Newsletter Forestry and Wood Certification



|Newsletter Forestry and Wood Certification No. 4/2003 |

|Information contained in this newsletter is sent to approximately 14 000 recipients in 14 countries and is translated into 9 languages. |

|This newsletter provides information on credible forest certification and other steps towards improving forest management. Particular attention |

|is given to combating illegal logging and forest crime, the involvement of communities in forest management, conservation of highly valuable |

|forests, trends in the investment sector and companies/ individuals showing leadership. |

|Contact the editor on hb@wwf.at |

Contents

Feature: From Conflict to Co-operation in Russia 1

Arkhangelsk Forest Industry Makes Important Steps – But Still a Way to Go 1

Improving Forest Management in Europe and Around the World 2

Alarming Deforestation Rate in the Amazon 2

Mahogany Harvest Conditional on Management Plans 3

U$10 Million to Improve Forest Management in Peru 3

Protecting Exceptional Forests in Russia, Bulgaria and Romania 3

Illegal Logging Continues in the Caucasus 4

Training For Russian Customs Officers to Stop Forest Crime 4

Temporary Halt to Logging of Finnish Ancient Forests 4

Amazon Timber Producers and Forest Owners Join Forces 5

Indonesian Governments Calls for Urgent Solutions to Illegal Logging 5

Special Focus - NGOs Act Against Forest Crime 5

Controversial Timber From Cameroon Stopped in Italy 5

Conflict Timber from Liberia Uncovered in Italy 6

Action Against Stores Selling Illegal Timber in the UK 6

Dutch Companies Outed to Trade Controversial Timber 6

A Prison Sentence for Uncovering Controversial Timber in Spain 7

How Consumers Can Avoid To Buy Controversial Wood - A Greenpeace Guide 7

Consumer Guide for Responsible Retailers in Austria, Germany and Switzerland 7

Spotlight on Corporate Leadership 8

Canadian Co-op Establishes Market Connection for Responsibly Harvested Timber 8

Interested to be in the “Spotlight on Corporate Leadership”? 8

News From the FSC 8

Pilot Test for Chip, Fibre and Sawn Wood Standards 8

FSC With New Support in Australia 8

49% of Dutch Consumers Recognise the FSC Logo 9

FSC Training in North Africa 9

Events 9

Background and Facts 9

Certification Assistance 10

Feature: From Conflict to Co-operation in Russia

Arkhangelsk Forest Industry Makes Important Steps – But Still a Way to Go

The forest industry in Northwest Russia faces huge challenges to improve its reputation. In July WWF has produced a report describing how the situation in the Arkhangelsk Region is slowly changing towards better forest management. The report also shows how this has been achieved through co-operation between companies, financial institutions, development banks, governments and NGO´s.

With 27 million hectares, Arkhangelsk´s forest area is bigger than Sweden and larger than the forest areas of Finland, France and Germany combined. Its significant amount of pristine forests has made Arkhangelsk the focus of NGOs for many years with repeated actions against the largest forest industries operating in that area. In recent months pressure had also mounted from buyers in Europe to clarify the source of their raw material.

The problem: The forest industry in Russia is often still in an exploitation mindset without a planned approach to forest management. Equipment is old, product quality is low and added value processing is minimal. Foreign investment in Arkhangelsk barely exists. In addition, the illegal logging rate is as high as 20% and the regional forest administration lacks political power and finance to modernise the forest sector.

The good news: Industry and local government have started to recognise the importance of an integrated approach to economic development and environmental protection. NGOs, companies, financial institutions, governments and development banks are now working together on a set of manageable steps to work towards forest certification:

• Key forest industries have formed an association to jointly tackle legislation, illegal logging and high conservation value forests.

• WWF has opened a regional office to work with the Arhkhangelsk industry via the Association of Environmentally Responsible Companies in Russia on the various steps leading to FSC certification.

• The World Bank and WWF, through their global Alliance, are supporting the development of a regional High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) process in conjunction with the industry.

• IKEA and WWF as part of their partnership have established a one-stop shop to support forest stakeholders in NW Russia on all issues of responsible forest management and forest certification through the Northern Certification Center which is located in the Northern Research Institute of Forestry in Arkhangelsk.

