Forest and Wood Certification. Ed. 7/2000
Newsletter Forestry and Wood Certification / No. 7 – January 2001
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/ NewsletterForestry and Wood Certification
No. 7 – January 2001
Contents
Certification in Europe 1
Anything Goes Under PEFC? 1
NGOs Criticise Nordic Eco-Label 2
Leading European DIY Group Commits to FSC 2
Certificate for Responsible Forest Management Awarded to Dambach Group 2
Friends of the Earth Czech Republic Reject PEFC 2
First FSC Group Certification in Eastern Europe 2
Credible Certification Started in Hungary 2
PEFC Is Rejected For German State Forest 3
First Steps Towards FSC Certification in Luxembourg 3
Certification Worldwide 3
13 Million Hectares To Be FSC Certified in Canada 3
New Executive Director for the FSC 3
Russia Leaps Forward in FSC Certification 4
FSC Law to Stop Illegal Logging in Amazonian Forests 4
Global Alliance for FSC 4
Certification in Europe
Anything Goes Under PEFC?
On 29 January 2001, Greenpeace and the Finnish Nature League published “Anything Goes? – Report on PEFC Certified Finnish Forestry”, which reveals that the logging of high conservation value forests remains everyday practice under the Finnish PEFC. The report lists over 50 environmental and social shortcomings in forest areas certified according to the Finnish Pan European Forest Certification scheme (PEFC).
“The report introducing the environmental failures of the PEFC certificate is depressing but not surprising. The PEFC standard allows cuttings in valuable old-growth forests larger than one hectare. Many other biologically valuable habitats, including those of threatened species, can be logged without violating the PEFC standard. What is surprising in the “Anything Goes?” report is that logging even occurs in habitats that should be protected as part of the PEFC certification,” said Timo Tanninen, Secretary General of WWF Finland.
Since the developers of the Finnish PEFC totally ignored the comments made by environmental groups from Finland, all environmental NGOs including WWF, withdrew from PEFC in 1998. The scheme had also been heavily criticised by WWF International and many other international NGOs as far back as 1997. WWF is concerned that the Finnish forest sector is strongly pushing the weak PEFC to the European market and promoting the system in Russia, claiming that it guarantees sustainable forestry.
So far, 95 percent of Finland’s forests have been certified under the auspices of PEFC. The first PEFC products were delivered to the Dutch market in November 2000.
Source: Helsingin Sanomat (Finland), 30 January 2001. “Anything Goes? – Report on PEFC Certified Finnish Forestry” by Greenpeace and Finnish Nature League, January 2001. Greenpeace International press release, 30 January 2001. www.pefcwatch.org.
NGOs Criticise Nordic Eco-Label
The Swan, the most well recognized eco-label in Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, decided mid-December to lower its standards regarding forest certification after pressure from influential parts of the Nordic forestry industry. The requirement that a forestry standard shall have a broad national and international acceptance and be developed in cooperation with environmental, economic and social stakeholders was revised. The lowered standards now allow for paper products sourced from PEFC certified forestry to carry the Swan label.
“The decision of the Nordic Swan to give in to parts of the forest industry, and lower its standards for environmentally sound forest management, has forced us to realize that we no longer can recommend the Swan label as a credible guarantee for eco-friendly paper,” said Per Rosenberg, President of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation. 17 NGOs in the four countries including WWF and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation have written a letter to the Nordic Swan national councils urging them to reconsider their decision.
Source: Svenska Dagbladet (Sweden), 18 December 2000. Swedish Society for Nature Conservation press release, 26 January 2001. NGO letter to the Nordic Swan, 26 January 2001.
Leading European DIY Group Commits to FSC
FSC is rapidly gaining ground in the retail sector. The Castorama group, one of Europe’s leading home improvement chains, committed in December to giving preference to wood products with the FSC label. “Castorama will apply its FSC purchasing policy progressively over the next three years. Within five years we aim to supply all our wood inventory with products from FSC certified forests,” said a Castorama spokesperson.
The company runs a network of around 500 shops in France, UK, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Brazil, Canada, Taiwan and China. In Europe alone, Castorama had an annual turnover of 8.6 billion euros in 1999.
Source: Courrier Du Meuble Et De L’Habitat (France), 29 December 2000. Afrique Agriculture (France), January 2001. WWF France press release, 15 December 2000.
Certificate for Responsible Forest Management Awarded to Dambach Group
The Dambach forest group in France was awarded an FSC certificate in late December for responsibly managing several of its forests. The group certification covers eleven private forest areas of altogether 10,870 hectares. The range of tree species to be harvested is wide and includes oak, beech, robinia and greater maple.
Source: WWF France press release, 23 January 2001.
Friends of the Earth Czech Republic Reject PEFC
The Czech branch of Friends of the Earth (FoE) recently published a position paper criticising the country’s upcoming PEFC scheme as not ensuring sustainable forest management. The NGO complains that the public is not sufficiently involved in the certification process. The organisation rejects the approach of regional certification but insists on the evaluation at the level of the individual forest holding. FoE calls for more transparency and credibility of the PEFC system.
Source: Friends of the Earth Czech Republic position paper, December 2000.
First FSC Group Certification in Eastern Europe
The first FSC group certification scheme for small landowners in eastern Europe is up and running. The Forest Owner Consulting Center in Latvia was awarded the FSC certificate for responsible forest management late in December. The group certification scheme provides easy access to FSC certification at reasonable costs. The center is inviting other private forest owners, numbering about 160,000 in Latvia, to join the group.
