Ethical Forestry

Flying the flags of success... We are proud to announce we have been awarded two new prestigious awards. Click here to learn more... http://www.ethicalforestry.com/content/fl ying-flags-success

As an organisation specialising in the development of sustainable forestry and the processing and sale of wood products, keeping abreast of global timber trends is of paramount importance. For this reason, we are attending the LIGNA trade fair in Hannover, Germany from 11-15th May. LIGNA is the world’s most international and comprehensive hub for dialogue and knowledge-sharing among experts within the woodworking industry. The fair provides a unique showcase covering the full... spectrum of plant, machinery and tools for the entire value-adding chain with live demonstrations by all the market leaders and showcasing the latest innovations, trends and issues. We look forward to meeting our contemporaries there and sharing and garnering knowledge to improve our products and services. See more at... http://www.ethicalforestry.com/…/expand ing-our-knowledge-ba…
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Budding Forestry Engineers tour our timber mill.
Sharing knowledge is something we’re passionate about, which is why we continue to enjoy a close relationship with Costa Rica’s universities and schools. Opening up our operations to students allows them to learn about sustainable forestry first-hand, from seed planting in our bespoke nurseries and sapling planting on our plantations to our strategic harvesting process for maximum yields.
Not only are we able to help them with... their research towards their studies, we’re also able to introduce them to a potential career with Ethical Forestry once they’ve graduated. Recently, we invited students from the National University of Costa Rica (UNA) to a tour of our timber mill. These students are part of a programme to become Forestry Engineers – a highly skilled profession that requires a great deal of study and qualifications.
Working towards a degree in Engineer of Forestry Sciences, the students were studying the topic ‘Industrialisation and Commercialisation of Wood’, taught by the ONF’s (Costa Rica’s National Forestry Office) Marketing and Commercialisation Manager, Ing. Sebastián Ugalde.
Led by our Forestry Regent, Esteban Villalobos Flores, the purpose of the tour was to teach the students about the principles of production processes and Ethical Forestry’s commercialisation strategies. Talking through each stage, Esteban also explained why our timber mill’s process flow is so effective. Alongside our strong environmental ethos, maximum yields and profitability is of the upmost importance to Ethical Forestry and our investors, so it’s crucial the students understand how we achieve the best possible results.
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Forestry Easement Trust fact file
The variety of tree species we protect under our Forestry Easement Trust is ever growing. From the rare Danto amarillo to the bright and beautiful Corteza amarilla, our protected zones are peppered with some of Costa Rica’s most beloved and endangered trees.
Making sure these species continue to grow healthily isn’t just about safeguarding the tree itself. That’s because if you look closely, you’ll see that the canopies are home to a rich va...riety of flora and fauna. With bromeliads, mosses and orchids living amongst the branches, the biodiversity these canopies support is staggering.
Many mosses, bromeliads and orchids are Epiphytes – a type of non-parasitic plant that attaches itself to trees. Living off nutrients from the air, rainwater and debris around them, the roots of these plants do not penetrate the bark of the tree, but grow within the cracks and crevices of the bark and branches. Whilst the mosses serve as building material for bird nests, the bromeliads act as a living water butt. Some bromeliads are able to hold up to two gallons – a perfect watering hole for all sorts of wildlife, including birds, lizards and monkeys.
The water captured also serves as nurseries for strawberry poison frog tadpoles – when the frog eggs hatch, the female carries the tadpoles on her back to deposit them in one of the plant’s pools, returning periodically to each individual tadpole to deposit rich, protein-filled eggs for them to eat. Symbiotically, the plant receives nutrients from the tadpole and frog waste.
Although over 1,200 species of orchids and 2,000+ species of bromeliads are found in Costa Rica, their populations are threatened by deforestation and uncontrolled harvesting. By protecting the trees on which they live, we can do our part in safeguarding the future of these fascinating plants.
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When is a harvest due?
http://www.ethicalforestry.com/content/wh en-harvest-due

Celebrating a prestigious award...
Gaining respect and trust within our industry is incredibly important to us. So when we won the highest possible rating for the Leer es Vivir Award, we were over the moon.
http://www.ethicalforestry.com/…/celebr ating-prestigious-aw…

2015 Calendar now being sent to every investor…
Each year we take great pride in producing our calendar, which is packed with wonderful wildlife imagery and interesting facts. This year is no exception. In the 2015 edition, the Opossum - with its immunity too viper venom - sits alongside fascinating creatures such as the endangered Scalloped Hammerhead shark and the Loggerhead sea turtle. The Ethical Forestry Team agree this year's calendar is our best yet and we hope each investor enjoys theirs as much as we enjoyed creating it.

