04.03.2022
During the "Smart Impact" program on BSMART TV on Monday, February 28, Benoit Jobbe-Duval, director of ATIBT, and Arnaud HETROIT, director of Le Commerce du Bois, were interviewed by journalist Thomas HUGUES to discuss the subject of imported deforestation and the commitments of their organizations and their members.
"The concept of imported deforestation is the impact of our consumption of raw materials which, in producing countries, is potentially a source of deforestation. This concerns soy, beef, cocoa, natural rubber, ... Wood has been added mechanically in this list although it was not initially targeted. But it is a raw material from countries where deforestation is a problem and it had to be included as a matter of principle..." says Benoit Jobbé-Duval.
He adds: "The two major sustainable forest management certification schemes, FSC and PEFC, were created in 1995 to support timber production towards sustainable practices. In the Congo Basin, out of 300 million hectares of forest, 50 million hectares are exploited for timber, 20% of which have legality and sustainable management certifications... This means that the operators who manage these forest concessions have implemented procedures on social, environmental and economic levels."
Arnaud Hétroit explains: "About timber, today there already is a regulation that requires importers to assess the risk of illegality. [With the zero deforestation and zero forest degradation regulation], we will address the issue of deforestation, especially legal deforestation. Companies will have to assess these deforestation risks, mitigate them and ensure that the products put on the market no longer contribute to deforestation. At the level of the profession, we had really anticipated this because Le Commerce du Bois is approved by the European Commission as a timber trade control organization. We provide our members with risk assessment and mitigation tools with responsible approaches that go well beyond the regulations...".
The show aired three times on February 28: 8:00am, 12:00pm, 8:30pm and is available for replay below.
Watch the debate (from 11 minutes) here or through the video below:
