Breakthrough study finds 2.7 times more gorillas in FSC-certified forests including Interholco’s (2/2)

27.09.2024. Meticulously documenting individual animal counts and strategically positioning camera traps, PhD researcher Joeri Zwerts found that FSC-certified concessions have a significantly higher population of large and threatened mammals - 2.7 times more mammals over 100 kg, such as gorillas and forest elephants, and 2.5 times more mammals weighing 30-100 kg, such as leopards and chimps - than non-FSC-certified forest concessions.

Breakthrough study finds 2.7 times more animals in FSC-certified forests including Interholco’s (1/2)

24.09.2024. FSC-certified forests host 2.7 times more gorillas and elephants than non-certified ones. No, it is not wishful thinking, but the outcome of four years of study in the natural tropical forests of Gabon and the Republic of Congo, including in Interholco’s Ngombé forest concession. Comparing animal presence with the aid of harmless camera traps, Joeri Zwerts, PhD researcher at the University of Utrecht, made a discovery that earned him the cover of Nature magazine.

Who cares wins: Interholco leads ESG transparency rating for timber and pulp companies

28.08.2024.  The future we want has wood at its core and forests stand at the centre. Our no. 1 ranking in the only ESG transparency assessment for tropical timber and pulp companies is tell-tale: https://www.spott.org/timber-pulp/ Because we care, ‘Sustainable’ rhymes with ‘Accountable’. Follow us through!

Interholco calls for building tomorrow with sustainable wood at Macao Forum

01.12.2023. Wood is a crucially important material for ensuring a sustainable future. This is the opinion of 700 key players in the global timber industry, including representatives of governments, companies, international organisations and research bodies, who gathered at the Global Legal and Sustainable Timber Forum (GLSTF) in Macao SAR, China, on 21–22 November 2023.

Interholco drives ESG transparency

16.08.2023. Climate and biodiversity are closely intertwined. Climate change is one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss, while ecosystem destruction contrasts nature’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, precipitating climate change. Just as supply chains must become deforestation-free by 2025 if the Paris Agreement climate goals are to be met, ZSL’s SPOTT (Sustainability Policy Transparency Toolkit) found that there is much the private sector can do. 

Co-creating change for 1,300 children in Congo

29.06.2023. In Congo Brazzaville, public schools offer primary tuition for free. Finding quality tuition aid materials, however, is not as straightforward. Especially in the wake of the pandemic.Earlier this year,leadingwood importerGLOBAL TIMBER (Denmark) maderoom to readin the IFO library, run byINTERHOLCO’ssubsidiaryIndustrieForestière deOuesso (IFO) in thevillage ofNgombé.

SPOTT ESG transparency assessment and INTERHOLCO

08.08.2022. This year, INTERHOLCO ranks first in SPOTT’s ESG transparency assessment of 100 timber companies in the tropics. Let’s take a closer look. When it comes to tropical forests, the shortest distance from A to B is, ESG.

The best kept secret in INTERHOLCO's Sustainability report 2022

08.07.2022. Just as 2022 marks INTERHOLCO’s 60^th anniversary, the company launches its latest Sustainability Report. ‘Our wood products are the fruit of a people alliance,’ says Ulrich Grauert, INTERHOLCO CEO. ‘With this publication, we want even people sitting miles away from where we harvest and process our wood to see what our  ‘Made in Africa’ stands for.’  

Central African Forests Forever, the book that grows like a tree, downloadable for free in English, French and Chinese

29.11.2021. Dutch writer Meindert Brouwer has reviewed and expanded his 'Central African Forests Forever', an all-round must-read on Congo Basin natural tropical forests. The book comprises 17 new chapters about opportunities and solutions for their conservation and sustainable use.

INTERHOLCO first in SPOTT-on assessment of forest solutions for people and planet

24.06.2021. Deforestation and forest degradation are non-negotiables: millions of us depend on how far we are ready to go, to protect our forests i.e. our climate, our health, our food, our water, not to mention some of the world’s most extraordinary plants and animals. 

Supporting customers with trust

26.05.2021. In December 2020, INTERHOLCO passed the FSC® audit, which took place in the field. 'At INTERHOLCO, we strive for honesty, integrity,'says Tom van Loon, Head of Sustainability, INTERHOLCO. 'We place utmost importance on successful long-term partnerships with our suppliers and customers.'

