Precious Woods in Gabon – Projects for the protection of flora, fauna, and biodiversity
As a company, PW Gabon goes far beyond the sustainability standard required by FSC and PEFC certification – for example in our monitoring and inspection of concession areas, the analysis of timber harvest and usage areas, as well as the professional and environmentally sound disposal of fuels, lubricants, accumulators, and chemical substances. Over the past few years, an average of only 1.4 trees per hectare have been logged in the protected zones of the concession, corresponding to about 14 m3/ha. Thanks to this gentle use, the share of the forest impacted by logging has been kept very low. Cutting, access roads, and loading areas take up less than 2 % of the used area on average, which is four times better than the average in Gabon as determined by a study of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Precious Woods devotes special attention to wildlife protection: The company is involved in the training and education of its employees and the local population together with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). In cooperation with the WCS, PW Gabon also works to collect data on big game, the diversity of species, and other aspects of biodiversity. We also combat illegal activities, especially poaching. Today, poaching in our concession areas is largely under control. In this context, it is important to prevent access via forestry roads and back paths into the zones that have already been used.
Our contribution to ongoing protection of the forests
4 : 1
- Up to 4 m3/ha/year growth in sustainably managed forests compared with less than 1 m3/ha/year in protection zones
- 20 years measurement of wood volume growth
330 000 000 tC
- Carbon sequestered by PW forest areas (calculated at 300 tC/ha)
Fauna / Flora
- Large populations of elephants and gorillas (Gabon)
- Most effective protection of biodiversity through RIL (reduced-impact logging)