• In May the Government established a new national park on the Onega Peninsula, totalling 180.000 hectares

Download the full report from

For more information on the World Bank/ WWF Alliance go to

Improving Forest Management in Europe and Around the World

Alarming Deforestation Rate in the Amazon

Based on a satellite image survey by the Brazilian National Space Research Institute (INPE), 2.5 million hectares of Amazon forests disappeared between July 2001 and June 2002. This is the highest deforestation rate since the 1994-1995 peak of 2.9 million hectares. WWF fears that the period July 2002 to June 2003 will give even worse results. According to INPE, the annual average deforestation rate in the Brazilian Amazon forest from 1995 to 2001 was approximately 1.8 million hectares.

WWF believes that development compatible with the protection of the Amazon's biological richness and the environmentally-sound use of the natural resources is the only way to improve both the livelihood and quality of life of local populations.

Source: WWF International Press release June 27 2003

Mahogany Harvest Conditional on Management Plans

Brazil has established new rules early July for harvesting and marketing Mahogany. The decision by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva now obliges all loggers to present a sustainable management plan before being allowed to cut down Mahogany.

International trade of Mahogany was curbed under the U.N.'s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) last year when Mahogany was listed in Appendix II. Brazil had banned logging of Mahogany in October 2001, fearing that its Amazon reserves of Mahogany would disappear in a few years.

Illegal logging of Brazil´s Mahogany continues regardless and a series of shipments of Brazilian Mahogany have recently been refused entry into countries like Britain and the United States on suspicions that the wood was illegally cut.

Mahogany began to be harvested on a commercial scale in the Amazon in the 1960s after its similar species Swietenia mahogany and S. humilis had been almost extinguished in Mexico and Central America. In the Amazon about two million trees have been cut over the last 40 years, bringing Mahogany from the Amazon to the brink of extinction.

Sources: ENS June 24, 2003 Planet Ark News June 9 2003;

U$10 Million to Improve Forest Management in Peru

A new Center for Forest Development (CEDEFOR) was launched in Peru in May. Financed by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) with $10 million for the next 5 years, CEDEFOR will work with the private sector, government agencies and civil society to improve the ecological integrity of 10 million hectares of Peru's production forests and to promote FSC certification. CEDEFOR is expected to significantly modernize the Peruvian forest sector and to help alleviate poverty by promoting alternative economic activities for the forest industry.

Source: Latin American and Caribbean News June 2003. For more information, contact Adriana Musso at adriana@.pe

Protecting Exceptional Forests in Russia, Bulgaria and Romania

Important progress is currently being made in Russia, Bulgaria and Romania in identifying forests with outstanding or critical biological, environmental or social values – so called High Conservation Value Forests (HCVFs). As part of the WWF/IKEA co-operation to promote responsible forestry, the High Conservation Value Forest concept is being implemented in these countries.

The idea behind HCVF goes far beyond the question which forests should be managed and which not – but helps choose the right management for the protection of identified values. Knowing where HCVFs are enables the forest industry to avoid business activities which promote their destruction and degradation.

To adapt the generic High Conservation Value Forests concept to different countries, a wide range of stakeholders work together. In Russia for instance, a regional working group has recently been formed with representatives from regional administration, forestry authorities, the forest inventory team, the professional association of forest enterprises, NGOs and others to develop and field test the best methodology for identifying HCVFs in the Russian context.

Adaptation to the Bulgarian and Romanian situations is also underway and throughout summer a range of workshops will be held. Since April WWF and the World Bank, through the World Bank/ WWF Alliance, are financing projects to implement HCVF in Russia, Georgia and Turkey.

Sources: Download the HCVF toolkit from . For more information on the WWF/IKEA partnership and the World Bank/ WWF Alliance go to .

Illegal Logging Continues in the Caucasus

Illegal logging in Northern Caucasus continues at an unprecedented rate according to a report by the Taiga Rescue Network. Recent GPS (Global Positioning System) – inspections revealed 13 illegal cutting sites. Chestnut is the main target for illegal logging despite being on the Red List for endangered species in the Caucasus. Although a governmental decree exists against illegal logging in the Republic of Adyghee the situation has only slightly improved. Key problems mentioned are corruption and failure to reorganize the forest sector.

