False Claims of Certified Tropical Timber in Germany
8/6/98
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: False Claims of Certified Tropical Timber in Germany
Source: Julio Cesar Centeno, PhD
Las Tapias, Edif. Carreto Pent House
Tel: +58-74-714576 PO Box 750
Fax: +58-74-714576 / 713814 Merida - Venezuela
JCenteno@telcel.net.ve
JCenteno@ula.ve
http://www.ciens.ula.ve/~jcenteno/
Status: Distribute freely with proper credit to source
Date: 8/6/98
A new case of false claims regarding the trade and use of allegedly "certified"
timber
has been uncovered in Germany. It involves, once again, the US based certifier
The
Rainforest Alliance, and its accreditor: the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
The
following is a press release that sheds some light on this case, further
exposing the
lack of professionalism, and eroding the credibility, of this certification
organization.
NEW CASE OF FALSE CLAIMS OF CERTIFIED TROPICAL TIMBER IN GERMANY
Does timber for the Baltic coast come from non-sustainable managed forests?
Pro Regenwald. Munich, Rostock (Germany). Contrary to information from the
responsible
authorities, major amounts of the tropical timber used for the protection of the
coast of
the Baltic Sea do not come from certified forests.
The promotion of environmentally and socially sound forestry, and the supposed
proven
source of the wood used, were the crucial arguments used by the state authority
in the
port city of Rostock for buying the tropical timber, in spite of the known
problem of
rainforest destruction often caused by bad forest management.
The Munich-based environmental organisation Pro REGENWALD, which is promoting
(with
others) improvements in forest management, condemns this example of consumer
deception,
and advises potential customers to refuse to buy tropical timber whose source is
not
satisfactorily proven.
The construction site on the Baltic coast of Germany has been seen up to now as
a model
project, as it is the first major application of certified tropical timber in
public
construction in Germany. The project has received a lot of praise since its
initiation in
October 1997, and both WWF-Germany and the Initiative for the Promotion of
Sustainable
Forestry (IFW) publicly welcomed the decision to use certified tropical wood.
Both
organisations have been promoting the marketing of FSC-certified timber for
years - FSC
is an organisation which defines and monitors criteria for good forest
management.
Stefan Schardt, director of the IFW, which is engaged in proving the source of
certified
timber remembers: "In this simple case thorough research was not necessary. It
was raw
timber and there was only one supplier."
Investigations by Pro REGENWALD have proved that a major amount of the
Acaricuara-logs
shipped to Rostock (worth about $800,000) did not come from certified sources.
Laszlo
Maraz from Pro REGENWALD says, "When we became aware of the huge amount of
timber which
will be used this year alone, we became curious and asked about the source. At
the moment
we are still not sure, how many of the 14,000 piles come from non-sustainable
sources."
The Swiss based company Precious Woods simply purchased the durable Acaricuara
logs from
a Brazilian timber company because their certified forest in Brazil couldn't
provide
sufficient timber. The director of Precious Woods, Mr. Daniel Heuer, told Pro
REGENWALD
that the certifier IMAFLORA and the purchaser were well-informed about the
deal: "They
had full knowledge of the facts. The buyer was also aware of the situation."
(Note: IMAFLORA is not an accredited certifier. The official certifier involved
is the
Rainforest Alliance Smartwood Program, an FSC accredited organization based in
the US.
The Rainforest Alliance operates in Brazil in cooperation with the local NGO
Imaflora.
The certificate involed in this case was issued by the Rainforest Alliance)
The local authorities in Germany are obvioulsy not well-informed about the
uncertified
source. When asked, the environmental authority in Rostock said that Precious
Woods had
always confirmed that all logs were certified.
Local environmental groups are shocked by the news. Dr. Michael Kreuzberg from
the Gruene
Liga (Green League) in Rostock said, "Any objections to the use of tropical
timber were
countered by the argument that only certified logs would be used. If the
Ministry in
Schwerin (capital of the north-east German state of Mecklenburg -Vorpommern) has
withheld
this information from the public, this could lead to a severe loss of
confidence."
A representative of IMAFLORA (which cooperates with Rainforest Alliance's Smart
Wood
Programme) confirmed to Pro REGENWALD that Precious Woods had purchased timber
from the
timber company MW Florestal. The Brazilian environmental authority IBAMA had
authorised
the deal, but it is common knowledge that such authorisation is not worth very
much, and
certainly cannot be seen as any sort of "Eco"label.
Pro REGENWALD's Maraz: "The authorities in Rostock should consider filing a
lawsuit for
damages. If you order certified timber, you shouldn't receive just any wood. The
credibility of the FSC is at stake, as is taxpayers' money."