The National Forestry Office chooses us...
We are pleased to share with you a recent publication by the ONF who chose to share just a small part of one of our many plantations on the front cover.
For those who are unfamiliar with the ONF, they are Costa Rica’s leading authority on its woodland, whose primary task is to provide forestry statistics to MINAE (Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía – The Ministry of Environment and Energy – www.minae.go.cr).

Forestry Easement Trust fact file...
Trees are our business, and as well as planting, growing and harvesting commercial trees for our investors, we also protect the precious wild species we discover on our land. One such example is the bold and beautiful Corteza amarilla.
With its incredibly bright canopy, the Corteza amarilla stands up to 50 metres tall, its trunk up to 1.5 metre in diameter. This is yet another magnificent species protected under our Forestry Easement Trust....
You won’t be surprised to learn that the Corteza amarilla’s spectacular blossom has made it famous throughout Central America. But with the display of large yellow flowers only lasting 4-5 days in the dry season, its performance is short but sweet.
It’s not just the canopy that’s golden. The tissue below the old bark of the tree’s limbs can be bright yellow, which explains the name ‘Corteza amarilla’, meaning ‘yellow bark’ in Spanish.
Another striking feature of this species is its fruits. At 25-60cm long, the pods make for an impressive sight. And when they mature and dry, they release a display of small, white, winged seeds, which form a ‘carpet’ on the surrounding ground.
With 2,173 acres within our Forestry Easement Trust, the list of tree species we protect goes on. The Corteza amarilla is just one example, and we hope you agree that it’s truly a sight to behold.
Read more blog articles at http://www.ethicalforestry.com/content/bl og
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Why sponsoring Costa Rica’s forestry conferences is important.
As a major forestry company in Costa Rica, it’s important we maintain a close relationship with the country’s authorities on its woodlands, including the National Forestry Office (ONF), Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) and the National Forestry Financing Fund (FONAFIFO). Together, these organisations protect, expand and promote the sustainable management of Costa Rica’s forests, as well as ensure the tim...ber market is fair, profitable and ethical.
As part of our ongoing involvement with these organisations, we recently sponsored and donated a podium and stage for use at Vive la Madera – one of Costa Rica’s most important conferences for the forestry sector, organised by the ONF and attended by MINAE and FONAFIFO. With over 40 exhibitors, including forestry companies, machinery suppliers and forestry services, this is an influential event and one we’re proud to be closely involved with.
At the event, the Minister of MINAE, Dr. René Castro Salazar, gave a short presentation, afterwards thanking Ethical Forestry for sponsoring the event. We then formally presented the podium to Dr. Castro, which MINAE can use at different events and presentations.
By getting involved in conferences such as Vive la Madera, we’re able to maintain close links with Costa Rica’s forestry authorities and keep abreast of industry developments, making sure the technology we use is cutting-edge and our operations are in line with environmental legislation and best practices.
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Back in our Autumn 2013 newsletter, we informed our customers about our new kiln for the heat-treatment of our pallets for exportation. Since then, we’ve been working hard to integrate the new infrastructure into our operations, and we’re pleased to report that our kiln is now in full swing.
An example of our continuous expansion, our kiln allows us to heat-treat our pallets and wood products onsite, rather than outsourcing the process to a third-party company.
Not only does... this make our operations more time efficient, it also reinforces our self-sufficiency. And because we run our kiln on sawdust – a by-product of our operations – we’re also enhancing our sustainability.
Designed to prevent the spread of diseases and insects when pallets are used for export, this was an important development for us and a good alternative to the less environmentally friendly method of fumigation with methyl bromide.
As suppliers of the food packaging industry, we are required by law to heat-treat our wood to 56ºc for at least 30 minutes. Once our wood has reached this temperature for the prescribed time, we’re permitted to display the ‘Wheat Stamp’ – a seal showing compliance with ISPM 15 (International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures). Developed by the IPPC (International Plant Protection Commission), this important measure is a prerequisite for companies such as Del Monte, who buy many pallets from us and form a large part of our export trade.
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Supporting Costa Rica’s students in global eco-competition...
When we heard that a design team from the Costa Rica Institute of Technology had been selected to design and build an eco-house for an award-winning competition, we decided to help out.
International competition, Solar Decathlon Europe, was developed by the U.S. Department of Energy to challenge the world’s greatest university teams to design, build and operate a full-scale, functional, affordable and energy-effic...ient solar-powered house.
This prestigious competition reviews over 300 applications from around the world, 20 of which have now been selected from 16 countries and 3 continents.
