The Asiago forest, with its six thousand hectares studded with a great variety of flora and fauna, is an expanse of green that seems to unite sky and earth from the heights of its privileged position on the Asiago plateau. Now this extraordinary ecosystem, located in the province of Vicenza, on the border with Trentino-Alto Adige, is better protected: it has obtained certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an organisation that has created a forest certification system rewarding products that use timber from forests managed in a correct and responsible manner.

The two sages of the plateau

The Asiago forest obtained FSC certification also thanks to two well-known devotees of these forests, champions of the protection of its precious environmental heritage, nicknamed the "two great sages of the plateau". They are Mario Rigoni Stern, a writer born in Asiago, and director Ermanno Olmi, who moved to the Asiago plateau to live in peace and in contact with nature.

The second certified forest in Veneto

The Asiago forest is the second forest in Veneto to earn responsible forest management certification, following that obtained by the forests managed by the Associazione forestale di Pianura, which include the pine forests of Eraclea Mare and Porto Santa Margherita and the Bandiziol and Prassaccon woodlands, the most extensive lowland forest in Veneto, covering a surface of almost one hundred and twenty hectares.

Responsible forest management

For local inhabitants, the forest is a fundamental resource that provides timber for work and domestic use, food and shelter for the great variety of animal species that inhabit it throughout all seasons of the year. For this reason, responsible management of woodland areas — in continuity with the tradition of active and responsible forest use, guaranteed by FSC forest management certification — is essential to preserving this invaluable natural, social and economic capital.

The bond between people and woodland

"It is a first step for Veneto and an enormous contribution to the culture of responsible forest management in our country," commented Diego Florian, director of FSC Italy. "Thanks to the certification of the woodlands of the municipality of Asiago, from today a territory already rich in history will be able to contribute actively to the safeguarding of its forest heritage, through management that is respectful of the environment, socially useful and economically sustainable. The certification crowns a relationship between people and woodland that has existed for centuries: a bond that shines through the pages of many of Mario Rigoni Stern's stories and remains visible to this day."

Italy a leader in forest certification

A third of Italy's territory is today covered by woodland which, over recent decades, partly as a result of depopulation in foothill areas, has seen constant expansion. Italy holds fifth place worldwide and third in Europe for the number of Chain of Custody certifications, an instrument that guarantees the traceability of materials originating from FSC-certified forests. In Italy, the FSC-certified forest area amounts to approximately 52,245 hectares, with positive knock-on effects for the economy and employment.