NHG Timber Ltd

A timber shipment does not become traceable when it reaches the port. Its identity must be established before harvesting and maintained through every movement, transformation and handover.

During recent field audits in Cameroon, NHG Timber followed this journey in practice—from mapped standing trees deep inside forest concessions to logs entering the sawmill and sawn timber being prepared for shipment.

Traceability starts before the tree is felled

Before reviewing individual logs, NHG verifies the legal and geographical scope of the supply. This includes the forest title, Forest Management Unit, approved management plan, relevant Annual Cutting Area—known as the Assiette Annuelle de Coupe or AAC—and the authorisation covering the harvesting period.

Within the AAC, commercial trees are identified during the forest inventory, or prospection. Depending on the operator’s system, records may include the tree’s species, diameter, prospection number and GPS coordinates, supported by inventory and operational maps.

Cameroon’s national SIGIF II system is designed to support forest information management, legality controls and timber traceability. It became compulsory in January 2022 and continues to be developed and improved by the Ministry of Forests and Wildlife.

For NHG, however, a digital entry is only one part of the evidence. We compare it with authorised maps, physical tree and log markings, harvesting records and what can actually be observed on the ground.

Following the identity from tree to log

When a tree is felled, its identity must continue through the stump and the resulting logs.

Harvesting information is recorded in the DF10 worksite book, while each log is marked so that it can be linked to the relevant forest source and felling record. When the logs leave the forest, they must be covered by an appropriate secure transport document, normally a Lettre de Voiture Grumes, or LVG.

These records create the documentary chain—but NHG’s verification does not stop there.

Going “back to stump”

During our field audits, NHG selects samples connected to current or recent contracts and works backwards through the records.

Starting with a log, DF10 entry or sawmill intake record, we travel into the concession using operational maps and handheld Garmin GPS equipment to locate the corresponding harvesting area and, where possible, the original stump.

At the location, we assess whether:

• the stump falls inside the authorised AAC;
• its coordinates correspond with the forest records;
• the physical markings match the selected log or DF10 entry;
• the recorded species is consistent with the stump;
• harvesting took place during the authorised period; and
• there are any indications of harvesting outside approved boundaries.

This is risk-based sampling rather than an inspection of every tree. Its purpose is to test whether the supplier’s traceability system can be independently followed from the timber back to its declared point of harvest.

A simple control with practical value

At some operations, we also observed an effective local control with marked sticks.

Marked or notched sticks are positioned at the entrance to a harvesting block, with each mark representing a tree recorded as felled. The tally can be compared with the DF10, daily harvesting information and logs extracted from the block.

The sticks are not official legal documents and do not replace the DF10, statutory markings or transport records. Their value lies in providing an immediate visual cross-check. An unexplained difference between the physical tally, harvesting records and timber stock would trigger further investigation.

Testing the chain at the sawmill

Once the logs arrive at the sawmill, NHG checks whether the identity of the supply continues through intake, storage and production.

We compare LVGs and log markings with the mill’s intake register, contract allocation and production records. Input log volumes are then assessed against the volume of sawn timber produced, taking account of the product specification and a realistic recovery rate.

Traceability through an industrial sawmill is not always maintained from every individual board back to one particular tree. Where individual board-to-log identification is not retained, NHG describes the system accurately as contract or production-batch traceability.

This means that each finished pack is linked to a clearly defined production batch, supported by verified input logs, harvesting records and forest locations. This reflects established practice within industrial timber processing, where multiple logs are converted together while traceability is maintained through controlled batches, documented inputs and volume reconciliation. When these controls are applied effectively, batch-level traceability provides a robust and auditable link back to the authorised forest source.

More than a document check

Documents can appear valid individually while failing to form a consistent supply chain when examined together.

NHG Timber’s purpose in these visits is therefore to test whether the forest authorisations, geographical information, physical markings, volumes, transport documents and sawmill records tell the same story.

Where inconsistencies are identified, we may request further evidence, increase the audit sample or delay approval until the issue has been satisfactorily resolved.

By combining documentary due diligence with physical field verification, NHG Timber provides customers with a clearer and more defensible understanding of where their timber originated and how it moved from the forests of Cameroon to the final shipment.

For further information about NHG Timber’s due diligence programme and supply-chain traceability, please contact our team.

 

Some identification numbers and commercially sensitive details shown in accompanying photographs have been redacted for confidentiality concerns. Field photographs and verification records were collected by NHG Timber LTD personnel during recent supplier audits.