Source: Taiga Rescue Network News Update Russia

Training For Russian Customs Officers to Stop Forest Crime

A new guide is now available for customs staff in Russia on how to prevent illegal cross border transports of timber. Published with the support of WWF it was launched in June at a high level meeting attended by representatives of the Russian State Customs Committee, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Center of Export Control Problems and over 50 specialists of Russian Customs Agencies. The guide was widely disseminated to interested parties, including companies who purchase timber from Russia.

  

Source: WWF Russia/ Far Eastern Branch Information bulletin #5 May-June 2003

Temporary Halt to Logging of Finnish Ancient Forests

Metsahällitus, the Finnish state-owned forestry enterprise, has agreed not to log in 476 areas of forest which are currently under dispute until talks have taken place with environmental groups mid - August. Over recent months pressure had mounted on Metsahällitus from NGOs to stop logging in Finnish old growth forests. Only 5% of Finland's forests are considered old growth forests of which only half is protected from industrial logging.

Greenpeace recently engaged the public and companies to lobby the largest customers of Metsahällitus - Stora Enso, UPM-Kymmene and M-Real - to stop buying pulp and timber from the disputed areas. In May, Greenpeace activists from nine countries took to inflatables in the Baltic Sea, intercepting the Finn Hawk on its way to the port of Lübeck in Germany. The freighter was loaded with paper products from Stora Enso and M-Real and was destined for the German market.

Finland is responsible for one quarter of the world's printing and writing paper exports and one sixth of its paper board exports. Germany is the largest importer of Finnish paper products.

Source: Greenpeace Press release July 14 2003 The report "Finnish Forestry: destroying forests, destroying livelihoods" can be downloaded at:  

Amazon Timber Producers and Forest Owners Join Forces

Late June 2003 timber industry representatives and FSC certified forest owners formed the FSC certified Native Amazon Forest Owners Groups to join forces to increase their market benefit through FSC. The group will develop common interest projects such as market promotion of non-commercial species and will work to increase the area of FSC certified forests in the Amazon region. Currently, Brazil produces around 28 million cubic meters of tropical timber but only 500 thousand cubic meters carry the FSC logo.

At the group´s inauguration meeting which was attended by loggers, timber industry, researchers, community leaders, NGOs and government representatives, Amazon Bank (BASA) announced a credit line for sustainable forest management in Brazil.

Source: WWF Brazil; FSC News+Notes, July 2003

Indonesian Governments Calls for Urgent Solutions to Illegal Logging

Early June the Indonesian State Minister for the Environment, Nabiel Makarim, has admitted that so far their government had not been able to find any answers to the problem of rampant illegal logging.

He asked people to suggest fresh and concrete measures to stop illegal logging. Illegal logging, flooding and forest fires are the main environmental problems the country is facing, inflicting losses amounting to trillions of rupiah every year on the country, he said. Illegal logging has been a huge problem in Indonesia since the breakdown in law and order that followed the economic crisis which swept the country in 1997. So far, according to Nabiel, the government and the Indonesian Military (TNI) had carried out operations to crack down on illegal logging, but it was not easy to arrest the masterminds.

The illegal logging rate in Indonesia is estimated to be as high as 80%. At the current rate of deforestation it is estimated that Indonesia will lose all its forest in the next 10 to 20 years.

The Indonesian government has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the UK and Norway to tackle illegal logging. In the context of the Indonesia - UK Memorandum 50 timber traders in the UK met in June to seek collective approaches for legal timber sourcing from Indonesia. The Timber Trade Federation who hosted the meeting also involved the International Development Department, the Indonesian Forestry Ministry, WWF, the Environmental Investigation Agency and the Tropical Forest Trust in these discussions.

Sources: TTJ June 5 2003; Jakarta Post June 5 2003

Special Focus - NGOs Act Against Forest Crime

Controversial Timber From Cameroon Stopped in Italy

Throughout June Greenpeace activists staged protests against import of controversial timber from Africa to Italy. In the port of Ravenna activists prevented the offloading of timber from the Congo Basin which had been transported to Italy in the vessel Tradco.