Sustainable Hardwood – Made in Africa, good for forest, people and planet

05.06.2021. A forest is more than a question of trees. People live in and from it, shaping their survival, identity and beliefs around it. At the same time, a forest is home to hundreds of species of animals and trees; it feeds water basins, stocks carbon and regulates rain regimes which affect far away countries.

Listening to forest peoples to deliver solutions

24.05.2021. In Baka language ‘Musungui’ means, ‘to help one another’. The spirit of ‘Musungui’ is what best describes INTERHOLCO’s ALLIANCE: the ability to deliver solutions, joining forces. One of the solutions is, in fact, listening. Listening makes it possible to pinpoint key factors, measures that need to be improved at strategy level. 

Friends of the forest 2/2

21.05.2021. As agreed with the Congolese state, owner of the parks as well as of the Ngombé forest, INTERHOLCO is required to secure the area against unauthorised settlement, illegal harvesting, poaching, bushmeat trade and irreversible change.

Talking wood: ‘Conservation is only possible if we have a good relationship with the communities’

22.04.2021. INTERHOLCO works in synergy with the state eco-guards. Close cooperation between the state and the private sector for sustainable wildlife management is an arrangement which is unique to the Republic of Congo, as researchers from the University of Liège have recently illustrated.

Friends of the Forest 1/2

19.04.2021. “Conservation is only possible if we have a good relationship with the communities.”José Blanchard BOKANDZA could not have made his approach clearer: “The communities are the first custodians of the forest. Because they are the ones who depend on it in their daily life.”

Women on the front line against COVID-19

11.03.2021. The theme chosen for International Women's Day 2021, "Women's Leadership: For an Equal Future in the World of Covid-19", reflects an obvious fact: the importance of women's contributions. Faced with the health and social emergency caused by the pandemic in the Republic of Congo, INTERHOLCO has taken into account the leadership potential of women by involving them in its intervention strategy.

Diverse, interdependent, together: an ALLIANCE to safeguard the future of African natural forests

15.10.2020. To relate to a forest, is to relate to a country and its inhabitants. To the people, with their culture. Their dreams and aspirations, as much as their shortcomings and concerns. Relationships never stop being a work in progress. Dealing with a forest is no exception. We can become more intelligent and wiser, and over time, more fertile, if we work with others to reinvent the way of our future.

Working together for forests and people: the Congolese Minister of Tourism and Environment, Ms. Arlette Soudan-Nonault visits IFO

03.08.2020. The Minister of Tourism and Environment, Ms. Arlette Soudan-Nonault, visited the Industrie Forestière de Ouesso (IFO) in the Sangha Department, in the North of the Republic of Congo on August 3^rd, 2020.

INTERHOLCO has pride of place in SPOTT’s State of Transparency 2020, leading 100 timber and pulp and paper companies worldwide

27.07.2020. Because our products give access to life-changing benefits to a community of 10’000 people in one of Congo’s most landlocked regions. Because our resources are vitally important living wonders.  Because our forest protection means that anything, from a mushroom to an elephant, should thrive in their natural habitat.  We know, and care about, forests. And it shows.

Rescuing dwarf crocodiles from the clutches of poachers

25.05.2020. Behind his blue mask, the eco-guard is smiling: lying in the back of his pick-up under the scorching sun, 40 dwarf crocodiles are about to be set free. Before being released back in the river Sangha, they need rehydrating with a water sprinkle. With their muzzle tied up, they are lucky to be still alive. ‘That could show that the young crocodiles, a partially protected species in Congo, were not just destined for slaughter on the local market of Ouesso but rather, smuggling,’ argues José Blanchard Bokandza.

Cordon sanitaire, a strategic measure to keep one’s distance from the virus

13.05.2020. IFO has extended the strategic measures developed with local authorities to stem the spread of COVID-19 to service providers. A cordon sanitaire is now in place at the gates of the industrial site. Whether arriving from Douala (Cameroon), Brazzaville or Pointe-Noire (Congo), cities where several people have already been infected, carriers are requested to park in a suitable area, some 500 m away from the entrance to the sawmills. The aim is to limit the spread of the virus as much as possible, protect workers and their communities and focus on prevention, with better management of potential cases.

