northwestern department of Chocó. The nonprofit Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), based in Bonn, Germany, has certified corporate and community logging in both plantation and native forests around the world. The Chocó initiative marks the first time FSC has put its green seal on a plan involving community-led logging of native forest in Colombia. Certified Nov. 20, the plan will guide timber harvests on 20,783 hectares (51,356 acres) owned by nine communities in the Chocó municipality of Medio Atrato. “This certification marks a before and after for community forestry in Colombia,” says Daniel Bedoya, FSC’s regional director. (See Q&A—this issue.) The project, named Natural Union Committed to the Territory (UNCT), brings local forestland under a community-controlled... [Log in to read more]