Industrial logging in Africa is often carried out in a highly destructive way and illegal logging is widespread in the entire region. Uncontrolled timber harvesting in Africa contributes to major social conflicts and is the driving factor for the commercial bushmeat trade in the region, which is now rapidly wiping out endangered animals such as forest elephants, chimpanzees and lowland gorillas. The Congo Basin forms the last big intact forests of

Africa. Italy is a major importer of timber from Africa.

Source: Greenpeace Press release June 23 2003

Conflict Timber from Liberia Uncovered in Italy

Early June Greenpeace activists uncovered a shipment of timber from Liberia on the MV Mentor in the Italian port of Salerno. Revenues from timber harvesting and trade in Liberia is suspected to finance the conflict in the country.

On May 6 2003 the Security Council of the United Nations had extended their sanctions on the Government of Liberia for a further 12 months. The Council also called on the Liberian Government to establish transparent and internationally verifiable audit regimes “to ensure that revenue derived by the Government from the Liberia Shipping Registry and the Liberian timber industry is used for legitimate social, humanitarian and development purposes, and that the Government report back to the Council on results of such audits within three months.”

Sources: UN Security Council Press release SC/7392; Greenpeace Press release June 3 2003

Action Against Stores Selling Illegal Timber in the UK

Greenpeace has held protests in 24 stores of Travis Perkins, one of the UK's largest suppliers of building materials, where illegally logged Indonesian timber had been found. Earlier this year, Greenpeace investigators discovered Indonesian timber in Travis Perkins and Jewson stores across the UK. Since the report was released, Jewson, a large UK timber and builder merchant, have confirmed that they will stop selling Indonesian plywood products. In the recent protests at Travis Perkins stores activists cordoned off Indonesian timber in the store and handed out leaflets to staff and customers.

Indonesia is suffering the highest rate of forest destruction in the world. 80% of timber from Indonesia is likely to be illegal unless harvested under a third party monitoring scheme like the Forest Stewardship Council. (see also article on page 5)

Source: Press release Greenpeace June 14 2003

Dutch Companies Outed to Trade Controversial Timber

In June Friends of the Earth Netherlands revealed that the Netherlands’ two largest timber traders, PontMeyer and Jongeneel obtain wood from dubious Indonesian suppliers in the new report Suspicious Wood from Indonesia - Jongeneel and PontMeyer Wood Import.

Friends of the Earth claim that even though Jongeneel and PontMeyer are aware of the problem of illegal logging, they continue to purchase substantial amounts of wood from Indonesia without ensuring any form of independent and regular verification of the timber’s legality. By doing so, both companies were ignoring their responsibilities. Suspicious wood is the fourth publication in Friends of the Earth Netherlands´ Filthy Five series. The series features Dutch companies that do not take their corporate responsibilities seriously in foreign countries.

Source: Press release Friends of the Earth Netherlands June 4 2003 The report ‘Suspicious Wood from Indonesia-Jongeneel and PontMeyer Wood Import’ can be downloaded at milieudefensie.nl

A Prison Sentence for Uncovering Controversial Timber in Spain

The SV Rainbow Warrior was impounded on June 13 in Valencia harbour following its peaceful protest against the timber transport ship MV Honour. The MV Honour was carrying timber from Cameroon suspected to stem from illegal and destructive logging. The Rainbow Warrior was boarded by the Spanish Civil Guard and detained in the Port of Valencia. Following public support and pressure from the around the world the Spanish Government has now lowered the bond placed on the Rainbow Warrior from Euro 300.000 to Euro 6.000.

Spain is a major importer of timber from Africa. Imports from Cameroon were worth 71 million Euros in 2002. 50% of logging in Cameroon is estimated to be illegal. The loss of tax revenues to the Cameroon government is as high as 50 per cent. If recent rates of logging and concession allocation continue, large-scale commercial forestry will be exhausted within 10 years. Cameroon’s main timber markets are Italy, China and France.

Sources: Press release Greenpeace July 7 2003; WWF Spain July 2003; The Timber Footprint of the G8 and China 2002

How Consumers Can Avoid To Buy Controversial Wood - A Greenpeace Guide

Greenpeace recently published a guide for how consumers can avoid purchasing timber from forest destruction and illegal harvesting. 24 controversial tropical and non-tropical timbers are listed. Recommendations are provided on the availability of FSC timber for the species listed as well as other alternatives for wood with comparable qualities.

