A natural edge or live edge wood slab is a beautiful addition to any home. You'll find them used as a dining table top, a desk top, a bathroom vanity and even a kitchen island counter top. Each slab is different and is preserved for time for us to enjoy visually. But, for clients of Impact Imports, they often ask if the natural edge wood slabs are sustainably harvested and that Impact Imports understand their concern as deforestation is an international problem.
In 2016, Impact Imports found a new supplier of wood slabs in Costa Rica. After making a trip to their factory in the spring of 2016, Drew and Suzanne McDaniel, owners of Impact Imports in Boise, were convinced these slabs were sustainably harvested and their cutting, extraction, trucking, milling, drying, etc., can easily be tracked due to the simple system Costa Rica has created to prevent deforestation. Since the creation of this system, Costa Rica has reversed the decline of its forests, something the nation is very proud of.
Years of unchecked logging laid waste to two-thirds of Costa Rica’s tree canopy, leaving its tropical rainforests facing an uncertain future. But the trees have returned, and the resurrected forests support a thriving ecotourism industry.
Lots of Checks and Balances and Paperwork
Costa Rica has reserves and parks, and 35% of the territory is untouchable for harvesting wood. Any tree, even the one in your backyard, must get Costa Rican government authorization and a permit to be cut. There is no "clear cutting" or concession in Costa Rica; only selective cutting on private land is allowed.
According to the World Economic Forum, Costa Rica began to realize the potential of its rich ecosystems and set about safeguarding them.
Policy-makers restricted the number of logging permits and created a national forestry commission to police forest activity.
In 1996, a system of payments for environmental services was introduced to help reduce poverty, especially in poor rural areas. The National Forestry Fund was established in recognition that a healthy rainforest provides numerous benefits, which include removing and storing CO2 from the atmosphere, and water filtration.
Costa Rica is an international leader when it comes to maintaining its forests, and it is controlling its forests in the right way. The current deforestation rate in Costa Rica is 0%, with the total land surface of Costa Rica covered in forest currently at 52% and growing. It will possibly be the first neutral carbon country in the world. No other country in the world can claim that. Impact Imports is proud to know that it sells legally and sustainably harvested natural/live edge wood slabs.