The Iwokrama International Centre and its joint venture partner Tigerwood Guyana Inc (TGI) have achieved Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for the Iwokrama Rainforest in Guyana.
The CEOs of the two entities – Dane Gobin of Iwokrama and Sir Ronald Sanders of TGI – made the announcement yesterday in Georgetown. They revealed that the certificate was issued after the forest management and sustainable harvesting operations in Iwokrama were closely examined by FSC appointed auditors, Woodmark of the UK last year.
In a press release, Iwokrama said that FSC’s model of certification allows products that flow from certified forests to enter the global marketplace with a credential that is unique. It said too, “Any FSC labelled product can be tracked back to a certified source, and confirms that forestry operations are conducted in accordance with international social, environmental and economic best practices. It also confirms that the local communities are fully integrated into the business both at the strategic and operational levels and are involved in the decision making process.”
