FSCs impact on the ground:
Source: www.fsc.org
Topic: Wood Carving
Sort Desciption: The woodcarving industry in Kenya generates an income of over ... important example for African countries with a growing wood carving industry, ...
Content Inside: A joint project to identify means to preserve threatened tree species such as African Blackwood (Dalbergia melanozylon) and Muhugu (Brachylaena huillensi) and to sustain the woodcarving industry that supports the income of Coast Farm Forestry Association members is one project in Kenya where FSC policies for small and low intensity managed forests and group certification have done an important impact. Soil Association Woodmark certified a group of 576 small farmers, a 3000-member wood-carving co-operative and a marketing organ- ization in 2005, becoming the first FSC certificate in Kenya. Since then, FSC certification has been used as a tool to promote respon- sible wood consumption within the Kenyan woodcarving industry to help reduce the threat towards biodiversity-rich coastal forests in East Africa. The woodcarving industry in Kenya generates an income of over US$10 million each year for 60,000 carvers and their dependents. However, it has also contributed to the decline of ebony (Dalbergia melanoxylon) and muhuhu/mahogany (Brachylaena huillensis) population in the region. Carvers at the Akamba Handicraft co-operative in Mombasa, Kenya and local farmers have now developed alternative materials for the carving needs of local community woodlots, using alternative species such as neem (Azadirachfa indica) and mango (Mangifera indaca), referred to as “Good Woods”. Preparation for FSC certification has led to the drafting of a management plan and harvesting schedule, and the formation of a farmers group which has signed up with the scheme. Through the project, carvers have already begun to use the ‘Good Woods’. It is hoped that FSC certification will open new opportuni- ties in the market for the carvings. Currently members of the Akamba Handicraft cooperative sell the carvings to tourists in Kenya as well as overseas markets with the FSC logo. The Coast Farm Forestry Association has implemented a systema- tic management plan. The management plan ...
industry