This article was supplied by Mary Bull, of the Greenwood Earth Alliance:
A Million Acres of Clearcuts and Pesticide Use “Certified” in Canada and Maine
This article was submitted by Mary Pjerrou, Greenwood Earth Alliance, pirohuck@gmail.com:
Green groups call for urgent reform of the FSC – certifiers ‘eroding credibility’
On 30th October, more than 75 environmental organisations from 25 countries wrote a letter to the Executive Director of FSC, Heiko Liedeker, and the FSC’s International Board, calling for urgent improvements to the FSC system. The groups include WWF International, Greenpeace International, Birdlife Internationl, Friends of the Earth UK, the Sierra Club and Environmental Defense.
The FSC, Panamanian teak plantations, and the mafia
SmartWood’s certificate for plantation outfit Prime Forestry Panama was suspended in May 2006, but SmartWood noted at the time that:
“From February 2003 to September 2005, SmartWood carried out 5 on-site audits of Prime Forestry Panama (August 2003, April and September 2004, March and Sept 2005). Through these audits PFP provided evidence that nonconformances were being addressed and demonstrated ongoing compliance with SmartWood and FSC certification requirements.”
Laos: SmartWood certifies “village forestry”
In June 2006, I received a leaked report written by a consultant to a World Bank- Finnish government-funded “village forestry” project in Laos. About 50,000 hectares of the project area had been certified by SmartWood in January 2006. The report documented serious breaches of FSC principles and criteria, particularly the fact that the consultant found that logs were not marked properly. “Tracing and chain of custody of trees/logs is therefore impossible,” commented the consultant.
Cameroon: Wijma still certified, as official observer finds new illegalities
The following article by Philippe Chibani-Jacquot first appeared on novethic.fr, in October, 2006 (*):
‘Abstention Protest’ within FSC: Some Members refuse to vote for Board candidates
A growing number of FSC members feel increasingly uncomfortable with the organisation’s poor performance, indicated by numerous unacceptable certifications and lack of timely and effective action in solving problems. Some FSC members already sense that they are party to a ‘deception of consumers’ and have lost trust in the organisation that they have long supported as members. What can you do as member of an organisation that you believe has gone out of control? Leaving would be one choice. Some still believe in the original aims of the FSC, and they don’t want to leave the organisation. For some, the choice is to perform an ‘Abstention’ Protest: abstaining from voting in formal decisions, such as for the recent Board elections. But this is not a ‘silent protest’: it is important to let the FSC know why you are abstaining from voting.
Aracruz, SmartWood, FSC and a conflict of interest
In 2003, Brazil’s Aracruz bought Klabin’s Riocell pulp operations in Rio Grande do Sul. The 400,000 tonnes a year pulp mill came with 40,000 hectares of FSC-certified plantations.
Aracruz is among the most controversial pulp companies in the world. It has an ongoing dispute with indigenous people and quilombolas in Espirito Santo province. The company is currently carrying out a racist campaign aiming to turn the population of Espirito Santo against the indigenous people. The working conditions in its plantations are terrible.
Uruguay: FSC cannot guarantee peace of mind
In July 2006, FSC put out a statement in response to World Rainforest Movement’s publication “Greenwash: Critical analysis of FSC certification of industrial tree monocultures in Uruguay“.
FSC’s statement is titled, “FSC guarantees peace of mind to consumers”. FSC based its statement on responses from the two certifying bodies involved, SmartWood and SGS.
FSC-Watch 