At the conference
“Tropical Forests in a Connected World: Collaborative Solutions for a Sustainable Future” at the renowned Yale University in Connecticut (USA). Betterwood invited to present the perspective of European consumers for the first time. Every year the event is held from
"The Yale Chapter of the International Society of Tropical Foresters" organized. Guests and scientists discuss and exchange ideas about sustainability and forestry. Christian Körting (Managing Partner) represented our company at the conference with his presentation “Sustainable Timber Trade in Germany”. Betterwood is an example of how sustainability in the forestry and timber industry can be promoted and how it is economically worthwhile. It was an interesting exchange because we showed the European end customer and commercial customer perspective for the first time. The scientists, the WWF, Rainforest Alliance, The Forest Dialogue, CIFOR and certifiers such as SGS were therefore very interested in how German end customers and traders react to the offer of wood from sustainable forestry.
Consumer power
Again and again it became clear: Education about the problems in the tropical rain forests increases the demand for wood from sustainable forestry. The forest will only survive if the indigenous population can earn their livelihood from the rainforest in a resource-saving manner. Otherwise, it will be completely cleared for short-term gain. What remains is farmland that is no longer fertile after a few years, areas for animal husbandry or palm oil plantations - where the rain forest, which is essential for our climate, once stood. In the timber industry, too, the customer has the power to change the market. Without end customer demand for sustainable products, it would hardly be possible for local NGOs and governments to preserve the forest as an ecosystem. In his presentation, Christian Körting also emphasized the importance of partnerships with organizations such as the FSC, the STTC, the GFTN from the WWF and the GD Holz association Betterwood are: Cooperations help to publicize and strengthen sustainability in the timber business.
Innovation award for Prey Lang
The 2017 Innovation Award from the Yale School of Forest and Environmental Studies went to the initiative
"Prey Lang - It's our forest too". They are committed to preserving the forest in Cambodia - and are fighting for it with creative means. For example with a mobile app. However, the initiative has so far received little support from other government NGOs and the work for the forest is taking place under life-threatening circumstances. The initiative has been threatened for years and there have even been fatalities. We are all the more pleased that Prey Lang received the award this year and thus encourages other people to preserve the forest ecosystem for mankind.
