WWF European Forest Avenue du Mont Blanc Programme 1196 Gland Co-ordination Unit Switzerland Contact : [email protected]
Newsletter Forestry and Wood Certification No. 1/ 2003 Information contained in this newsletter is sent to approximately 14 000 recipients in 14 countries and is translated into 9 languages.
Contents Environmental Groups and Industry in Estonia Make Joint Appeal Against Illegal Logging 1 Swedish-Latvian Timber Trade in Focus...... 1 Germany Large Consumer of Illegal Timber...... 2 Keeping Illegal Timber Out of Your Stores...... 2 US Retail Giant Makes Big Turnover With FSC...... 2 Certification Could Be an Ally For Forestry – A View From the Forest Sector in the UK 3 WWF and NorskeCanada Join Forces for Responsible Paper Production 3 More Options for Printing on FSC Paper...... 3 FSC and Recycling...... 4 World's First FSC-Certified Venison...... 4 Companies Assist Forest Owners With Certification in New Zealand 4 Migros Awarded Eco-Manager of the Year...... 4 Key Actors in the Palm Oil Business Could Save Indonesian Forests, new WWF Report Says 5 Community Protected Areas in Mexico - a Novel Aspect of Community Forestry 5 High Conservation Value Forests in Practice...... 6 Events...... 6 Background and Facts...... 7 Certification Assistance...... 8 Multiple Solutions for the World´s Forests by WWF...... 9 it must be possible to clearly identify Note from the editor: legally and illegally sourced timber This newsletter will widen its scope of on the market information to include, in addition to the state must ensure a total inventory certification issues, news on corporate of forests and secure that the responsibility and steps towards improving information will be included in the forest management. forest registry Particular attention will be given to illegal taxation policy of forest management logging and combating forest crime, should be reviewed to promote companies and individuals showing sustainable forestry and to reduce the leadership, the involvement of communities forest managers´ desire not to declare in forest management, approaches to the forest management activities conservation of the range of forest values the state must ensure better and trends in the investment sector. supervision of forest and management activities as well as plan preventative measures for reducing Environmental Groups and Industry in illegal activities Estonia Make Joint Appeal The organisations who signed the appeal Against Illegal Logging were AS Stora Enso Mets, AS Mets&Puu; Following continuing problems with illegal Södra Eesti AS; Estonian Green Movement- logging in Estonia, key environmental and FoE; Estonian Fund for Nature. industry groups recently made a joint appeal Source: Joint Appeal December 9 2002 Estonian Fund for to the Estonian Prime Minister. Timber Nature December 9 2002 industry and environmentalists request to have the following aspects and principles reflected in the new forest act:
Let’s leave our children a living planet. Newsletter
Forest and Wood Certification. Ed. 7/2000
Swedish-Latvian Timber Trade in Germany Large Consumer of Illegal Focus Timber In a new report Responsible Trade in the 400 square kilometers of Indonesian virgin Shadow of Illegal Logging – Swedish import forests are destroyed every year to satisfy the of Latvian Timber WWF calls on actors in German market. This was the key message of the Swedish-Latvian timber trade to a national TV report in January which contribute to responsible trade. highlighted Germany as large consumer of The report shows that although Swedish tropical timber from illegal harvesting. companies can trace much of the Latvian timber back to its origin, they have a low According to a WWF study 80% of level of knowledge of the forest harvesting in Indonesia is done illegally. management's impact on the Latvian forests. “This means that in Germany we need to 50% of Latvia’s exports go to Sweden every assume that 80% of the timber products from year. Illegal logging continues to be a Indonesia we buy stem from illegal sources”, problem in Latvia. said Nina Griesshammer from WWF In the report companies are called upon to Germany. take the following steps towards responsible Sources: ZDF Politik & Gesellschaft Report January 14 2003 trade: http://www.zdf.de/ZDFde/inhalt/0,1872,2018859,FF.html; WWF Germany January 2003; WWF report The timber establishing/ improving existing footprint of the G8 and China WWF Press release June 20 systems that enable effective tracing 2002 www.panda.org/forests4life; FSC INFO 30/2003 January 14 2003 of timber creating transparency towards authorities regarding payment of fees Keeping Illegal Timber Out of Your and taxes Stores developing and updating company WWF Germany recently held a seminar for environmental or purchasing policies companies to discuss different ways to to specifically relate to Latvian ensure that timber traded is legal. The conditions summary of the seminar with speakers from obtaining FSC chain-of-custody WWF, IKEA, Proforest and the Tropical certification of subsidiaries and of Forest Trust can be obtained from imported FSC