British Forestry Commission Wins Green Approval for its Timber
11/29/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: British forests win green approval: Forestry Commission
produces more than half Britain's timber
Source: BBC News
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: November 29, 1999
Byline: Alex Kirby
The Forestry Commission, which owns and manages state-owned woodland
in England, Scotland and Wales, has won independent endorsement for
the timber it produces.
An eight-month long assessment concluded that the wood grown on the
Commission's holdings, which total more than 800,000 hectares, meets
the highest international environmental, economic and social
standards.
The standards, set by the UK Woodland Assurance Scheme, fit the
criteria established by the Forest Stewardship Council, an
international body which promotes good forestry management.
This means that products made from timber from any of the
Commission's forests will be allowed to carry a label certifying
their green origins, potentially important selling point.
The award of FSC certification to the Commission's timber means that
Britain now has the sixth-largest area of certified forest in the
world.
A lead to follow
Most woodland in Britain is in private hands, and only about 16,000
hectares of it has so far been certified as meeting the FSC's
criteria.
The UK Government's Forestry Minister, Elliot Morley, said work was
going on to make certification accessible to everyone, and he hoped
many private owners would follow the Commission's lead.
The assessment covered several areas of the Commission's activities,
including felling the timber, the effects on landscapes and wildlife
management, health and safety issues, and community involvement.
The news that the Commission's timber had been certified brought an
enthusiastic response from the World Wide Fund for Nature.
David Cowdry of WWF told BBC News Online: "This is fantastic news, a
massive step forward.
"The Commission's timber represents 60% of total British production,
and the Commission does face commercial pressure to deliver timber
with a green label on it.
"The message to owners of woodlands is clear: if you want a secure
market in the future, you're going to have to raise your
environmental standards.
"WWF helped to set up the Forest Stewardship Council, and its
standard is the best in the world for forest management.
"If all the world's forests were managed to the FSC standard, we'd
have won the battle."