12/06/00
OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY
by Forests.org

Recent significant strides in achieving responsible, ecologically minded forest management standards, such as those enshrined in environmentally rigorous Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards, are at stake. The business as usual commercial timber industry is rushing to hi-jack the term "certified forestry" - much as the term "sustainable" has been usurped and essentially made meaningless in practice. Below is a story that highlights the lucrative nature of achieving certification of forest management practices. Another provides an example of established timber industry bad actors rushing to achieve meaningless certifications standards. The Canadian and other industrial loggers are ramping up bogus certification schemes to legitimize their plunder of the World's forests. Any "certification" of forest management practices must meet or exceed those of the Forest Stewardship Council to yield any substantial benefits in terms of conserving forests. Those in the forest conservation movement that have embraced market based mechanisms such as certification as the preferred means to conserve the World's forests must be vigilante to ensure that their efforts do not instead legitimize liquidation of remaining forest wildernesses. Nothing less than FSC certification is acceptable; and indeed, strengthening of standards - particularly determining when no management and strict preservation is the preferred option - is required to ensure forest certification truly is a viable tool to contribute to global forest sustainability.
g.b.

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ITEM #1
Europeans open their wallets for eco-certified rainforest cedar
Vancouver Sun, www.VancouverSun.com
December 5, 2000
Gordon Hamilton Vancouver Sun

Complying with the world's toughest ecological standards opens a lucrative lumber market

When Shawood Lumber owner Andy Shaw was trying to sell British Columbia cedar in Europe earlier this fall he met stiff resistance until he told his clients he had eco-certified wood.

Shaw is the first B.C. sawmiller to get a supply of rainforest logs certified to the most stringent world eco-standard -- the Forest Stewardship Council. He was shocked at the response from his client.

"They wanted to buy everything I had," he said of the Netherlands customer he was dealing with.

And not only did they buy his wood, they paid him a five-per-cent premium. It's a $1.5-million deal for 300,000 board feet of prime B.C. cedar and Monday the first truckloads with the FSC greentree logo stapled on the side began rolling out of Shawood's Langley sawmill. It is this province's first major shipment of rainforest lumber that even Greenpeace agrees is okay.

"In terms of the kind of vision and commitment they are showing in moving quickly on this, clearly they should be supported," said Tamara Stark, forest campaigner for Greenpeace and a veteran of anti- logging campaigns from Clayoquot Sound to the central coast.

Shaw's value-added mill is the final link in a chain of certification that stretches from the front gate of the Langley operation to a Fraser River primary sawmill where the logs are cut in large planks, to the towboats that haul the logs down the coast, and finally to a small logging camp on Knight Inlet, where the timber is harvested selectively, leaving behind a complete forest eco-system.

The lumber is prime western red cedar, selling for $3,000 for 1,000 board feet. It is the best lumber B.C. produces, clear-grained and durable. It sells for almost 10 times the value of construction lumber.

Shaw was not a strong believer in the certification movement until he bought the eco-logs from Timfor Contractors, an FSC-certified logging operation run by long-time forester Esmond Preus.

Shaw quickly converted, however, when he saw the enthusiasm among Europeans for his new product. When he looked further, the size of the market and the determination of the Europeans to use eco- certified wood took him by surprise: He was contacted by one consortium in the United Kingdom representing companies with annual sales of $7.7 billion. They are committed to using eco-certified wood by 2003 and they prefer the stringent FSC system over other industry- initiated systems.

"It's a $7.7 billion market. That's billion -- not million," he said, as if he was still trying to convince himself as much as his listener that eco-certification is for real.

Shawood has cracked the door open to that market but Shaw said his customers want assurances they can continue to buy FSC-certified wood. Promising a dependable supply, however, is still an open question.

Timfor is B.C.'s only major logging operation to have the FCS seal of approval. The company has a non-replaceable forest licence for 175,000 cubic metres of timber. They have already logged half of it and expect to log the remaining 80,000 cubic metres in 2001. Once that is gone, there are no guarantees the province will provide them with more timber. And there is no certainty other operators will achieve FSC-certification.

The forests ministry has no policy recognizing FSC wood and it is costly to operators like Timfor to operate without the certainty of supply.

Forests Minister Gordon Wilson said Monday he recognizes the dilemma B.C. operators face when they are seeking new markets for eco-wood and the government does not want to be seen as an obstacle. "Obviously there is a challenge to government now," he said.

Wilson said the forests ministry intends to make more timber available through open-market bidding to companies that become eco- certified but there are several hurdles to overcome first.

Specifically, major licensees who control most of the province's timber must be willing to give up some of their tenure to make timber available to independents like Timfor, he said.

Also, there is still a dispute among B.C. producers over which eco- certification system will ultimately win out in the global marketplace. Producers prefer to have a number of systems to offer customers, including the Canadian Standards Association and the International Standards Organization systems. FSC is generally considered to be more environmentally stringent. Shaw said he is convinced that is the system the European buyers want. The issue, he said, is clearcutting.

"It seems highly unlikely they would buy from someone who clearcuts. That is the whole thing they are trying to stop," he said.