The consumer guide is available in German on greenpeace.de

Consumer Guide for Responsible Retailers in Austria, Germany and Switzerland

Early 2003 WWF in Austria, Germany and Switzerland have conducted a survey of furniture shops, mail order houses and DIYs about their responsible wood products purchasing policies. Stores were asked through what mechanism they are able to guarantee their customers that the timber products they sell do not stem from pristine forest destruction or illegal harvesting. They were also asked about the availability of FSC timber which provides currently the most credible guarantee that forests have been managed to highest environmental and social standards and that harvesting has been conducted legally The results of these surveys have been published in Austria and Switzerland in June and provide guidance to consumers in which stores they have the best chance to buy responsibly. WWF in all three countries is intending to repeat the survey.

Access the Austrian consumer guide on wwf.at/holztipps

Access the Swiss consumer guide on wwf.ch/holztipps

The German consumer guide will soon be available on wwf.de

Spotlight on Corporate Leadership

Canadian Co-op Establishes Market Connection for Responsibly Harvested Timber

In June the Canadian Eco-Lumber Co-op (ELC) was formed to connect timber from responsibly managed sources with their markets. Products available from the Eco-Lumber Co-op are made from wood that is either certified by the Forest Stewardship Council or that has been reclaimed from demolished buildings.

ELC is a partnership between so-called “eco-forestry” operations, processors of eco-certified wood, and advocates of eco-forestry in Canada.

"The Canadian Eco-Lumber Co-op is a made-in-BC (British Columbia) solution for meeting consumer demands for wood products while ensuring that our ancient forests are conserved for future generations", said Cam Brewer, the Co-op's executive director and co-founder. "The Eco-Lumber Co-op is about offering choice. We assist eco-forestry enterprises, including woodlots, community and First Nations forest operations and wood-product manufacturers to market their products while providing easy one-stop shopping for consumers."

Source: Press release ELC June 19 2003 ecolumber.ca.

Interested to be in the “Spotlight on Corporate Leadership”?

We are seeking experiences from companies about how they contribute to improve forest management and trade for publication in this newsletter. Information contained in this newsletter is sent to approximately 14 000 recipients in 14 countries and is translated into 9 languages.

Please contact helma.brandlmaier@wwf.at with a brief description about your company and the activities you are undertaking.

News From the FSC

Pilot Test for Chip, Fibre and Sawn Wood Standards

FSC has started pilot testing its new draft standards for chain of custody and labelling (for chip, fibre and sawn wood products). These new standards aim to eliminate bottlenecks which currently prevent FSC – labelled timber reaching the market. FSC will delay finalising the standards until 2004 to include results from the pilot tests. For information about how you can get involved in pilot testing, please contact an FSC accredited certification body. Contact person at FSC International Center: Sofia Ryder sryder@.

Source: FSC News+Notes, July 2003

FSC With New Support in Australia

FSC is now formally represented in Australia. Tim Cadman who is the new contact person for FSC in Australia since May explains: "Interest in FSC in the forest industry and in the community in Australia has been growing over the past two years. A number of forestry companies decided to move forward with interim certification procedures, and a number of scoping studies, preliminary assessments and full assessments have now been undertaken”. Australia has 155 million hectares of native forests and 1.3 million hectares of plantations. About 80% of Australia's forests are Eucalypt forests.

For more information about FSC certification in Australia, contact Tim Cadman at: tcadman@.au; Australia´s National Association of Forest Industries

49% of Dutch Consumers Recognise the FSC Logo

The recent FSC consumer campaign in the Netherlands raised the spontaneous recognition of the FSC logo to 21%. This is a significant increase from 12% last year and 1% two years ago. The assisted recognition went up to 49% in comparison to 44% last year and 12% two years ago. Among the 35 companies sponsoring this campaign were the main DIY chains in the Netherlands, timber traders, garden furniture retailers, suppliers and others.

Source: WWF Netherlands July 2003

FSC Training in North Africa

The training workshop in Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification held in June in Morocco was the first in North Africa. The workshop is an important step towards the establishment of a national working group for forest certification and the formulation and development of national standards in forest conservation.

