Found at: http://www.competitiveness.org/article/articleprint/163/-1/9/
On the 4th February, Chris Inglis, Executive Director of Forestry and Timber Association in Scotland spoke at a conference on Timber Markets and Marketing attended by 140 representatives of Scotland’s forestry community. He said that : “Cooperation, information, and commitment is what is required from Scotland’s forest owners if they want consolidation in the market and a future for their growing resource.”
Examinations have been made of global market trends in forestry, as well as an investigation into the investment opportunities for Scotland’s forestry industries. There is also, however, no doubt that in order to take advantage of global development prospects there would need to be a step change in attitudes to timber marketing.
Following this, George McRobbie, chairman of the sustainability task group for Naturally Wood, explained that, “forests are central to a sustainable future by giving us a place for healthy exercise, providing us with naturally renewable materials and by locking up carbon and pumping out oxygen, forests contribute to all our lives and provide our planet with its ‘green lungs’.” With a wide range of objectives, Naturally Wood expects to educate people about the significant impact a sustainable forest industry can make on the environment, economy, and people’s quality of life.
Naturally Wood expects to provide a clear framework in which all members of the value chain (growers, processors, exporters) work together to ensure that the forestry industry will achieve sustainable development. Their hope is to achieve a sustainable and productive forestry industry and show the government how supporting this initiative works to achieve many additional goals - increased tourism, cleaner air, increased employment.
If successful in accomplishing their intended goals, the Naturally Wood initiative could provide a model for other countries to follow and impact the way governments all over the world implement economic policy in industries dependent upon natural resources.
Naturally Wood website