certified timber [email protected]. promoting openness and dialogue WWF believes that illegal logging and other with third parties, in Sweden, in forms of forest crime are part of a larger Latvia and internationally problem that includes issues of forest exchanging experiences on governance and corruption. WWF believes environmentally and socially that illegal logging and forest crime are best sustainable forest management stopped using a combination of existing tools increasing demand, education and and the development of new policies by assistance for forest management governments, financial institutions and the certification. corporate sector. Source: WWF Sweden December 2002 For a copy of the Independent and credible third party report please contact [email protected] certification such as through the FSC is one of the actions recommended by WWF which
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companies can take to exclude illegally Source: Website of the Forestry&Timber Association in the UK November 25 2002 http://www.timber- harvested timber from their stores. growers.co.uk/html/press-detailci.html Source: WWF Germany November 7 2002 WWF and NorskeCanada Join Forces US Retail Giant Makes Big Turnover for Responsible Paper With FSC Production The Do-it-Yourself Giant Home Depot is In December WWF and NorskeCanada now the largest retailer of FSC certified announced a partnership to improve global wood in the US. In 2002 Home Depot sold forest conservation and advance US$250 million worth of FSC lumber up environmental goals relating to the from US$15 million in 1999. The Home responsible production of paper. Depot website includes a new feature which NorskeCanada president and CEO Russell J. allows consumers to view all FSC-certified Horner stated that as the third largest products in seven North American groundwood paper company in North distribution regions (www.homedepot.com). America and the single largest customer of forest products in British Columbia, the Sources: Wall Street Journal January 2 2003; FSC US News& Views Mid January 2003, vol. 3, no.1 company has both a responsibility and an opportunity to support conservation globally. Certification Could Be an Ally For “We believe that environmental leadership is Forestry – A View From the good for business, because good business Forest Sector in the UK isn’t just about economics. It’s about doing the right thing in all facets of your business For forest managers the non-market benefits and that includes making products with high of FSC may be more important than the integrity. It’s driven by a strong internal direct market benefits of FSC. This is the desire to contribute to forest conservation conclusion of a paper by Chris Inglis on globally and to improve the paper making certification published by the value-chain.” ForestryTimber Association in the UK. WWF and NorskeCanada believe that responsible forest management includes In the paper, a key argument for certification independent, third party certification for is its potential to increase industry image and which the Forest Stewardship Council sets a to provide marketing benefits for the forest benchmark standard and provides a voice for industry. Certification could also provide a conservation in the marketplace. competitive advantage in particular in the competition for capital investment and NorskeCanada has completed one of the provide a benchmark for best practice. largest industrial runs of FSC-certified newsprint in North America. “It just takes Certification could assist for the range of one snowball to start an avalanche”, said services provided by forestry to be better Horner who is talking to like-minded recognised by society. “Certification companies to join with WWF and provides a means to influence the NorskeCanada to advance environmental redefinition of policies to reflect the full goals in the paper value-chain. ”We hope picture of industry deliverables.” others will want to join us to improve conservation globally, demonstrating that
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what´s good for the environment is good for them. The careful harvesting of an amazing business too. variety of forest products, which can include Source: Press release WWF Canada December 12 2003 everything from mushrooms to foliage, is a key element of responsible management", so More Options for Printing on FSC Anna Jenkins, FSC UK Director. Paper Recognition of the importance of Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) is growing The UK company Paperback has recently around the world and so is the list of FSC included FSC-certified coated paper in their certified NTPFs. They include FSC certified stocks. Until now only uncoated FSC paper medicinal plants, tea, berries and fungi. had been available from Paperback. Approximately 80% of the population of The FSC certification of the Austrian developing countries use NTFPs to meet printing company Gugler in January brings their health and nutritional needs and several the number of FSC certified printing million households world-wide use these companies in Europe