Summary of the Report for the International Seminar on Goho-Wood 2012 (Part 1)(Wood suppliers’ side)

Name

Mitsuru Takafuji

Title

Executive Director

Organization nameHokkaido Federation of Wood Industry Cooperative Associations

1. Brief introduction of the organization(1) Establishment
September 1950 (A federation of cooperative associations based on the Small and Medium-Sized
Enterprise Cooperatives Act)
(2) Purpose of the association
To implement joint projects necessary for its members, to promote its members’ economic
activities and to help improve their economic status(3) Organization of the association
The members of the association include cooperative associations comprising operators in theforest, wood products manufacturing industries, and building materials retailers, as well as
supporting members who intend to cooperate with the association’s operations.
No. of members: 44 cooperative associations, 132 supporting members(4) Major projects
Projects related to bolstering demand for wood which are implemented for its members
Information provision and dissemination of knowledge related to management and technologicalimprovement of its members’ business
Projects related to surveys and research conducted for business of its members, etc.

2. Outline and dissemination of “goho (legal)-wood” activities(1) Pursuant to the Guideline for Verification on Legality and Sustainability of Wood and Wood
Products announced by the Forestry Agency of Japan, the association established its “Code ofConduct” and “Procedure to Authorize Member Companies,” and initiated authorization fromAugust 2006.
(2) The association has so far authorized 441 business operators, including loggers, sawmillers, woodprocessors, and wood distributors.

19Type

Members of cooperativeassociations andsupporting members

Non-members

TotalNo. of operators authorizedat the end of March 2012

263

178441(3) The volume of legally verified wood supplied by the association’s authorized member companies
in FY2011 was approximately 400,000 m 3 (78% of their total shipment)(4) Dissemination and public relations activities[Dissemination]• Sent posters and brochures to and asked municipalities throughout Hokkaido to take measuresagainst illegal logging and to promote dissemination and raise public awareness among citizens.
• Implemented dissemination and public relations activities by distributing brochures for generalconsumers at such opportunities as events related to forest owners, forestry or the wood industry.
[Public relations activities]• Introduced its efforts in measures against illegal logging on the association’s website, which also
includes the Code of Conduct for measures against illegal logging, Procedure to Authorize
Member Companies, and names of authorized member companies

Dissemination and public relations activities at events20

3. Activities to secure credibility(1) Monitoring (on-site inspection)• Visit 100 selected business operators every year, and confirm the status of separation ofgoho-wood from other wood and the management of reports & forms(Survey items) • Record of buying and shipment of goho-wood• Method to confirm purchased goho-wood on-the-spot• Confirmation of preserved documents on the verification of legality• Status of separation and management Goho-wood from other wood
• The status of requesting the verification of the legality of wood and wood
products from the consignee[Example of separation and management] Separation and management through indication with amarker(Logs)(Sawn wood)(2) Training Seminar• The Training Seminar for Goho-wood Suppliers is held annually in two blocks, with a total of six
blocks having been held, in Hokkaido.
Year2010

2011

2012

No. of trainees

72

108

141

Sapporo &Obihiro &Asahikawa &Hakodate Cities

Kushiro Cities

Kitami Cities

Training venues

21Summary of the Report for the International Seminar on Goho-Wood 2012 (Part 1)

4. Evaluation from demand side
• With an increasing number of national governmental and other subsidy programs making
mandatory the use of goho-wood for the construction of institutional buildings and houses, there
is a year-on-year growing demand for the use of goho-wood on the wood supplier side.
• Although recognition of goho-wood among general consumers is still quite low, inquiries about
goho-wood have been increasing recently from architect offices and builders.

5. Problems to be solved(1) Requests for the government• Expand the subsidy system for the construction of wooden public facilities using goho-wood• Provide special tax treatment and eco-points for houses built by using goho-wood(2) Requests regarding imported wood
• The establishment of a mechanism by each country to monitor their wood for export, in order notexport illegally logged wood from the countries.
• Since the verification method for illegally logged wood varies according the country, it is often
difficult to confirm the method in each case. Therefore, if there is any labeling method that would
help them to identify the item as goho-wood at a glance, it would be a great help.

(3) Issues in securing credibility• To enhance and maintain credibility of the system, it is necessary to increase the level ofmonitoring of authorized member companies by respective authorizing bodies.

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