Woodworking also means, giving unknown people a chance

08.05.2020. In order to ease the burden on the state health system, our Congo-based company IFO has mobilised staff working at the IFO medical centre (CMS). In the village of Ngombé, where 10,000 inhabitants live, all healthcare staff is thus in the front line, in the fight against COVID-19. The state's integrated health centre (CSI) has been converted into an ad hoc care unit, to keep those likely to have contracted the virus separate from all other patients, who will continue to be admitted to IFO's medical centre.

Woodworking, an essential activity in times of COVID-19

06.05.2020.Right as the infinitely 'small' shakes the whole world, the Republic of Congo has considered harvesting and transformation of sustainable hardwood ‘Made in Africa’ an essential activity of its economy. Work and life at IFO are fully continuing, even though Congolese authorities have extended the state of health emergency. The company, determined to win the fight against COVID-19, is concerned for the health of workers.

The mask which protects

01.05.2020. In the North of Congo, the Kwele forest people use heart-shaped masks for their rites. Through these masks, the Kwele worship earth spirits, chase the soul-eating spirits away, celebrate the passage of seasons and heal the sick. The masks have stylized human faces surmounted by large openwork arching horns. These masks - carved from a lightweight wood - are emblems of high-ranking men and hunters, whose rites mobilise the magic forces of the community.

When washing hands saves lives

A deadly virus. 210 countries affected.* A simple gesture, to be repeated several times a day.

29.04.2020. In the village of Ngombé, in northern Congo, one of the most landlocked regions of the country, our subsidiary IFO (Industrie Forestière de Ouesso) gives its 900 workers 3 kg of soap per day. It's 5:45 in the morning, when they arrive to clock in. But before anyone gets to work, each and everyone has to wash their hands.

Earth Day: Leave no one behind in the face of COVID-19

22.04.2020. This year, tv channel ARTE celebrates International Earth Day with a new broadcast of 'Congo, Protecting the Gorilla Forests'. Filmed in the North of Congo Brazzaville, partly in the forest which INTERHOLCO manages sustainably, the documentary won Germany's prestigious nature film prize for 2019, the coveted Deutscher NaturfilmPreis.

Join us in the fight against COVID-19!

27.03.2020. With sustainability and growth among its core values, INTERHOLCO is striving to ensure well-being and safety to its employees, in Europe and Africa alike. COVID-19 demands a real ALLIANCE amongst all members of society. We are launching a campaign in five languages: English, German, French, Spanish and Chinese, available on this link: http://bit.ly/IHC-Join-us-against-COVID-19

Sustainable Hardwood to celebrate forests and protect biodiversity

20.03.2020.The United Nations proclaimed 21 March International Day of Forests and this year shines a light on Forests and Biodiversity. INTERHOLCO offers Sustainable Hardwood 'Made in Africa' as a solution to not only promote better living conditions (construction with wood), but also to reduce climate change, increase social justice and keep forests protected from permanent change to agriculture.

Securing gorillas in the Congo awarded with Germany’s highest Nature Film Prize

08.10.2019. ‘Paradise Preserved: Congo – Protecting the Gorilla Forests’, the film which Thomas Weidenbach produced for ARTE, received Germany’s Nature Film Prize on Saturday 5 October 2019. Commissioned by tv-channel ARTE, known to air cultural programmes, the film was broadcast at the end of June.

Engaged for climate, people and wildlife: INTERHOLCO ranks 1st in SPOTT’s 2019 assessment

31.07.2019.For the third year in a row, INTERHOLCO leads SPOTT’s assessment of timber companies with consistent engagement for the climate, people and wildlife.

Protecting the gorilla forest in the Republic of Congo

Introducing our contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

26.03.2019. Companies do play a critical role in helping achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and INTERHOLCO is no exception. In 2015, the United Nations introduced 17 Sustainable Development Goals. For the first time, governments agreed that the challenges international society faces, including those related to poverty, hunger, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, peace and justice were interconnected and that each sector had a contribution to make.

On International Forest Day, INTERHOLCO welcomes 2019, International Year of Indigenous Languages

19.03.2019. We are the language we speak. It is through language that we communicate with the world, define who we are, express our history and values; learn, defend our rights and participate in all aspects of society.