up to 12. products for subsistence consumption and/or income. For the full list FSC certified paper Sources: Press release FSC UK Working Group January 28 producers, printers and wholesalers, 2003; Woodmark News Issue No.4 Winter 2002 including information on available grades go to Companies Assist Forest Owners http://www.panda.org/forestandtrade/certifie With Certification in New Zealand d_products/cp_index.html Companies in New Zealand are looking to Sources: Press Release FSC UK Working Group November 29 2002; WWF Austria January 2003 assist small farm foresters with the cost of certification. According to a recent article in FSC and Recycling Timber Trade Journal Online larger companies in New Zealand see Forest New rules for identifying and tracing Stewardship Council certification as a recycled and reclaimed timber material valuable marketing tool which could help to through chain-of-custody are currently increase their current Euro1.8 billion worth developed by the Forest Stewardship of timber exports every year. Present exports Council. Draft standards are available for from New Zealand, totalling 18 million m3, comment on www.fsc-uk.org. could almost double in the next five years. Source: Press release FSC UK Working Group January 12 Source: TTJ Online January 21 2003 2003 http://www.ttjonline.com/story.asp?sc=15560&ac=9984440
World's First FSC-Certified Venison Migros Awarded Eco-Manager of the FSC certified venison is available across the Year UK since end of January. The venison comes The CEO of the Swiss retailer Migros, Anton from the UK´s FSC certified state forests and Scherrer, has been elected Eco-manager of is a world’s first. the Year 2002 by WWF and the German "FSC certification is not simply about trees, economist magazine Capital. This it guarantees that forests are managed for the environmental prize goes to persons and well being of everything that depends on companies who have made a special
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contribution to sustainable business Since 1985, Indonesian oil palm plantations practices. have grown from some 600 000 hectares to Migros has made a decision to only sell more than 3 million hectares in 2000, leading margarine which contains sustainably to dramatic habitat reduction for endangered produced palm oil and to only sell FSC species such as orang-utans or Sumatran timber by 2005. Migros already received the elephants. Often for economic reasons and World Business Award in Johannesburg in due to poor governmental control, instead of August 2002 for developing and putting oil palm plantations on widely implementing criteria for the sustainable available degraded lands, logging and estate production of palm oil together with WWF. companies clear land by setting fire to Sources: Basler Zeitung November 27 2002; Press release natural forests on their concessions, after WWF International August 31 having removed all the valuable timber and left fire-prone debris. The cleared land is then converted into crop plantations.
Key Actors in the Palm Oil Business The fast expansion of the oil palm sector has Could Save Indonesian Forests, been financed to a large extent by European, new WWF Report Says North American and East Asian financial A new report released by WWF in December institutions which, for the most part, rarely shows that key actors in the international try to improve the social and environmental palm oil trade chain - investors, traders and practices of their clients. retailers - could save forests in Indonesia by developing, promoting and implementing The Netherlands, the UK and Germany are sound practices rather than encouraging Europe's main palm oil importers, and the destructive ones. European Union has a share of 17 % of the global palm oil market. Palm oil can be According to the new WWF report, Oil Palm found in a wide range of food and non-food Plantations and Deforestation in Indonesia, products, including cosmetics, detergents, global demand for palm oil will increase confectionery, chocolate, ice cream, ready- from 22.5 million tons per year currently to to-serve meals, and margarine. 40 million tons in 2020. In order to satisfy Source: Press release WWF International December 11 2002 this demand, producer countries will need to establish 6 million hectares of new Community Protected Areas in plantations by 2020, with half of these Mexico - a Novel Aspect of predicted to be in Indonesia. Unless the Community Forestry institutions that will finance the expansion of Through a community decision 40.000 the sector, and the companies that buy palm hectares of forest were protected late last oil, insist on sound environmental, social and year on the Mexican Pacific Coast and Sierra economic practices, WWF is concerned that Norte. This is part of an innovative approach the result will be an expansion of plantations to forest conservation in Mexico where at the expense of natural forests in Indonesia communities take on the management of - a country that already has one of the highest their lands through their own institutions. rates of deforestation in the world.