Considering the stiff competition, the Costa Rica Institute of Technology were over the moon to make the grade.
Dubbed the ‘Tec Team’, the students wanted to bring diversity and Latin spirit to the competition with their innovative design, Tropika.
Designed for tropical conditions, Tropika provides an architectural solution for countries that share Costa Rica’s ecosystem and climate.
Keen to support the students in such a worthwhile competition, we’ve donated various species of timber, including Melina, to use in the construction of their house, including decking, wheelchair ramps, veranda and doors.
The great thing about the Solar Decathlon is that although competitive, it aims to create a synergy between students, professors, industries and researchers in order to develop eco-friendly living. Ethical Forestry shares this ethos of mutual collaboration, which is why we gave the students two educational tours of our operations – one on plantation management at our San Andrés plantation and the other on industrial technologies at our Santa Rosa sawmill.
Taking place in Versailles, France, from June 14th to July 19th of this year, we’re excited to see the Tec Team’s house come to life and will let you know the results of the competition in our next newsletter.
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As we move into the second half of 2014, we balance our continuous expansion with the development of our Forestry Easement Trust and our ongoing support of the communities within which we operate.
As a company committed to ethical operations, we always strive to make a positive impact on Costa Rica’s ecosystems and its communities, which is why we set up our Workers’ Cooperative – to provide our workers and their families with low cost organic produce.
Keen to grow our Suppor...
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The Bigger Picture...
For the first time ever, scientists can monitor and compare deforestation on a global scale.
The importance of the world’s forests is indisputable. They are, quite simply, central to our survival. But understanding in detail the effects of deforestation on our global forests is no easy task, especially when it comes to country-to-country comparison.
... Up until very recently, accurately comparing forestry data from different countries was impossible. However, a study based on data from the NASA-U.S. Geological Survey Landsat 7 satellite is the first to track forest loss and gain using a consistent method around the globe at extremely high resolution.
Hansen, whose team at the University of Maryland in the USA led the new study, analysed 143 billion pixels in 654,000 Landsat images to compile maps of forest loss and gain across the globe between 2000 and 2012.
With this method, scientists can compare forest changes in different countries and monitor annual deforestation. As Hansen explains, “With Landsat we can apply the same algorithm to forests in the Amazon, the Congo, Indonesia, and so on… Now we have 12 years of annual forest loss over the globe.”
During the study period, 888,000 square miles of forest was lost and 309,000 square miles regrew. Brazil cut its deforestation rate from approximately 15,400 square miles per year to approximately 7,700 square miles. However, Indonesia didn’t paint such a positive picture – their deforestation rate doubled from approximately 3,900 square miles per year to more than 7,700 square miles.
As specialists in sustainable timber investments, and with our Forestry Easement Trust protecting 2,173 acres of natural woodlands, we recognise the positive impact this new study will have on how we monitor and understand the world’s forests. And as it progresses, we hope this understanding of the ‘bigger picture’ will lead to a decline in deforestation on a global scale.
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Costa Rica named top tourism destination in new global survey
The Global Tourism Monitor Survey asked 23,000 globetrotters from 26 countries where they had traveled during the previous 12 months and which destination they would more recommend based on their experience there. The report ranked the top 65 most recommended destinations. Austria came in second behind Costa Rica, followed by Israel, New Zealand and Italy.
... Ukraine, Malaysia, China, Indonesia and Tunisia were the five least recommended destinations, according to the survey conducted by BDRC Continental. While Costa Rica placed top of the list of most recommended destination, no other Latin American country made the top 10.
Latin America and the Caribbean placed among the least popular regions with only 6 percent of respondents saying they were “seriously” planning to travel to the region. Europe ranked the highest among potential travellers with 43 percent planning to travel there, followed by 27 percent in the Asian Pacific. Only 4 percent said they planned to take their holiday in Africa or the Middle East.
According to the Costa Rican Tourism Board, Costa Rica received a record-breaking 2.4 million tourists during 2013.
Here’s the list of the top 10 most recommended destinations (with a three-way tie for 10th place): 1. Costa Rica 2. Austria 3. Israel 4. New Zealand 5. Italy 6. Japan 7. Croatia 8. USA 9. Norway 10. Canada 10. Greece 10. United Kingdom
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Supporting Worldwide Forestry Conservation... At Ethical Forestry we welcome any news about worldwide conservation efforts. Here are some articles that caught our attention...

UK’s Largest Timber Building Launched... In recent weeks, the team at Ethical Forestry has enjoyed reading and sharing the latest news around the growing popularity and ever-increasing awareness of the use of timber in construction. Read more here... http://www.ethicalforestry.com/content/uk ’s-largest-timber-building-launched