The unwillingness of consumers to pay price premiums for certified timber and timber products poses challenges for sustainable forest management, the Royal Dutch Association of Timber Trade Association (NTTA) has warned.

In a recent statement, the NTTA reported that their members’ imports coming from forest certified as sustainably managed by either PEFC or FSC rose from 45% in 2006 to 62% of total imports in 2009. Growth in demand for certified material, however, fell short of the available supply. With supply exceeding demand, traders had to mix certified material with uncertified material and sell it as uncertified.

NTTA warned that this undesirable development poses a threat to sustainable forestry as demand for certified products is a key driver for forest certification and sustainable forest management.

NTTA is now jointly with the Dutch Association of Timber Manufacturers (NBvT) developing a joint strategic plan “Smart with timber”, accompanied by an action plan “Conscious with timber” to enhance the profile of certified wood.

The objective of this joint initiative is to stimulate demand for certified timber and to make the use of PEFC and FSC standard practice in the Netherlands. Both PEFC and FSC are accepted for Dutch public procurement, following extensive assessments by the Dutch Timber Procurement Assessment Committee (TPAC).

Nationally, growth in imports of certified timber (excluding paper) rose from 13% in 2005 to 34% in 2008.

“The volume of certified timber available in the Netherlands demonstrates that Dutch traders take their responsibility for th sustainable management of the world’s forests seriously”, said Kees Boon from PEFC Netherlands.

“We now need all forest stakeholders in business, government and civil society to work together to raise the awareness of the importance of this topic among consumers. The joint initiative by NTTA and NBvT is a good example for this, and PEFC Netherlands is committed to work with all parties to positively change consumer behavior nationally as an important means to provide incentives for sustainable forest management globally.”