Sources: WWF Mediterranean Programme Office. Magazine Posidonia Vol.3/ Nr. 4 May/ June 2003

Events

September 21-28 2003 Quebec, Canada:

XII World Forestry Congress: Forests-Source of Life

For more information:

Background and Facts

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The Forest Stewardship Council is currently the only credible timber certification system supported by leading environmental and social NGOs. It provides a guarantee that timber comes from legal sources and from forests managed to the highest environmental and social standards. As global system FSC offers market incentives for improving forest management around the world.

Key Statistics

Status: July 2003

Total area of FSC certified forests: 38,246,296 hectares

Number of countries with FSC forests: 57

FM certificates: 514/ COC certificates:  2552

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Programme Information

❖ For Information on the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

❖ Global Forest And Trade Network forestandtrade

❖ Forests For Life Programme, WWF forests4life

Certification Basics

An Introduction to Forest Certification: (2001)

NGO Positions on Certification Systems

Behind the logo (2001) -In-depth report of the four biggest forest certification schemes (CSA, FSC, PEFC & SFI) analyses the strengths and weaknesses of each scheme and aims to provide companies, governments and NGOs with the facts needed for informed decision making.

Make Your Own Judgement About Certification Schemes

Assessing Forest Certification: A Practical Guide : (2002)



Certification Assistance

Where to Sell and Buy Certified Timber

Global search for FSC certified timber and products:

: This database allows you to search by type of timber and timber species, by product type and supply chain position and country.

On fsc-. you can search for FSC certified species all over the world. Search mechanism include species ( open query) , tenure and country.

Global search for FSC Forest Management and Chain of Custody certificate holders

fsc-.

On you can confirm certification status of a company

Global search for FSC certified forests:

The advantage of this certified forest list is the contact details like telephone numbers are included.

Most up to date information on which forests and which companies are certified can be found on the main FSC International website - however here information is mainly aimed at providing an overview rather than to help establish contact.

Check approved FSC certifiers on

Assistance With Group Certification

Group Certification Toolkit (2001)

Procedures, guidance notes, forms and instructions for use on how to set up an FSC approved Group Certification Scheme. For use by forest managers, forest owners, co-operatives, communities and harvesting companies.

((case studies ( group certification)

A Practical Guide to Developing a Group Scheme for FSC-Accredited Certification of Forests: Final Draft (2001)

Learning From Others

500 companies are part of the WWF co-ordinated Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN), committed to responsible forest management and trade. They represent a wide range of actors including forest owners, timber processors, construction companies, retailers, investment agencies and local authorities. Members vary from small family-owned businesses to world scale leading companies such as IKEA and the Home Depot. They are committed to gradually producing, trading and/or sourcing independently certified forest products. Find more information about GFTN at:

To learn from the experiences of other companies who are already part of the network get in touch with one of the forest and trade network co-ordinators. Contact details can be found on

Further Contacts for Assistance With Certification

For assistance on Procurement and Supply Chain Development, FSC Chain of Custody – Implementation contact

Multiple Solutions for the World´s Forests by WWF

WWF works on forest conservation through a multiplicity of approaches and strategies which are pursued together with regional and global partners: Credible Forest Certification, High Conservation Value Forests, combating illegal logging and forest crime, preventing forest fires, restoring damaged and degraded forests and forest protection. WWF's Forests for Life Programme has developed position papers on global forest issues which are available on

The World Bank/ WWF Alliance was formed in 1998 and draws on the comparative institutional strengths of the partner institutions:

• the Bank's access to policy dialogue, convening power, analytical capacity and financing operations,

• WWF's strong field presence, private sector partnerships, public trust and forest conservation expertise.

By combining the strengths of the Bank and WWF, and their partners, the Alliance is uniquely positioned to effect changes in forest policy and practices, to help safeguard biodiversity, and alleviate poverty.

With forests being depleted globally at a rate of 28 hectares per minute, the stakes are high. Urgent, significant and coordinated actions on a global scale are needed to arrest the precipitous and relentless declines in forest cover, the concomitant loss of biodiversity, and the effects on the livelihoods of forest-dependent people.

For more information on the World Bank/ WWF Alliance go to

For further information please contact

(contact address of NO)

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