[MPWG] RE: Rainforest Alliance/IKEA/forest communities in mexico team up

[Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov]

Dear Medicinal Plant Colleagues,

While the following news release does not deal directly with medicinals, it
serves as an example of the multi-stakeholder approach to sustainable
sourcing.  Look for more models of sustainability on the Medicinal Plant
Working Group website soon. This posting is not intended as an endorsement
but as "food for thought."  I encourage you to contact Rainforest Alliance
directly with any questions, they are always responsive to questions.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2003

CONTACT:
Steve Kent, 845.758.0097, 914.589.5988

Abraham Guillén, SmartWood, 802.434.5491

Bina Venkataraman, Rainforest Alliance, 212.677.1900







Certified Wood from Pueblo Nuevo Conquers International Markets

Community in Mexico Sells Sustainably Managed Lumber to IKEA Supplier





Durango, Mexico -- With the delivery on December 1, 2003 of the first
container of furniture parts to SitWell, a company that manufactures sofas
for the international IKEA company, Pueblo Nuevo of Durango has become the
first community in Mexico to sell its sustainably produced lumber to a
major international furniture company.



According to Juan de Dios Bermúdez, Coordinator of the Market Relations and
Forestry Production Program of the Rainforest Alliance in the state of
Durango, "This achievement ensures employment for qualified local labor,
increased added value for the wood, a direct deal without unnecessary
intermediaries and greater direct economic benefits for the community of
Pueblo Nuevo."



The furniture components made by the Pueblo Nuevo community bear the
SmartWood/Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) seal, which is the consumers'
guarantee that the products they are buying come from a sustainably managed
forest. SmartWood certification ensures that timber harvesting is
ecologically and silviculturally sound, and socially and economically
beneficial to local communities. SmartWood brings foresters, manufacturers,
conservationists and consumers together to improve forest management.
SmartWood certification addresses the complete forestry process --
certifying wood from the forest floor to the sales floor and all points in
between. A total of 208,863 acres (84,560 hectares) of forests owned by the
Pueblo Nuevo community are certified by SmartWood/FSC.



The demand for certified products is increasing worldwide. Companies such
as IKEA, which sells furniture in 33 countries around the world, aim to
offer its customers wood products from sustainably managed forests. IKEA
supports FSC certification as part of its long-term wood purchasing
strategy. In 2002, the Rainforest Alliance contacted IKEA to promote the
sale of products from operations certified by SmartWood. Since then and
right through the shipping of the first container, the Rainforest Alliance
has provided technical assistance and facilitated the business relationship
between the ejido Pueblo Nuevo and IKEA.



"IKEA is fulfilling its commitment to buy products from soundly managed
forests, and the Pueblo Nuevo community is demonstrating its capacity to
capture part of the international market's growing demand for certified
wood," explains Abraham Guillén, Head of Market Development for the
Rainforest Alliance's TREES Program (Training, Research, Extension,
Education and Systems of Certification). "The fact that the Pueblo Nuevo
community has caught IKEA's attention to begin a mutually beneficial
commercial relationship is proof that community forestry operations in
Mexico can be competitive globally, as long as the demand for certified
products matches their sustainable supply capacities and available
resources."



Aarón Parra, secretary of the Pueblo Nuevo ejido, says that the Rainforest
Alliance helped him and his colleagues understand that SmartWood
certification results in market access that benefits all 1,500 community
members.



As part of this initiative, Durango's community forestry operations have
received support from a number of organizations working with the Rainforest
Alliance, including the International Program of the US Forest Service and
the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which have stimulated
the development of forestry management capacities, product quality and
marketing in Mexico.

A few more details on the news release:

What species are involved?
The timber involved includes oak and pine.

What is a qualified community?
-Qualified communities include those that are certified and meet quality
and quantity criteria.

How many communities are participating?
-Currently, the agreement is with one or two ejidos.

How do local communities benefit?
-Local communities are benefiting in that this is a community-owned and
managed resources.  So families that depend about the forests are
benefitting, which encourages them to manage for trees and diversity.

The mission of the Rainforest Alliance is to protect ecosystems and the
people and wildlife that live within them by implementing better business
practices for biodiversity conservation and sustainability.  Companies,
cooperatives and landowners that participate in our programs meet rigorous
standards for protecting the environment, wildlife, workers and local
communities.  To learn more about the Rainforest Alliance, visit
www.rainforest-alliance.org.