The certified forests are managed under a close-to-nature system which does not make use of pesticides, fertilizer, or exotic species. Conservation areas have been set aside.
Source: Holzzentralblatt (Germany), 25 January 2001. SmartWood/NEPCon public announcement, 29 December 2000.
Credible Certification Started in Hungary
The first FSC certificate in Hungary was issued to NYÍRERDŐ Rt. for its responsible management of 60,720 hectares of state-owned forest.
“Sustainable forest management has been the primary goal of NYÍRERDŐ foresters for decades. We hope that FSC certification will strengthen our current market position and even open up new markets for us,” said Mr. Gábor Kovács, Director General of NYÍRERDŐ Rt.
Source: NYÍRERDŐ press release, 23 January 2001.
PEFC Is Rejected For German State Forest
The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia recently decided to certify all of its 114,000 ha of forest land according to FSC. “FSC certification will improve market opportunities for timber from state forests because international timber processing businesses are demanding more and more FSC labelled wood,” said Bärbel Höhn, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Environment Minister.
The decision was made after an independent model project compared the applicability of FSC and PEFC certification to the state’s forest management. The state government rejected PEFC because one of the project’s findings was that the PEFC control system lacked transparency and credibility.
Source: Holzzentralblatt (Germany), 12 January 2001. Press release of the Environment Ministry of the German state North Rhine-Westphalia, 15 January 2001.
First Steps Towards FSC Certification in Luxembourg
The Mouvement Ecologique and the Lëtzebuerger Natur- a Vulleschutzliga, leading environmental NGOs in Luxembourg, advocate FSC certification of the country’s 90,000 ha of forest. During a conference in mid-December entitled “FSC certification – new chance for the forest,” both organisations called on state and communal forest services to apply for the FSC certificate.
The NGOs reject the Pan European Forest Certification scheme (PEFC) because it is far less ambitious in meeting required environmental and social standards and is not globally applicable.
Source: Luxemburger Wort (Luxembourg), 15 December 2000.
Certification Worldwide
13 Million Hectares To Be FSC Certified in Canada
Tembec Inc., one of Canada’s largest producers of forest products, will apply for FSC certification of all its forest operations, covering an area of more than 13 million hectares. The company and WWF Canada signed an agreement containing this pledge on 25 January 2001.
“By signing this accord with WWF, Tembec Inc. is exhibiting leadership and a commitment to social and environmental principles. We are moving in a direction that is both pioneering and a model of solid forest management practice. At the same time, Tembec is making a responsible commitment toward our common goal of conserving Canada’s forests, wildlife and ecosystems for many generations to come,” said Frank Dottori, President and CEO of Tembec.
Source: Canada NewsWire, 25 January 2001.
New Executive Director for the FSC
Dr Maharaj Muthoo is the new Executive Director of the Forest Stewardship Council with effect from mid-January. He has 15 years of experience as the Director of Forestry Operations at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Dr. Muthoo also worked in Brazil, India, Suriname, Tanzania and Turkey, both in the public and private sector.
Source: Forest Stewardship Council press release, 15 January 2001.
Russia Leaps Forward in FSC Certification
Russia's First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources, Yuri Kukuyev, announced that Russia will certify more than two million hectares of forest land in 2001 according to FSC. The Russian State Forestry Service said that at least 10 large forest holdings would start the certification process, among them the Archangel pulp and paper mill, Volga, Vologdalesprom, and Bratskkomplektkholding. Ilim Pulp Enterprise, the largest Russian private timber company, will spend at least $ 700,000 for the FSC certification of parts of its forest holdings.
The current price of Russian non-certified timber on the world market is 20 to 30 percent less than the price of non-certified timber from other countries. Russian officials expect that FSC certification will be financially beneficial to the timber business.
Source: Interfax Russian News, 10 January 2001.
FSC Law to Stop Illegal Logging in Amazonian Forests
The Brazilian Federal Attorney’s Office (Procuradoria Federal da República) plans to make FSC certification a requisite for all logging companies active in Amazonian forests. A new law is currently being drafted that will give companies a four year period in which to obtain the FSC certificate.
“We want transparency, which does not exist today,” said attorney Sergio Lauria Ferreira. The new law’s chief objective is to fight illegal logging by involving all stakeholders into the forest management. FSC is the only globally applicable certification system which guarantees broad stakeholder participation.
Source: Gazeta Mercantil (Brazil), 29 December 2000.
Global Alliance for FSC
Members of the world’s major religions including conservative and reformed Jewish communities in the U.S., the Church of Sweden and followers of Shintoism in Japan, agreed late last year to use FSC or equivalent standards as the minimum for responsibly managing their own forest lands and purchasing timber.
The Church of Sweden committed more than 100,000 hectares of its forest area to FSC certification. Jewish communities in the U.S. promote responsible wood consumption in all homes and businesses belonging to members of their faith. Observers of Shintoism will purchase timber from responsibly managed forests, including those that are FSC certified, for their more than 80,000 shrines.
Source: Alliance of Religions and Conservation press briefing, 15 November 2000.
Newsletter
Forestry and Wood Certification
For further information please contact
Ellen von Zitzewitz
European Forest Policy Officer
Tel: +32-2-7438800
Fax:+32-2-7438819
New:
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