IKEA Buys 11,000-Acre Forest to Keep It Safe From Developers

• IKEA through its subsidiary Inka Group has bought 11,000 acres of forest in Georgia.
• The Georgia forest is home to the gopher tortoise.
• The Inka Group and The Conservation Fund will work to protect the Georgia forest from fragmentation and development at the same time the gopher tortoise.

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IKEA is known for being the manufacturer of affordable ready-to-assemble furniture.  But the company has been steadily protecting the environment and reducing its carbon footprint by being stewards of the forests.  The latest is an 11,000-acre forest in Georgia that is in danger of being developed.  It was bought by Inka Group, an IKEA subsidiary that partnered with the non-profit The Conservation Fund.

Larry Selzer, President and CEO of The Conservation Fund said, “The transfer of these lands to Ingka Investments completes our Working Forest Find process, through which we identify and buy important, at-risk private forests; develop sustainable harvest and restoration plans; (and) secure permanent conservation protections to block fragmentation and development.”

The Conservation Fund has already worked in protecting more than 8,000 acres of forests in the U.S.

The value chain is aiming to become a carbon neutral company by sucking up CO2 from the atmosphere through the forests that they have managed in the U.S. and Europe.

They do this while retaining their stores’ ability to give its shoppers a pleasurable experience.

The working forest in Altamaha Basin is home to the valuable gopher tortoise— a priority conservation species.

Working forests are planted with trees to be harvested for its lumber and then regrown.  These types of forests are the ones that are being segmented and developed. Inka and the Conservation Fund have put in permanent easements in the Georgia forest to legally prevent it from being broken down into smaller segments, at the same time, protect the gopher tortoise.

Selzer added, “Well-managed forests provide essential benefits, including clean water and important wildlife habitat, as well as mitigating climate change.”

The Georgia forest is the newest addition to Ingka Group’s 616,000 acres of managed forests in the U.S. and Europe. According to the company’s spokesperson, “no significant amount” of wood from its forests are being used in IKEA products. 

Source: Good News Network