The Fiji Hardwood Corporation Ltd (FHCL) has secured a $956,000 grant to pursue forest certification aimed at boosting the value of Fiji’s mahogany in international markets.
General manager Semi Dranibaka highlighted the importance of certification saying key markets such as Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the US required certified timber.
“We engaged an American-based organisation to audit our forests, and they identified areas for improvement, including sustainable practices,” Mr Dranibaka said.
The audit’s gap analysis identified key requirements, including an environmental impact assessment, a social impact study, and the designation of high conservation value forests (HCVF).
“We need to have it be sustainable; we need to protect our land-owning units and see they have the benefits.
“And also, we would like to see that the work conditions, the workers are treated to standards.
“So, all operations that are done have to conform to all the standards and the relevant law before any product is sold overseas.
“This is very important for Fiji Hardwood, and we are working towards addressing those gaps because under forest certification we need to satisfy certain principles and criteria for forest certification.”
Mr Dranibaka reaffirmed the company’s commitment to addressing the gaps, as they would begin consultation for the certification process next year.
