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|Newsletter Forestry and Wood Certification | |

| |No. 1 – July 2000 |

| | |

Contents

Certification in Europe 1

Twelve Per Cent of Swiss Timber Production

FSC-certified by the End of 2000 1

Latvian State Forest Goes FSC 2

First Hunters´ Association Worldwide

Approved as Member of FSC 2

Austria: First Forests to be FSC-certified

- Largest DIY-chain Goes FSC 2

Model Project Compares FSC and PEFC 2

Federal State Governments in Germany Attempt to

Blackmail the Wood Markets 2

PEFC Does Not Fulfil Minimum Credibility Requirements 3

Gascogne and Poland Certified in March 2000 3

Cost Saving by Collaboration 3

FSC – a Solution for Socially Responsible Investment 3

Certification Worldwide 4

WWF Millennium Conference and Trade Fair 4

Brazil: Growing Network of FSC Forests 4

Brazilian Forest and Trade Network Founded 4

Tropical Forest Trust Gains Momentum 5

Russian Association of Ecologically Responsible

Timber Producers Launched 5

Hope for Russian Forests 5

Canadian Companies to Stop Buying Ancient Forest

Products of Uncertain Origin 5

FSC Successful in British Columbia 6

School Includes Certified Douglas Fir in

Building Project 6

Certification in Europe

Twelve Per Cent of Swiss Timber Production FSC-certified by the End of 2000

On 10 July 2000, the WWF (World Wide Fund For Nature) together with representatives of several federal states in Switzerland, announced that 70,000 hectares of forest land contributing twelve per cent to Switzerland’s annual timber production, will be certified under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) by the end of this year.

In four federal states various state-owned, community and private forests have recently been certified. Within the coming weeks, certification of additional forest holdings in three more federal states will get under way. WWF expects over 40 per cent of the timber harvested in Switzerland will carry the FSC label within the next four to five years.

This development is the result of the adoption of Swiss national standards on forest certification in June 1999. These standards include a commitment to establish protected areas accounting for 10 per cent of the certified forest area.

"The independent evaluation and monitoring of FSC certification schemes, its support by environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the worldwide presence were factors that encouraged forest owners in the state of Solothurn to certify their forests according to FSC," says Thomas Wallner, Solothurn’s Minister of Economic Affairs. "FSC will also strengthen our position on the timber market. It will allow us to secure our present market share and customers and we will be able to access new markets and convince new customers."

Source: Press release WWF International, Gland (Switzerland), 10 July 2000

Latvian State Forest Goes FSC

The state-owned company ‘Latvian State Forest’ has decided to certify 50 per cent of all state owned forest area (approx. 1,4 million hectares) according to FSC by 2002. This was announced on 6 June 2000 at the WWF Millennium Forests for Life Conference in London.

President Robert Stripnieka of the Latvian State Forest: “We hope to achieve certification of the first key regions in 18 months. This will greatly enhance the ability of UK companies buying in Latvia to source FSC material and, consequently, guarantee future successful commerce and sustainability for Latvia’s forests”.

Europe is Latvia’s main export market for timber. This commitment is particularly significant for the UK, which accounts for 41 per cent of Latvia’s timber export. Latvia is the third biggest supplier of timber to the UK. Its products represent 20 per cent of all timber imported in the UK. The decision was greatly encouraged and welcomed by the Latvian forest and wood processing industry.

A report released at the WWF Millennium Conference examines the role that independent certification of forests can play in the struggle for protection of the world’s forests. Since 1990, WWF has built up a growing global network of more than 600 companies supporting the FSC to improve forest management worldwide.

Source: Press release WWF International, Gland (Switzerland), 6 June 2000

First Hunters’ Association Worldwide Approved as Member of FSC

The Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management (SAHWM), Sweden’s largest hunters’ association, has been officially approved as members of the FSC. This is of great significance, since hunters play an important role in implementing good forest management. SAHWM, established in 1830, has 196,000 members of which more than 40 per cent are private forest owners.

