Joeri Zwerts

A motion by Utrecht University researcher Joeri Zwerts was approved at the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) international general meeting earlier this month. The motion provides a solution to … how to treat Intact Forest Landscapes, areas that remain untouched by humans and contain no roads or settlements. …Until now, harvesting timber under the FSC label was not allowed in Intact Forest Landscapes, which are found in regions such as the Amazon, the Congo Basin, and Canada. However, governments sometimes designate parts of these areas for logging. “…we need to protect these forests,” Zwerts says. “But we also have to be realistic. We are talking about areas designated for logging, not protected areas. If an FSC-certified company is not allowed to harvest in such places, that does not mean the forest won’t be logged. A non-certified company will step in, or it will be done illegally. And that is bad news for biodiversity.”