Photo ©Just Forests: Mr. Tom Roche, founder Just Forests. Mr. Brian Cowen T.D., Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Jack Keyes, Director of Services, Offaly Co Council, Mr Tom Arnold, Chief Executive Officer, Concern Worldwide.

Mr. Brian Cowen T.D., Minister for Foreign Affairs, launches Just Forests ‘Good Wood Policy Guide’ in the Royal Institute of the Architects in Ireland (RIAI), 8 Merrion Suare, Dublin 2 on 25 September 2002.

“At the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the international community adopted a concrete action plan aimed at implementing sustainable development policies across all relevant economic, social and environmental areas.

The publication of the Guide, so soon after the Summit, sets an example for other sectors of the economy where our daily activities have an impact on sustainable development.

The Guide clearly shows us how with some thought, imagination and commitment we can bring sustainable development down from the high-flown rhetoric of UN conferences to the reality of our everyday activities. The simple act of selecting wood for construction can have profound and far-reaching implications in countries where tropical woods are under threat.

We are the custodians of our forests and we have a moral responsibility to pass them on to future generations in a much improved and environmentally enhanced form. Naturally, the better our forests are managed here in Ireland and the more timber we produce, the less the demand for imports from the environmentally more sensitive and challenged regions of our world. ”

Mr. Brian Cowen T.D., Minister for Foreign Affairs, during the official launch of Just Forests ‘Good Wood Policy Guide’ in the Royal Institute of the Architects in Ireland (RIAI), 8 Merrion Suare, Dublin 2 on 25 September 2002.