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The community benefits through active promote the clearing or degradation of High participation in management decisions. Conservation Value Forests (HCVFs). These benefits include improved sustainable management of forests and non forest HCVFs comprise the critical forest areas resources, income generation through eco- whose values need to be maintained or tourism, increased technical capacity and enhanced in a landscape. more respect for people’s socioeconomic and Two principles are paramount: (1) HCVFs cultural needs. are managed to maintain or enhance the The decision to protected large tracts of attributes that are of high conservation value, forest as part of the community scheme has and (2) management employs the been celebrated as a Gift to the Earth by precautionary principle, which requires that WWF. where the effects of extraction and other management are unknown, values are WWF assists rural community efforts in their insured through a cautious approach. role as stewards of the world’s natural environments by supporting local and What this means on the ground and how regional integrated development and HCVF works in practice is now available in conservation projects. Improving self- a lessons learned report from Komi, Russia. sufficiency and economic well-being through You can request the report from [email protected] community based management of forests has been identified as an important element in For WWFs position on HCVF go to forest conservation. For more information on http://www.panda.org/downloads/forests/pos WWFs work in community forestry go to itionpaperhcvf.doc http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_ do/forests/what_we_do/management/certify_ community.cfm Events Source: Latin America and the Caribbean News November 2002 March 24 – 27 2003, Poiana Brasov, Romania: Strategies for the Sound High Conservation Value Forests in Use of Wood Practice International Seminar - Organised by the A toolkit for identifying and managing High UNECE Timber Committee, the FAO Conservation Value Forests (HCVF) European Forestry Commission and the Identifying High Conservation Values at a Government of Romania. For the agenda national level: a practical guide is open for please go to comment until February 28. Please go to http://www.unece.org/trade/timber/docs/sem- www.proforest.net to access the draft 1/sem-1.htm versions in English and Spanish. March 25 – 29 2003, Vancouver, WWF calls on producers, retailers and Canada : The Policy Practice of investors in the forestry, agricultural, mining Forest Certification and petroleum sectors and governments to The third Certification Watch Conference ensure that their business activities do not will gather leading decision makers and practitioners and feature both policy and
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practical perspectives on sustainable forestry FM/COC and FM certificates: 466 and certification. The conference examines COC certificates exclusively: 2274 the current status, outlook, issues and Fm/COC and COC: 2740 solutions associated with sustainable forestry, certification and responsible Programme Information procurement. For Information on the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) www.fscoax.org The conference is hosted by Certification Global Forest And Trade Network Watch. For the conference schedule and www.panda.org/forestandtrade additional information please go to Forests For Life Programme, WWF www.CertificationWatchConference.org or www.panda.org/forests4life contact [email protected] or Certification Basics +1 514 273 5777. An Introduction to Forest Certification: (2001) April 2nd- 6th 2003, Kiev – Ukraine: http://www.proforest.net/objects/introtocert.p Business styles and sustainable df development NGO Positions on Certification Fifth International Conference on Ethics and Systems Environmental Policies Joint NGO statement by Greenpeace, Friends The Conference’s aim is to promote a of the Earth and WWF about PEFC and FSC reflection on the relationship between the (2002) environment and the enterprise world. http://www.panda.org/forests4life/news.cfm For all information and news about the Conference go to the web-site Joint NGO statement on illegal logging www.fondazionelanza.it. (2002) A coalition of NGOs has issued a demand for April 28 – 30 2003, Vienna – Austria the European Commission to take action to 4th Ministerial Conference on the address the import of illegally sourced timber Protection of Forests in Europe http://www.fern.org/pubs/ngostats/logging.p 45 countries are represented at conference df which follows the conferences in Strasbourg, Helsinki and Lissabon. Behind the logo (2001) -In-depth report of For more information go to www.mcpfe.org the four biggest forest certification schemes (CSA, FSC, PEFC & SFI) analyses the Background and Facts strengths and weaknesses of each scheme and aims to provide companies, governments and NGOs with the facts needed for Key Statistics Status: January 2003 informed decision making. Total area of FSC certified forests: 31.067.162 http://www.fern.org/pubs/reports/behind/btlr hectares ep.pdf Number of countries with FSC forests: 56 Joint NGO statement on mutual recognition (2001)
