Rotterdam - Cities4Forests

26 March 2024

Conservation timber in Rotterdam

Rotterdam's 'Beterbank' (‘Betterbench’) combines the city's sustainability ambitions with a beautiful design for a new city bench based on six different tropical wood species. Initially, 50 Beterbanken (Betterbenches) will be installed, spread across Rotterdam. The first bench was placed on March 27, 2024 near Westerkade 31.

The wood species on the Beterbank come from community forests in the tropics, in the case of Rotterdam from Bolivia and Guyana. In addition to being FSC certified, the wood comes from forests managed by local communities.

ZBy purchasing this wood, Rotterdam can contribute to the conservation and protection of these community forests and the development of local communities connected to these forests. We call this concept 'Conservation Timber‘.

The forests from which the wood comes are described below and the wood types are shown together with their main properties.

The Beterbanken are part of a pilot to investigate which types of wood have the best properties for wider application within the municipality of Rotterdam. The different types of wood will therefore be monitored to assess how they behave in public spaces, where they are subject to, among other things, weathering and heavy use. This provides important information that determines which types of wood will be used next.

Conservation timber is a concept that emerged from the Cities4Forests Partner Forests programma. The Probos Foundation is a partner in this and has coordinated the value chain for Conservation Timber for Rotterdam within the project. Amsterdam is also participating in the Netherlands.

Community forests and the timber species

CINMA-San Martin, Bolivia – Marfim, Garapa
CINMA-San Martin is a forest concession in Bajo Paragua that has been managed by Dekma Bolivia since 2005. This 468,000 hectare area functions as a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified forest. The forest has great diversity and is home to several keystone species, including the giant armadillo, the ocelot and the giant anteater.

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The organisation conducts a logging operation based on 'Reduced Impact Logging' (RIL) principles, which limit negative impacts on the landscape by maximising harvest every 25 years at three trees per hectare from predetermined felling areas. The 200 employees of the concession are provided with good working conditions, fair wages and healthcare. Furthermore, the organisation places a strong focus on training and development, which makes a positive contribution to FSC forest management in the region. Dekma also works to strengthen the capacity of local communities and indigenous people by teaching them how to conduct their own forest inventories, giving them ownership over their natural resources.

The CINMA-San Martin concession offers a sustainable and economically viable alternative to, among other things, 'shifting cultivation' and the hunting of wild animals. By promoting responsible forest management and community development, Dekma Bolivia protects the region's ecology and supports the growth of local communities. For more information about CINMA-San Martin, click here.

IWOKRAMA, Guyana – Jatoba, Massarundaba, Angelim Pedra
Iwokrama is a 371,000 hectare nature reserve and is one of the last remaining intact tropical lowland forests in the world. The forest's unique ecological richness arises from the central convergence point between the Amazon and Guiana shield ecosystems. An estimated 471 bird species, 134 fish species and more than 140 mammals live within its boundaries, including jaguars, pumas and ocelots.

To protect this rich natural landscape, the Iwokrama International Center (IIC) was established in 1996. Its mission is to manage the forest in a way that delivers lasting environmental, economic and social benefits, not only for the Guyanese people but for the world. Of the total area, 50.4% is designated as Wilderness Preserve (WP). The remaining 49.6% of Iwokrama is designated as a sustainable use area, which is further subdivided based on land use activities including sustainable timber harvesting under the FSC quality mark, sustainable tourism and learning services (research and training).

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To ensure that timber harvesting is sustainable, Iwokrama uses a polycyclic forestry system to selectively harvest 20 species during a 60-year logging cycle. To further reduce the impact on the landscape, the annual harvest area is limited to 1,800 hectares, accounting for less than 0.5% of the forest's extent. This strategy ensures that only a mamixal number of trees (approximately 5-6 per hectare) are removed, maintaining the integrity of the canopy without creating large gaps. For more information about Iwokrama, click here.

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