Last month, FSC-Watch reported on the ‘race to the bottom’ of FSC standards for certification of the Presov Forest District in Slovakia.

The race has now been run, and the certificate – which was withdrawn only a few weeks ago by Soil Association WoodMark – has now been ‘re-awarded’ by SGS. One representative of the Slovak environmental movement has said that they are ‘sickened’ by this development, and have dismissed the certificate as “nothing but greenwashing”. Forests managed by the Presov Forest District are, they say, amongst the worst managed state forests in Slovakia, and the certificate will help no-one but the businesses involved in the FSC.

FSC-Watch shares the frustration of environmentalists in Slovakia. Clearly, there is something seriously wrong with the FSC system when a certificate can be withdrawn for non-compliances one month, only to be reissued the next by a different certifier.