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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
Clearcut
Free Logging Operation Certified in B.C., Canada
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Forest
Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
December
1, 1995
OVERVIEW
& SOURCE
Greenpeace
announces Canada's first eco-certified forestry site.
Internationally
their is a growing demand for ecologically
harvested
timber products. Ecoforestry aims for
ecological as
well as
timber volume sustainability. Canada's
first certified
ecoforestry
project is being logged by "single tree selection", a
labour-intensive
system which leaves the forest intact (4 out of 5
trees
left standing) even after logging is done.
Timber is
produced
and forests; with most biodiversity and ecological
functionality,
remain after harvest. If we are to have
forests
and not
just tree plantations into the next century; human forest
products
needs are going to have to be met through such
sustainable
forest management. Time is running out
for the
philosophically
pleasing; but in practice, difficult to implement,
notion
of ecologically sustainable forest management.
g.b.
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GREENPEACE PRESS RELEASE
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GREENPEACE APPROVES OF "CLEARCUT-FREE" LOGGING Operation in
British
Columbia awarded Canada's first certification
for
ecologically
responsible forestry
VANCOUVER,
B.C., 30 November, 1995 (GP) Greenpeace today
heralded
a new beginning for B.C.'s forest industry, with the
announcement
of Canada's first eco-certified forestry site. The
announcement
comes after two years of having searched B.C. for
logging
operations that could meet the growing international
demand
for environmentally certified wood products.
The
Silva Forest Foundation, headed by renowned forester Herb
Hammond,
have given their stamp of approval to a Vernon
operation,
run by the Ministry of Forests Small Business
Programme.
The timing couldn't be better. Internationally,
consumer
demand is increasing for certified wood products and
companies
in Austria and elsewhere are waiting in the wings to
buy
Canada's first independently certified eco-timber.
"Consumers
don't want to buy into forest destruction," said
Forests
Campaigner Tamara Stark. "The report being released today
proves
that it's possible to protect the forest and still make
money.
The question now is: can Canada's logging industry rise to
the
challenge?"
Canada's
first certified site is being logged by "single tree
selection",
a labour-intensive system which leaves the forest
intact
even after logging is done. Four out of five trees will be
left
standing, no pesticides will be used and the natural
structure
of the forest maintained. Silva Forest Foundation has
worked
to comply with the principles of the international
certification
organisation, the Forest Stewardship Council, of
which
they are a member.
"What's
remains after logging is a forest, pure and simple, and
the
people in Vernon are really happy about that," said Herb
Hammond.
"This certification ensures that forests are protected,
while
providing social and economic benefits to people who rely
on the
forest for their livelihoods."
To
garner more national and international attention for the
excellent
work being done by the team in Vernon, Greenpeace is
releasing
the report (entitled Clearcut-free: Just Did It) in the
UK, US,
Austria, Germany and numerous other countries.
"Staff
at the Vernon Forest District, and myself in particular,
are
pleased that at least two of our harvesting operations meet
strict
ecological guidelines for certification," said District
Manager
Ken Belik. "We in the Forest Service are supportive of
any
certification program that encourages better resource
stewardship,
meets the needs of consumers, and is considerate of
those
dependent upon the forest."
"This
is the kind of assurance customers are looking for," said
Catherine
Mater, an American forestry consultant whose company
assists
others in developing new technologies and marketing
tools.
Mater said that the demand for certified wood now far
exceeds
the available supply and added, "The fundamental fabric
of the
forest products industry is clearly changing."
Greenpeace
is challenging Canada's logging companies to meet the
demand
for independently certified wood products and provide
consumers
with the guarantee that forest products are supplied
without
sacrificing biological diversity or the long-term
employment
of Canadians in the forests sector.
FOR
MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Tamara
Stark, Greenpeace 604-253-7701 or by cell phone at the
conference
329-2991 Herb Hammond, Silva, at the above numbers or,
after
November 30th, at 604-226-7222 Catherine Mater, Mater
Engineering
503-753-7335
BACKGROUNDER ON INDEPENDENT
CERTIFICATION
International
awareness of the true ecological costs of forest
products
based on current logging practices has increased
dramatically. The value of an intact ecosystem and habitat
protection
is much more widely recognized and has translated into
an
international demand for clearcut-free and certified wood
products. The demand is growing rapidly.
Eight
of Germany's largest publishers have stated a preference
for
clearcut-free paper. In Canada, The Toronto School Board and
35 of
the nation's best-known authors have done the same.
A
buyers' group in the United Kingdom, consisting of 50 top
retailers,
have committed to purchasing only wood products that
have
been certified according to the standards of the Forest
Stewardship
Council (FSC). This market is now worth well over $2-
billion
and growing.
The FSC
is an international certification organisation that is
gaining
broad-based international support amongst buyers' groups,
whose
customers are pressuring them to guarantee that the wood
products
they buy do not contribute to forest destruction.
Similar
buyers' groups are being created in a number of European
countries,
as well as in North America.
Recent
research conducted by Mater Engineering, a forestry
consultant
company that has been in business in the United States
for
half a century, shows that the demand for certified wood is
being
drive by both consumer demand and responsible retailers to
supply
the consumers.
Catherine
Mater has just completed an extensive survey of both
consumers
and secondary wood manufacturers and published research
through
the Department of Forestry at Penn State University which
indicates
a majority would be willing to pay a premium price for
certified
products.
Consumers
perceive a need for environmental certification of
temperate
forests. Over 90 per cent of wood
product
manufacturers
stated a preference for certified lumber for their
operations.
Over 70 per cent of surveyed consumers said they were
looking
for independent certification as opposed to government or
industry
certification.
In
addition to this overwhelming support for ecoforestry
operations
in the industry and in end-use consumers, there was
also an
indicated willingness to pay a premium for certified wood
products.
Of the home centres surveyed, there was almost complete
unanimity
in stating preference for certified wood products. Over
50 per
cent of those same home centres indicated willingness to
pay
more in order to offer ecologically responsible wood products
to
their customers.
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pieces;
though ultimate responsibility for verifying all
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Archives
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Enterprises/ 301K Eagle Heights/ Madison, WI
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