forexsa

Care for the Environment and Social Responsibility

Exotic Brazilian Wood Products

Sixty miles from Santarem, in the Amazon region, the company has developed its forest management project: a sustainable development program based on the carefully planned and controlled wood harvesting that preserves the balance in the ecosystem. The work begins with a survey of all the species found in the area, defining the suitable volume and diameter for the harvesting of each species. All roads and tracks are designed to reduce the environmental impact to the forest. It is a completely sustainable project -- only mature trees are harvested- ensuring space for the growth of young trees. In addition, matrix trees of each species are preserved for seed production, while permanent parcels of land are set aside in order to compare the development of the managed forest with that of the non-managed one.

After harvesting, the forest development is closely monitored by the company's technicians. The project's area is divided in land parcels of 50 hectares each. The harvesting is done one parcel at a time, alternating parcels, to allow the parcels that have previously been worked time to recover. Trees that don’t meet the minimum harvesting criteria are left until the parcel is worked again, 20 to 30 years later. Only non-endangered species are harvested.

Another concern major concern for our company is the protection of animal species. Hunting is forbidden in our land and those trees that play a role in the food chain of birds and rodents, like the Chestnut tree, are never harvested.
Forestland that was previously deforested or used for agriculture and cattle grazing is recovered by reforestation with the region's native species, giving priority to erosion-prone areas. 

The managed forest project has been approved by IBAMA, who is responsible for the supervision of all activities, and is periodically visited by organizations like SUDAM, EMBRAPA, the WWF, Forest Service U.S.A., the World Bank, as well as the following universities: Oxford, Edinburgh, Padua, Florida, Stockholm, São Paulo and Parana. The project’s outcomes are positive with visible benefits to the environment: the number of planted trees far outnumbers the extracted trees. The employment of local people in sustainable development project ensures a better quality of life for them and reduces the chances of fires being set to open up areas for cattle grazing.