(This posting is reproduced from a article in the Courrier de la Planète.)
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Key German NGO quits FSC in disgust at plantation certifications
Another long-standing European NGO member of FSC has announced its intention to withdraw its membership of the organisation in protest at what it sees as FSC’s failure to prevent the certification of non-compliant companies. The Hamburg-based Robin Wood has been a member of FSC for 12 years. The group says in a statement issued on March 16th that it will continue working with the German national FSC group, but will end cooperation with FSC international. As with a growing number of NGOs, Robin Wood acknowledges that FSC is ‘the most credible’ forest certification system – but seemingly no longer credible enough to be associated with.
FSC and the Lacey Act: the $500,000 question
In May 2008, the US government enacted a revision to the Lacey Act, a hundred year-old piece of legislation that renders it illegal to trade in goods in the US which are from illegal sources, which now makes the Act applicable to the timber trade. Whilst timber traders are no doubt hoping that use of FSC certified wood is going to keep them out of prison, they may be in for a nasty shock.
FSC is misleading consumers about paper products
An FSC label on paper products should ensure that the paper is produced from “environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests”. At least that’s what it says in the introduction to FSC’s Principles and Criteria. The unfortunate reality is that FSC has certified some of the most egregious industrial tree plantations in the world.
NGOs in a tangle over need for FSC ‘reforms’
As the FSC General Assembly opened in Cape Town, northern NGOs were falling over themselves to issue statements as to how the FSC should be ‘reformed’ – or to try to claim that it already has been – but the contradictory demands set out by these NGOs are likely to ensure that the FSC will continue to stumble towards chaos, irrelevance and non-credibility.
An alternative view at the FSC General Assembly
FSC members are becoming increasingly bemused by some of the ‘side events’ being set up for the General Assembly, including a seminar on ‘Ecological Networks for Biodiversity Conservation’, hosted by the South African plantations company, Mondi. But as the FSC slips ever further into blatant corporate-sponsored greenwashing, attendees will nevertheless have an opportunity to listen to an alternative viewpoint on FSC and plantations, to be presented at a ‘non-official’ side event hosted by local NGO Timberwatch, and the Global Forest Coalition. We post information about the event below. The organisers have said that they will try and ensure access to everyone that wishes to attend, but space is limited, and entry will be on a ‘first come first serve’ basis.
Certification of monoculture tree plantations – open letter to FSC members
“Plantations are monocultures, created from seemingly endless rows of identical trees. They suck the water out of nearby streams and ponds and lower the water table, leaving little or no water for people living near the plantations. They deplete soils, pollute the environment with agrotoxics and eradicate biodiverse local ecosystems. Activists in Brazil call them the green desert because of the way they destroy local people’s livelihoods and environments. But what’s almost as bad as the plantations themselves is that this sort of plantation is given a green seal of approval by the Forest Stewardship Council.”
FSC has some explaining to do about SGS’s “moratorium”
In July 2008, FSC announced that “SGS South Africa, an FSC accredited certification body, has made a business decision to adopt an open-ended moratorium on the issuance of new FSC forest management certificates.” I wrote to FSC with some questions about the moratorium. FSC has so far declined to respond. The emails are below.
Confidence in FSC continues to wane as RAN “reviews” its support
Another of FSC’s longest-term NGO supporters, the San Francisco-based Rainforest Action Network has added itself to the list of NGOs expressing serious doubts about the FSC. In a new posting on RAN’s website, the organisation’s Programme Director, Jennifer Krill, states that the credibility of FSC “continues to be threatened”. Krill specifically identifies the so-called Controlled Wood Standard as being problematic, and hints that RAN might withdraw its support for the organisation.
Friends of the Earth EWNI: “FSC not recommended”
Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland (FoE EWNI) has confirmed that it no longer recognises the value of FSC certificates. FoE EWNI’s website is now advising that FoE EWNI “is deeply concerned by the number of FSC certifications that are now sparking controversy and threatening the credibility of the scheme. We cannot support a scheme that fails to guarantee high environmental and social standards. As a result we can no longer recommend the FSC standard”.
FSC-Watch 