ITEM #2

TimberWest First Canadian Company to Achieve Third Party Sustainable Forest
TimberWest Forest Corp. via Copyright 2000 PR Newswire
December 5, 2000
Gordon Hamilton Vancouver Sun

BC's largest private forest land owner says certification is critical to meeting customers needs

VANCOUVER, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ - TimberWest has achieved sustainable forest management certification for its forestry operations on private land under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative SFI(SM) program, which is critical for meeting the needs of customers.

``Customers are seeking third party assurance that TimberWest is actively pursuing sustainable forestry through a credible certification system that evaluates our performance against internationally accepted standards,'' says John Phillips, TimberWest management forester.

``SFI(SM) certification is widely recognized in the American marketplace by major purchasers of forest products. TimberWest's certification will help us to attract and keep customers, thereby providing work for our employees and our contractors.'' This new certification builds on the international ISO 14001 environmental management system certification TimberWest received in 1999.

TimberWest is the first Canadian Company to complete third party verification under the American Forest & Paper Association's Sustainable Forestry Initiative(SM) licensing program. The SFI program is a rigorous system of environmental and conservation practices that includes requirements for wildlife protection, biodiversity conservation, harvesting practices and a wide range of other forest management goals.

``The decision by TimberWest to pursue an independent audit under the SFI program is a testament to the company's commitment to sustainable forestry,'' said W. Henson Moore, President & CEO of the American Forest & Paper Association. ``I commend TimberWest and proudly recognize the company as the first SFI program Licensee outside the United States to successfully achieve third-party certification.''

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative program is one of the world's largest sustainable forestry certification systems and is the fastest growing system in North America. The SFI program has already certified 10.5 million hectares of private forest land in North America and expects that to increase to 21.5 million hectares by the end of 2001.

KPMG Quality Registrar Inc. conducted an independent third party verification audit of TimberWest's 334,000 hectares of private forest land. Key components of the audit are the verification of the company's planning processes, including treatment of non-timber values such as wildlife and biodiversity; the company's practices on the ground; and continuous improvement processes. The KPMG audit team, which included experts in silviculture, forest ecology and forest management systems, assessed performance against the 11 sustainable forest management objectives and 35 performance measures of the SFI Program.

``We actually instructed the auditors to develop performance measures incremental to SFI program requirements,'' says Phillips. ``This provides us with a clearer picture of our overall performance, indicating where we significantly exceed industry norms and areas for continual improvement initiatives.'' For example, TimberWest's watershed management program exceeds the requirements of SFI water quality objectives.

``I'm proud of this achievement,'' says TimberWest Board member Paul McElligott, who becomes the company's president and CEO in January. ``As the largest private forest land owner in BC, we need to be the leader when it comes to certification. It's vital that we demonstrate to all of our stakeholders that we take our environmental responsibilities seriously and this will ultimately benefit our employees, contractors and communities.''

``Sustaining these benefits depends upon the commitment of every employee and contractor,'' Phillips says. ``We will be subject to periodic audits and to keep our certification, we must demonstrate both performance and continual improvement in our land management systems and practices.''

SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY INITIATIVE (SFI) CERTIFICATION BACKGROUNDER

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative program is one of the world's largest sustainable forestry certification systems and is the fastest growing sustainable forest management program in North America. By the end of 2000, over 12 million hectares will be third party certified and by the end of 2001 this figure will have risen to over 20 million hectares. The SFI program is rapidly gaining acceptance in the marketplace. For example, Centex Homes, one of the largest homebuilder in the U.S., and 84 Lumber, one of the largest wood retailers in the U.S. have both recently announced environmental purchasing policies giving preference to SFI along with other credible forestry certification systems.

Highlights of the SFI program:

Program is controlled by a multi-interest independent, neutral, Sustainable Forestry Board (SFB). It is composed of 15 members, 60 percent of whom are from diverse interest groups including environmental/conservation organizations, agency representatives, professional/academic groups, landowners and logging professionals.

Independent audits are conducted to assess applicants performance against 11 forest management objectives and 35 mandatory performance measures. Included is a requirement that harvest levels be sustainable.

The program currently involves U.S. companies and licensees representing 90% of the industrial timberland, 84% of paper production and 50% of solid wood production. The program was extended to Canada this year.

The program is very disciplined and since inception, 16 companies have been expelled for non-compliance and 22 have been suspended.

Program participants have spent $317 million US on research related to wildlife, biodiversity, ecosystem management, and the environment.

Training in sustainable forestry practices is a requirement of the program and in 1999, 44,000 independent loggers and foresters have been trained and an additional 33,000 have partially completed training programs.

Local implementation committees have spent $14 million US on landowner outreach and logger training.

The program has received several prestigious national awards, the latest being from the U.S. Renew America/President's Council on Sustainable Development.

Continual improvement is a requirement, and periodic independent audits assess progress and achievements.

Extensive consumer perception research has been completed to test various on-product labels and claims to ensure that labelling under the SFI program is effective and credible.

The program is supported by 10 important U.S. organized labour unions who are actively promoting the SFI program within the U.S., and are working with organized labour around the world to ensure that there is mutual recognition of sustainable forest management certification programs. Error: Unable to read footer file.