The FACE Foundation, a Dutch carbon offset company, claims on its website that its tree planting projects at Mount Elgon and Kibale national parks in Uganda are both certified by FSC. While Mount Elgon is FSC certified (despite major, ongoing land disptues), the FACE Foundation’s project at Kibale is no longer FSC certified.
Author: Chris Lang
Veracel: FSC’s ‘Death Certificate’
World Rainforest Movement expresses strong criticism of the FSC in its statement reacting to the news that Veracel’s monoculture eucalyptus plantations are now FSC certified. WRM notes that Veracel is the “last piece in a chain of failures” by FSC.
FSC chain of custody no guarantee against timber smuggling in the Mekong Region
Today, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Telepak release a report about illegal logging in the Mekong Region. The report, titled “Borderlines: Vietnam’s Booming Furniture Industry and Timber Smuggling in the Mekong Region” documents how timber is illegally transported from Laos to Vietnam, where it is made into furniture. Furniture exports from Vietnam are expanding dramatically, relying on huge quantities of illegally-logged timber from Laos and Cambodia.
“Forest liars” campaign launched against environmental groups supporting FSC
Recently, Glen Barry of the Ecological Internet, launched an email action against organisations that support FSC. “Greenpeace, WWF, Rainforest Action Network, NRDC, Forest Ethics, Friends of the Earth and Rainforest Alliance were called upon to immediately end their support for the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) greenwashing of first time logging of primary and old-growth forests”, states Barry in a press release. (Ecological Internet’s Action Alert, “Forest Liars” is available here and a discussion about this Action Alert is here.)
Military Police violently evict women protesters from Stora Enso’s plantations in Brazil
On Tuesday, 4th March 2008, about 900 women from the International Peasant Movement Via Campesina were violently evicted by the Military Police from an area of 2,100 hectares of Stora Enso’s plantations at the Tarumã Farm in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. According to a statement from Via Campesina about 60 women were badly injured and 800 were arrested. Meanwhile, 250 children at the camp were separated from their parents. Tents were destroyed and tools taken from the women.
Accreditation Services International: A watchdog with neither bark nor bite
Last year, Accreditation Services International (ASI) discovered that SGS’s certification of Mount Elgon National Park in Uganda was based on hoped for future improvements, rather than what was actually happening in the National Park. ASI, however, failed to take any meaningful action against SGS.
FSC certification threatens Bialowieza forest in Poland
The Białowieża forest in eastern Poland is the last remaining patch of ancient forest that once covered the Central European Plain. The forest is home to the European Bison, lynx and wolves. Tens of thousands of vast oak trees, up to 40 metres high mean that the timber industry is interested. A small area of the forest is a National Park. Plans to expand the National Park brought conservationists into conflict with local people who make their living through forestry jobs and collecting firewood, fruit and fungi in the forest – the conflict was partly as a result of misinformation spread by state forestry companies.
How Woodmark certifies Sappi’s monocultures but ignores a “stakeholder” in Swaziland
A few weeks ago, I visited Swaziland, as part of a trip with World Rainforest Movement colleagues. We visited Sappi’s stinking, polluting Usutu pulp mill and drove through Sappi’s pine monocultures – FSC certified by Woodmark.
SCA gets top ranking from WWF
A few weeks ago, FSC-Watch reported that the Swedish Society for Nature conservation (SSNC) had made a formal complaint to FSC about SCA’s logging operations in Northern Sweden. We’ve also raised concerns about WWF’s close relationships with logging companies.
SSNC files formal complaint against SCA’s clearcutting in Sweden
The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation has issued the following press release about SCA’s logging operations in northern Sweden. While this case looks very serious, it is not an isolated incident. SSNC points out that there are several other examples of destructive logging operations, by SCA and other Swedish FSC-certified companies.
FSC-Watch 