Republic of Congo

In denial: FSC’s response to the ARTE documentary

Two weeks ago, ARTE broadcast a documentary that was extremely critical of FSC. FSC responded with a statement on its website, and an 8-page “Fact check”. FSC’s response illustrates that the organisation is in denial about the problems within the FSC system.

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What the ARTE Documentary didn’t tell us about IFO’s concession in the Republic of Congo: Massive forest fires, a hydropower dam, and mining concessions

The recent documentary “Who is Protecting our Forests?” broadcast on the European channel ARTE last week included a report from IFO’s logging concession in the Republic of Congo. This isn’t meant as a criticism of the ARTE Documentary, but an addition to it.

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ARTE Documentary: IFO has deprived Indigenous People of their livelihoods in the Republic of Congo

For the recent documentary “Who is Protecting our Forests?”, ARTE’s journalists Manfred Ladwig and Thomas Reutter visit Industrie Forestière de Ouesso’s Ngombé logging concession in the Republic of Congo. The concession covers more than one million hectares, all of which is FSC-certified, according to the documentary.[1] IFO is part of Danzer GmbH, a company registered in Switzerland.

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ARTE journalists’ visit to CIB’s concession in the Republic of Congo

This is the second post in a series based on ARTE’s documentary about FSC: “The exploitation of primary forests: Can an ecolabel stop the forest industry?”

The documentary was available online with English subtitles until 23 October 2018. It is available here (also in German).

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New documentary slams FSC: “The eco-label could not slow down the forest industry”

ARTE, the European TV channel, broadcast a new documentary about FSC this week. It’s available on Das Erste website in German: “Die Ausbeutung der Urwälder: Kann ein Öko-Siegel die Forstindustrie stoppen?” – The exploitation of primary forests: Can an ecolabel stop the forest industry?

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Corruption scandal: Eucalyptus Fibre Congo accused of paying “black money” in the Republic of Congo, while it was FSC certified

A company called Eucalyptus Fibre Congo S.A. is alleged to have paid at least US$76,500 in “black money” to Congolese public officials in 2012. At the time, the company held an FSC chain of custody certificate.

Three weeks ago, Arnaud Labrousse sent an email to Kim Carstensen, FSC’s Director General. Labrousse has a few questions for FSC. Unfortunately, FSC seems reluctant to answer them.

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