Political, financial and economic strategies critical to fight deforestation

04.03.2019. Management of forests – especially natural tropical forests – is environmentally and socially superior, but economically inferior to any other land use which destroys the forest. In a world economy which is measuring viability almost exclusively on return on investment, this economic inferiority of managed forests is the key challenge which must be addressed and reversed.

African voices have their say on how to keep Central African Forests Forever

05.02.2019. With around 120 million people critically depending on the Congo Basin forests for their livelihood, it is baffling how the narrative on tropical forests belongs to voices from the Northern Hemisphere, mostly. With ‘Central African Forests Forever’, Dutch author Meindert Brouwer has finally bridged the gap.

Sustainable Hardwood – Made in Africa: the year in advance

17.01.2019. A change of heart is what tropical forests need. That is, if their unique biodiversity is to continue thriving; if precious services such as water cycle, rain regime and climate regulation are to be ensured for the planet and, if millions are to enjoy a peaceful life right where they live, i.e. in the natural forests of the Congo Basin - one of the world’s most precious wonders.

SNCF, champion of Sustainable Hardwood, Made in Africa

12.11.2018. INTERHOLCO Sustainable Hardwood – Made in Africa, and the Paris-based SNCF lead the way in making choices that won't cost the Earth.

Gorilla-human cohabitation is key on World Gorilla Day

24.09.2018. On 24th September the world celebrates World Gorilla Day. Next time you take one of INTERHOLCO’s wood products, look at it as the result of careful selection and sustainable practices that are key in protecting gorilla in the wild, a glorious species with whom we share 98% of our DNA.

Field mission confirms satellite detection of forest fire South of the IFO forest

07.08.2018. Following WRI/UMD Glad fire warnings in the very South of the IFO Forest Management Unit (FMU) Ngombé, in the Republic of Congo, a joint IFO-PROGEPP field mission took place from 29 June to 5 July 2018.

From know-how to show-how: Interholco leads SPOTT’s assessment of timber companies with higher transparency

31.07.2018. Interholco outperformed in SPOTT’s worldwide transparency assessment of timber companies for the second year in a row, with a score of 93.4%.

Monitoring of the open Marantaceae forests in Northern Congo to understand their origins and dynamics

28.06.2018. A Working Group on Forest Fires in Open Marantaceae Forests was launched by Interholco in early 2016, to see how best to address the impact of extreme drought and fire on open canopy Marantaceae forests located in the Forest Management Unit (FMU) that the company manages in the Republic of Congo.

Protecting the integrity of Intact Forest Landscapes in the Congo Basin

20.06.2018. Over the past two years, Interholco and IFO participated in the High Conservation Values Regional Working Group for the Congo Basin (HCV-RWG) to find a solution for the protection and management of Intact Forest Landscapes (IFL).

Interholco urges for Action Plan to support sustainable management in tropical natural forests

20.02.2018. Interholco CEO Ulrich Grauert addressed over 300 participants in the conference ‘Working across Sectors to Halt Deforestation and Increase Forest Area - from Aspiration to Action’.

Interholco ranks 1st in ESG assessment of timber, pulp and paper companies

10.11.2017. 'We are delighted to have done so well in SPOTT’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) assessment of timber, pulp and paper companies which values the engagement and efforts of our teams ,’ said Interholco CEO Ulrich Grauert.

Interholco launches its first Sustainability Report

09.10.2017.Sustainable hardwood specialist Interholco presents its first Sustainability Report: the data collected and analyzed cover the years 2014 to 2016.

A Way Forward For The Future of Central African Forests

31.05.2017.Over 140 participants attended a conference on The future of Central African Forest and its people in The Hague, to share lessons learned and look for a way forward together with representatives of the Dutch government, social and environmental NGOs, academia and the private sector.

Expert group leads to better understanding of open Marantaceae Forests in the North of Congo

12.05.2017. It is important to distinguish open Marantaceae forests, known best for the habitat they provide to elephants and gorillas, from other forest types.

Effects of El Niño on IFO

11.03.2016. Between end January-early February 2016, we noticed that several fires originated in the open and very open canopied forests within our IFO concession in Ngombé, Republic of Congo. We have immediately carried out an exploratory mission, in cooperation with the local authorities.