Timber producer CIB works with The Forest Peoples Programme, Tropical Forest Trust and Helveta to support indigenous communities of Congo-Brazzaville as part of its FSC certification goal.
Entirely icon-driven handheld used by non-literate indigenous people to map their land using GPS.
TracElite system used for data collection, storage and visualization.
Ownership of data and maps retained by indigenous communities.
CIB to use information to adapt logging practices to reduce damage to culturally sensitive areas and resources.
Web-based reporting to be used to support FSC certification aims.
Already in use to map and track timber resources and products around the world, TracElite – Always On™ is now being used in an innovative – and inspiring – project in Congo-Brazzaville. The goal is a system that can support not just indigenous peoples in protecting their most valuable resources, but also to help forest management companies striving to meet environmental and social responsibility goals on their way to certification.
Helveta Ltd, developers of the TracElite – Always On™ technology, have adapted the TracElite GPS handheld to give it a 100% icon-driven interface, using a set of icons developed by LSE anthropologist Dr Jerome Lewis.
The system is currently being used by the Mbendjele Pygmies of northern Congo, to map their land and resources. This will enable CIB to obtain consent for any activities they wish to undertake on their land and ensure they do not damage any of the Mbendjele’s key resources.
Having lived and worked with semi-nomadic hunter-gathers in Northern Congo-Brazzaville for over ten years, Dr Lewis has combined this knowledge and expertise together with the technology of Helveta to establish a social programme for CIB with the support of Tropical Forest Trust and The Forest Peoples Programme (FPP).
CIB is the largest timber producing company active in Congo-Brazzaville and are aiming for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. TracElite will therefore be used to demonstrate that their logging activities are environmentally sustainable and socially responsible.
Dr Lewis said “This technology represents a real breakthrough in establishing effective communication between non-literate indigenous people and forest managers operating on their land. Finally, imaginative high-tech solutions have been made available to people who would otherwise remain marginalized from decision-making processes that have a huge impact on their lives and resources.”
Scott Poynton, executive director of TFT, said “CIB is at the cutting edge of forest management in the Congo Basin. It’s the only company to have formally recognized indigenous people’s rights and this partnership with TracElite beings hi-tech solutions to complex forest management contexts.”
Patrick Newton, CEO of Helveta, said “We have always seen TracElite as a key technology to support and deliver social and environmental goals of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities and reporting. This application of the TracElite technology is one specific – but very inspiring – example of that vision.”
- ENDS –
Editor’s Notes
About TracElite
TracElite (www.tracelite.com) provides mapping, traceability and transparency for timber production and supply-chains across the globe and is a key resource for buyers looking to secure timber of verifiable origin from suppliers who are either FSC certified or who are working towards certification. The Tropical Forest Trust provides chain of custody and compliance verification services as a core component of TracElite – Always On™. Helveta is the system manager of TracElite – Always On™. TracElite is an application of Helveta Control Intelligence Systems (CIS) technology. CIS analyses forestry and chain of custody data to remotely verify and assure good wood compliance. In the event that a potential non-compliance is identified, TFT, stakeholders and auditors are automatically notified.
About Forest Peoples Programme
Forest Peoples Programme (FPP – www.forestpeoples.org) advocates an alternative vision of how forests should be managed and controlled, based on respect for the rights of the peoples who know them best. FPP works with forest peoples in South America, Central Africa, South and South East Asia, and Central Siberia to help these communities secure their rights, build up their own organisations and negotiate with governments and companies as to how economic development and conservation is best achieved on their lands.
About Tropical Forest Trust
The Tropical Forest Trust (TFT – www.tropicalforesttrust.com) is working to transform the international trade in tropical hardwood into an agent for forest conservation. The TFT was established with the specific purpose of fulfilling two prerequisites: (a) raised awareness of what forest certification involves and what its multiple advantages are, and (b) practical engagement in partnership with forest managers to help them progress step by step to FSC certification.
The TFT links the supply chain from producing members through supplying members – who manufacture and/or trade in wood products that are sold to buying members.
About Helveta
Helveta Limited (www.helveta.com) enables the prediction and prevention of environmental and production problems for Blue Chip and Fortune 1000 companies through analysis of real-time data from client physical assets anywhere in the world. The company’s unique Control Intelligence System deploys a sophisticated library of analytics to asset data to predict and prevent business issues such as regulatory non-compliance, production outages and equipment failure.
The company has customers in major corporate industrial markets including Energy, Utilities, Agriculture and Chain of Custody. Helveta is a privately held company with offices in the UK and the US.