FSC Stories from around the world
Rescuing Species and Preserving Traditions
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 organization
in 2005, becoming the first FSC certificate in Kenya. Since
then, FSC certification has been used as a tool to promote responsible
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 opportunities
in the market for the carvings.
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