I am currently preparing my Bachelor Thesis and managed to combine two of my interests. Forestry and Blockchain Technology. I see immense potential in the use of blockchain against illegal timber harvesting.
Almost any civilization in the history of mankind is build on timber. It played a incredible important role in the European colonization. If it wasn't for timber, humans could not have crossed the oceans. Energy, construction, biospheres, you name it. It is all linked to wood.
As you can see, the global timber sector is massive. It is a huge industry with a lot of people profiting from it. Wherever there is big money involved, corruption, exploitation and illegal activities will be part of the equation. It is no exception for the timber markets.
Any country is responsible for their own natural resources. This is where things get tricky. It is a highly political topic. Should Brazil be allowed to sell it´s rainforests to big corporations? Who owns a forest?
What a lot of Europeans tend to forget is, that we already completely screwed up our forests while the industrial revolution was happening. We destroyed almost all of our primeval forests and there is less than 1% left. The oldest and most natural forest we have in Europe is the Bialowieza Forest in Poland which is on the best way to get destroyed as well, at this very moment. So, what entitles us as "Europeans" to stop poorer countries like Ecuador to use their natural timber resources for economic growth? They are basically doing the same thing we did some decades ago.
I would answer this question with: Biodiversity and Climate Change. The decisions these governments are making, will effect the health of the whole planet. So why do the same mistakes again?
Timber harvesting has to be regulated by a fair authority. This is where Forest Certification Schemes are trying to help out. You might have seen these before:
FSC - Forest Stewardship Council and PEFC - Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes
There are some slight differences between the two of them but in general, both of those certification schemes aim to enable specifiers to identify and purchase wood from well-managed forests. "Well managed forests" is quite a broad term, but for our cause lets assume that it is a forest which is managed in a sustainable matter, so you only take as much wood as the forest can reproduce in a given time.
FSC is working with a so called chain of custody.
The idea is, that the consumer of the final product can be sure that the timber for his product is coming from sustainable forestry. PEFC and FSC have a long tradition in preserving forests around the world and I am deeply thankful that there are people on the world who are doing this kind of stuff - we need it more than ever. But in both schemes, there are still big problems with corruption. Paperwork is getting faked, people are getting bribed and PEFC and FSC can not have their eyes everywhere.
Forests are getting cut down for commodities. Companies are trying to address illegal logging, but how can we as consumers be sure of the origin of our timber? This is where Blockchain has to be inserted. We could achieve great transparency by creating decentralized systems, which for example could combine time and GPS-locations with product numbers. This would change a lot. And it is happening.
As far as I know, PEFC is already looking into the implementation of blockchain into their current certification scheme. This would be a huge game-changer. Imagine if you could track down the book you hold in your hand by scanning the barcode and you would be able to see the exact location where the tree used to stand. It is a thought that really amazes me.
Apart from the idea of using blockchain against illegal logging, I recently watched a highly interesting TED talk, starring Topher White. His idea is to use the microphones of old cellphones, attach them to trees in the rainforest and detect the noise of chainsaws. Pretty cool idea and it seems to work quite well!
So much interesting stuff going on! I am having a hard time to decide where to put my attention. For now, let´s watch some Netflix.
Hear you soon :) Love and light,