Source: Press release WWF Germany, 26 June 2000

Austria: First Forests to be FSC-certified - Largest DIY-chain Goes FSC

On 30 June 2000, the first three private forest operations in Austria declared they will certify their forests (approx. 3,500 hectares) according to FSC. On the same day, bauMax, the largest Austrian do-it-yourself chain, announced it will offer its customers FSC certified timber products.

“bauMax welcomes that there now are forest owners in Austria supplying FSC certified wood, since this is an important step towards thriving and well-managed forests. bauMax will actively support this project and will increasingly offer its customers FSC certified wood products”, states Martin Essl, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the bauMax AG.

Source: ENDS Environment Daily, ends.co.uk/envdaily/, 3 July 2000

Model Project Compares FSC and PEFC

In the German district of Ostwestfalen-Lippe, the two certification systems FSC and PEFC (Pan European Forest Certification) are being compared in a model project. The project covers approx. 75,000 hectares and is certified according to both systems. The certification will cover privately owned, communal, and state forests.

The aim of the project is to compare the certification schemes of FSC and PEFC and evaluate the respective market responses to each of the schemes. The project was designed to clearly demonstrate the differences between the two schemes to stakeholders, as well as market partners.

Source: Landwirtschaftliches Wochenblatt Westfalen-Lippe, Germany, 17 February 2000 and Z-Com, 26 April 2000

Federal State Governments in Germany Attempt to Blackmail the Wood Markets

In March 2000, the Ministers of Forestry of the three German federal states of Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg and Thuringia attempted to intimidate Mr Manfred Maus, Chief Executive Officer, of the biggest German DIY-chain OBI, to withdraw the company’s preference for products carrying the FSC logo.

The German environmental organizations BUND (member of Friends of the Earth), Greenpeace, NABU (member of BirdLife International), Robin Wood and WWF and the IG BAU (trade union for construction, agriculture, environment) and IG Metall (metal-workers union) addressed the forest ministers of the three states in an open letter. The respective governments were asked to abstain from further interventions undermining a market economy. Instead they should support companies favoring the international forest certification system, FSC.

Source: Holzzentralblatt, Germany, 12 April 2000

PEFC Does Not Fulfil Minimum Credibility Requirements

European NGOs reject PEFC

On 8 April 2000, all relevant European NGOs working on forest conservation gathered in Antwerp, Belgium. In a joint statement the NGOs expressed their serious concern about global and regional threats to forests and forest values:

Forest certification was developed over the past years to safeguard the remaining forests and their respective biological diversity. It is a tool to provide market recognition for those who are prepared to implement good forest management. The undersigned organizations welcome the fact that the European forest owners’ associations have shifted their position from a total denial of forest management certification towards a more proactive approach. However, they identified at least three basic requirements where PEFC is still deficient:

1. PEFC must demonstrate that it will ensure meaningful improvement of forest management in Europe.

2. PEFC must fully respect UNCED (i.e. the Agenda 21) and give equal representation and decision making competence to all stakeholders.

3. The PEFC system must ensure international compatibility.

Among the undersigned organizations were: WWF, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Pro Regenwald and Robin Wood.

Source: Joint statement Forest Movement Europe, Antwerp (Belgium), 8 April 2000

Gascogne and Poland Certified in March 2000

In March 2000, the area of FSC certified forests in Europe increased considerably. All of the state forests of the Bialystok region in Poland (except the districts of Bialowieza, Browsk and Hajnowka) with an overall extent of 524,780 hectares were certified. The certifier SGS Forestry Ltd. consulted different environmental organizations and other stakeholders. Amongst others, WWF attested that these certified forests are of outstanding importance in Europe.

France also takes part in forest certification: 1,050 hectares of the Group Gascogne were certified. Both labels were issued by SGS.

Source: SGS FORESTRY - Qualifor Briefing Note 34, Switzerland, March 2000

Cost Saving by Collaboration

In the Netherlands, new ways of minimizing costs have been made possible for companies wishing to become certified by FSC and the Keurhout Foundation at the same occasion.

The two organizations agreed that both certificates could be awarded by the same certifier. During the evaluation, the criteria of both labels are being evaluated simultaneously. This collaboration will not imply mutual recognition between the two different systems, but it is an effective approach to reduce costs and to simplify the process of chain-of-custody-certification in the Netherlands.

