Michael Buckley of consultancy World Hardwoods comments on recent publicity about illegal logging
Natural forests face conversion to agriculture or plantations unless the market accepts timber from all sustainable forests, not just those certified by FSC.
The recent spate of protests against forest products by NGOs such as Greenpeace supporting only FSC-certified wood, and subsequent comment in the media, is following a pattern. Criticism against the timber trade in Europe, that more often should be laid at the doors of producing countries, is setting back the co-operation that was gradually developing between all interested parties. The latest British furore in the Guardian newspaper and on BBC‘s Newsnight programme on June 5 solely equated FSC certification with sustainability, but the two are separate issues. Forests can and are being sustained in many countries, although not necessarily certified by FSC. In the media, issues of forest sustainability and biodiversity are increasingly flavoured by illlustrations of the effects of timber harvesting on animals. The very short Newsnight discussion introduced animals a dozen times. Often ignored are the initiatives by many countries to implement best management forest practices and independent certification of the improved sustainable forestry, which now exists.
In the UK, recent calls by the Timber Trade Federation and Timber Trades Journal for the timber industry to be represented and to provide balanced argument on TV – so far largely ignored – may eventually bear fruit. In the meantime, inestimable damage may be done to the image of timber in the eyes of the public in Europe; for PR and green marketing techniques are powerful and should not be underestimated.
Surely what is needed is to recognise national forest laws as a prerequisite move to stamp out illegal logging. Transparency of forest management is also necessary. Then should come increased efforts towards mutual recognition with FSC of credible certification schemes, such as PEFC in Europe and SFI in North America; and eventually an international standard acceptable to all governments and consumers. The price of failure to act on this issue could soon be a serious reduction in the consumption of timber in favour of energy-consuming, highly polluting substitute materials. Furthermore, failure to promote and accept the national best practices of managing natural forest can result in more plantations, where biodiversity is minimal. The interest and support of European consumers will best be harnessed if the positive elements of legal forestry are explained and promoted. The best way to achieve that is to recognise credible certification schemes in order to increase the availability of certified timber in the market.
