Moves to create an international framework for mutual recognition between different forest certification schemes have been blocked by Greenpeace and WWF.
The proposal by the International Forest Industries Roundtable (IFIR) for mutual recognition was dismissed as ‘fundamentally flawed’ by eNGOs in Rome on Monday during a two-day seminar – Building Confidence Among Forest Certification Schemes and their Supporters.
The seminar, hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the German Association for Technical Co-operation and the International Tropical Timber Organisation, attracted delegates from around the world.
The Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF), the Committee of Agricultural Organisations in the EU (COPA-COCEGA), the European Confederation of Woodworking Industries (CEI-Bois) and the European Timber Trade Association (FEBO) backed the IFIR’s call for mututal recognition, saying it is time to stop the ‘tribal warfare’.
However, the eNGOs were adamant that the Forest Stewardship Council is currently the only credible system.
Heiko Liedeker, chairman of the European Forest Team of WWF said: ‘The world’s forests need to achieve the standards of FSC rather than more certification schemes or mutual recognition frameworks.’
Meanwhile, the Finnish Forest Industries Federation, says the Pan-European Forest Certification Council and the Forest Stewardship Council should not be construed as being competitive, but as systems serving to complement each other.
It also says the eNGOs campaign which criticises both schemes is unjustified.