Source: FSC Working Group Germany, 8 March 2000

FSC – a Solution for Socially Responsible Investment

On 3 July 2000, WWF called on the National Occupation Pension Funds in the UK to invest in forest product companies with good environmental performance and to encourage them to use the FSC certification.

Goef Pearson, Group Pension Manager at Sainsbury’s, a giant UK retailer and a long time member of WWFs Forest and Trade Network, declares: “Companies using FSC are good for our investment and good for the environment. From today on, we will be using FSC as one of the criteria when engaging with the forest sector, in order to implement our declared responsible engagement policy.”

A growing number of people in the UK demands to know where their pension funds are being invested, specifying that at least a proportion of them is invested in sectors of proven social, environmental or ethical benefits. WWF invites other companies to follow Sainsbury’s example and include FSC in their investment criteria.

Source: Press release WWF International, Gland (Switzerland), 3 July 2000

Certification Worldwide

WWF Millennium Conference and Trade Fair

On 6/7 June 2000, over 1,000 delegates from 50 countries and organizations attended WWFs Millennium Forests for Life Conference and the largest ever Global Trade Fair for certified timber and pulp in London. Some 90 companies and organizations had set up their stands displaying a wide range of certified products.

Government representatives from Bolivia to Vietnam, forest owners and managers from Latvia to Argentina and religious representatives from Sweden to India participated in the event. There were also delegations of local communities from Mexico and Brazil to woodcarving communities in Tanzania present, explaining first-hand how FSC certification benefits their lives.

The Trade Fair highlighted that FSC has now become mainstream and sets the standard for the forestry sector around the world. The 90 exhibitors at the fair impressively demonstrated that certification is equally accessible to small local communities, private forest owners and large producers as well as to the global industries for timber, pulp and paper. Products ranged from lumber to panels and wallpaper, from furniture to flooring and handcrafted carvings.

Source, further information and photo gallery: tradefair2000/tradefr2000.html and photogallery/special_certified-fp.html

Brazil: Growing Network of FSC Forests

In early June 2000, WWF announced a new commitment to FSC certification in Brazil, made at the organization’s Millennium Forests for Life Conference in London.

Mr Jorge Viana, the governor of the Brazilian state of Acre, announced the state’s goal to certify approx. 25 per cent of its forests, amounting to four million hectares, according to the principles and criteria of the FSC. The state will also use its own purchasing power to enforce its commitment to certified forestry. Furniture in schools and other timber products in state buildings will now come from FSC certified sources.

For Mr Viana, the certification of Acre’s forests provides significant ecological, economic, and social benefits: “Currently, timber from Acre lacks a competitive edge over that of neighboring states. FSC certification will make products from Acre competitive in both national and international markets.”

Source: Press release WWF International, Gland (Switzerland), 6 June 2000

Brazilian Forest and Trade Network Founded

In Brazil, which has one of the highest annual destruction rates of tropical rainforest in the world, companies start to take action. In Sao Paulo, a conference was held to establish a Brazilian Forest and Trade Network for certified timber on 11 April 2000. The network supports trade with FSC-certified tropical timber.

The conference was initiated by the Amazonia Program of the environmental organization Friends of the Earth. It was attended by 42 companies, ranging from trade and furniture to printing and publishing.

Source: Press release Friends of the Earth – Amazonia Program, 30 March 2000

Tropical Forest Trust Gains Momentum

The Tropical Forest Trust (TFT) – an organization founded in 1999 by a group of major European companies trading in garden furniture – has agreed to support a new forestry project in Malaysia, which will deliver FSC certified timber by the end of this year.

TFT members set aside a proportion of the production price of their tropical wood products. This money is then used to fund projects aimed at improving forest management in specific forest areas under FSC principles and criteria.

Membership of the TFT is growing steadily with 18 companies currently signed up. Additional support comes from UK DIY giant B&Q.

Source: Press release Tropical Forest Trust, 16 June 2000

Russian Association of Ecologically Responsible Timber Producers Launched

In late April 2000, the conference “Certification: A Mechanism for Sustainable Forest Management” in Moscow, was organized by the WWF Russian Programme Office as a starting point for the Russian Association of Ecologically Responsible Timber Producers.

