This has raised the GFTN-Vietnam membership to 11, including 10 processors-exporters and one forest owner, earning some US$250 million in export revenue annually.

GFTN is now operating in 34 nations, with Vietnam as a regional leader in the wood processing industry.

The GFTN was established under an initiative by the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to control illegal logging and trafficking as well as to protect forests of economic and ecological value around the world from the threat of destruction.

To be eligible, potential members must commit themselves to a five-year action plan with concrete steps and timetables to gradually reduce and finally eliminate material resources of unknown origin while gradually increasing the rates of legal materials of definite origins with certificates issued by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

VNA