Two years ago, a peasant was murdered by guards of the company Vallourec and Mannesman in Brazil. At the time, V&M’s plantations were certified for FSC by SGS-Qualifor.
FSC’s mysterious disappearing certificates #2: SEFAC, Cameroon
Another of the many deeply troubling but now, at least temporarily, vanished FSC certficates exposed by FSC-Watch is that of the rainforest logging ‘SEFAC group’ in Cameroon. The SEFAC certificate disapeared off FSC’s certified forest database sometime during 2009. Neither FSC nor SEFAC itself, nor the logger’s certifier, ICILA, provided an explanation for this.
FSC’s mysterious disappearing certificates, #1: Massachusetts state forests
FSC-Watch has several times in the last eighteen months reported on the FSC-certified ‘chainsaw massacre’ taking place in the state forest lands of Massachusetts, USA. Managed by the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), 285,000 acreas of forest had been certified by California-based Scientific Certification Systems Inc (SCS) since 2004.
FSC Friday #5: FSC ‘Frosty’ Friday also World Eco-debt Day
FSC-Watch received this from Wally Menne, a member of Timberwatch in South Africa, questioning what, exactly, FSC is celebrating on “FSC Friday”:
FSC Friday #4: New York protest highlights FSC’s ‘lies’
Yesterday, environmental activists in New York City unfurled a 35-foot banner blocking the iconic view of 10th Avenue from the High Line park to protest the Amazon wood used in the park for bleachers, benches and decking. The banner read, “High Crime on the High Line! FSC Lies: Amazon Wood Is Not Sustainable!”
FSC Friday #3: How FSC and Greenpeace help undermine the use of recycled tissue paper
In August 2009, Greenpeace announced that it had stopped its “Kleercut” campaign against Kimberly-Clark. “Today, ancient forests like the Boreal Forest have won,” announced Richard Brooks, Greenpeace Canada Forest Campaign Coordinator. “This new relationship between Kimberly-Clark and Greenpeace will promote forest conservation, responsible forest management, and recycled fiber as far and wide as possible.”
FSC Friday #2: Suspension of FSC certificate of Endesa-Botrosa in Ecuador
The following article has been submitted by Klaus Schenck of Salva la Selva.
‘FSC Friday’ #1: ‘Can we trust the FSC?’, asks The Ecologist Magazine
This is the first of a series of articles which will be posted in the run-up to ‘FSC Friday’ (September 25th), with which FSC-Watch aims to highlight some of the on-going problems with FSC certifications.
Uganda: Villagers petition lands minister to stop FSC-certified company from evicting them
On 25 May 2009, SGS Qualifor issued an FSC certificate to New Forest Company for its plantations in Uganda. Less than two months later, more than 10,000 villagers petitioned the lands minister to stop New Forest Company from evicting them from their homes. They accused armed groups of beating people, abducting them and destroying their crops and houses. Below are two articles about New Forest Company, one from the Ugandan newspaper,New Vision and one from World Rainforest Movement.
UN strips SGS UK of accreditation for carbon project certification – FSC to follow for SGS-Qualifor?
As the FSC is considering how it should engage with potential future forest carbon trading schemes – and will no doubt be under pressure from the certification bodies, such as SGS and Rainforest Alliance, to move into this potentially lucrative market – it should take heed of recent developments concerning the United Nations scheme to certify international carbon credits.
FSC-Watch 