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http://www.fern.org/pubs/ngostats/mutual2.h tm
Make Your Own Judgement About Certification Schemes Assessing Forest Certification: A Practical Guide : (2002) http://www.proforest.net/objects/Assessing %20Forest%20Certification/assessing %20schemes.pdf
8 operatives, communities and harvesting companies. www.cmnet.org Certification Assistance (case studies group certification)
Where to Sell and Buy A Practical Guide to Developing a Group Global search for certified product types Scheme for FSC-Accredited Certification on www.fsc-info.org and of Forests: Final Draft (2001) A practical www.certifiedwood.org For a certified forest products market guide aimed at anyone wishing to set up a place – connecting buyers and suppliers of group certification scheme compatible with FSC timbers worldwide go to the requirements of the FSC. www.forestworld.com http://www.proforest.net/objects/gscheme2.p Information on FSC forest management df and Chain of Custody certification holders www.fsc-info.org Learning From Others To confirm FSC certification of a Nearly 800 companies are part of the WWF company by certification number or co-ordinated Global Forest and Trade company name go to www.fsc-info.org ; Network (GFTN), committed to responsible www.certifiedwood.org General information on FSC, forest management and trade. They represent certification, approved certifiers, a global a wide range of actors including forest certified forest list etc. go to owners, timber processors, construction www.fscoax.org companies, retailers, investment agencies Further trade data links can be found on and local authorities. Members vary from http://www.forestandtradeasia.org/Trade small family-owned businesses to world _data.html scale leading companies such as IKEA and the Home Depot. They are committed to Getting FSC on the Market gradually producing, trading and/or sourcing The FSC Percentage Based Claims independently certified forest products. Policy Discussion Paper (2002) Leading environmental and social groups This paper identifies a wide range of options around the world consider the FSC to be the on many elements of the policy: minimum only credible forest certification system thresholds, batch systems, continuous recommended to consumers, forest improvement, labelling, uncertified content, managers, policy makers, businesses and the monitoring compliance and neutral materials. public. Find a listing of GFTN member The FSC Secretariat is considering the companies on options that have been presented. http://www.panda.org/forestandtrade/about_t http://www.fscoax.org/principal.htm he_network/atn_network_list.html
Assistance With Group Certification To learn from the experiences of other Group Certification Toolkit (2001) companies who are already part of the Procedures, guidance notes, forms and network get in touch with one of the forest instructions for use on how to set up an FSC and trade network co-ordinators. Contact approved Group Certification Scheme. For details can be found on use by forest managers, forest owners, co- http://www.panda.org/forestandtrade/about_t he_network/atn_network_map.html
WWF Germany is one of the national organizations of the WWF – World Wide Fund For Nature situated in Gland (Switzerland). Newsletter Forestry and Wood Certification No. 1 – 2003
Further Contacts for Assistance With Certification http://www.forestandtradeasia.org/Manager_ Guide/AP_Contacts.html
Multiple Solutions for the World´s Forests by WWF
WWFs position papers on global forest issues are available on www.panda.org/news_facts/factsheets/ WWF's Forests for Life Programme has developed a strategic vision for forest conservation in the 21st century under the theme of Protect, Manage and Restore. The position papers outline WWFs approaches to forest conservation through a multiplicity of approaches and strategies which are pursued together with regional and global partners.
Approaches to forest conservation by WWF are reflected in the position papers on Certification, High Conservation Value Forests, combating illegal logging and forest crime, preventing forest fires, restoring damaged and degraded forests and protection of forests.
For further information please contact
(contact address of NO)
Let’s leave our children a living planet. 10