It was attended by 60 timber companies from all over Russia, the Russian Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Chamber of Trade and Industry, investment banks and also interested buyers from Western Europe, including the Axel Springer Verlag, one of the biggest German publishers, and other German, Belgian, and US companies.

Topics included the necessity to facilitate direct business contacts between Russian companies and companies within WWF’s Forest and Trade Networks elsewhere in Europe. The association of ecologically responsible timber producers now includes 10 timber producers, and another 23 companies will join after approval by their respective boards.

The establishment of the association was funded by the WWF-World Bank Alliance.

Source: Information on conference “Certification: A Mechanism for Sustainable Forest Management”, Moscow, 27-28 April 2000

Hope for Russian Forests

On 17 March 2000, Khosinsky Leskhoz, a forest combine of the Altay region, obtained the first FSC certificate in Russia, according to an initiative of the British wood trading company Pricebatch Ltd. and The Body Shop.

After a successful audit by the certifier Soil Association, about 32,800 hectares of boreal deciduous forests in the Russian southeast were approved. The certificate includes the whole chain of custody, starting with silviculture and logging, over wood transport and processing to the export of the goods.

Source: WWF Russian Programme Office, March 2000

Canadian Companies to Stop Buying Ancient Forest Products of Uncertain Origin

16 Canadian firms have promised to abandon the use of paper products originating from old-growth forests. “This is the first time Canadian companies have publicly agreed to look for alternative sources for their paper and packaging,” says Nicole Rycroft, Manager of the Markets Initiative, a coalition of Canadian west coast environmental groups.

Among the firms are The Body Shop, Roots Canada, Nike Canada, Citizens Bank of Canada, and Bell Canada.

The commitment covers the use of alternative fibre sources such as the straw left behind from the wheat harvest, or well-managed second-growth forests.

Source: NATIONAL POST, Canada, 31 May 2000

FSC Successful in British Columbia

The Silva Forest Foundation has issued the first FSC labels to forests in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Cariboo Woodlot of Rod Blake east of Lake Williams amounts to 670 hectares, and on Vancouver Island the 130 hectares of the Allen Hopwood Logging Operations were certified.

Furthermore Silva certified four wood-working companies: Zirnhelt Brothers Sawmilling, Spokin Mountain Timbers, Fiesta Barbeques and Ornamentum Furniture represent the great variation of businesses engaged in FSC certification.

Source: Press release Silva Forest Foundation, Slocan Park, B.C. (Canada), 29 March 2000

School Includes Certified Douglas Fir in Building Project

Ross School in California, USA, has used around 22,000 board meters of FSC-certified framing lumber in a two-story, 1,600 square meter addition to the school.

The FSC-certified Douglas fir is sourced from EcoTimber of Berkeley, California, through The Collins Companies and Harwood Products. The lumber is used for all framing components such as walls, posts, floor joists, and roof rafters.

“On a wood frame building, I think the most significant sustainable design strategy an architect can choose is to specify certified framing lumber,” says Scott Shell, Project Manager for Esherick Homsey Dodge and Davis Architects in San Francisco. Scott estimates the extra cost of using certified wood over non-certified materials was approximately one-third of one per cent of the overall construction cost, or roughly $10,000.

“We found that using certified wood wasn’t that much more expensive than using other wood,” says Catherine Townsley, Head of Ross School.

Source:

Newsletter

Forestry and Wood Certification

For further information please contact:

Ellen von Zitzewitz

European Forest Policy Officer

Tel: +32-2-7438800

Fax:+32-2-7438819

Evonzitzewitz@

WWF European Policy Office

36, Av. de Tervuren Box 12

1040 Brussels

Belgium

Editorial staff:

Nina Griesshammer, Uwe Hoemer

WWF Germany

Rebstöcker Strasse 55, 60326 Frankfurt/Main

Phone: 0049 69 79144 -194/–211

e-mail:griesshammer@wwf.de / hoemer@wwf.de

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Including: News from the Trade Fair

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On 6-7 June 2000, the largest ever Global Trade Fair for certified timber products, from the first certified boat to garden furniture, was held in London (see page 4).

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