A new report which says the Forest Stewardship Council has the only credible environmental certification scheme has been backed by the Worldwide Fund for Nature. But the timber industry has questioned its impartiality and accuracy.
The “Footsteps in the Forest” study was written by the environmental NGO FERN (Forests and the EU Resource Network). It looks at eight schemes and condemns six as having been “primarily developed by the forestry industry with little or no participation from other stakeholders”. It also said half do not make certification reports freely available and social issues are not sufficiently addressed by any of them, although the FSC is ahead in this area.
But the report’s critics say that FERN fails to highlight that it is an FSC member. Nor is this mentioned in a statement publicising the report from WWF.
Ben Gunneberg, secretary-general of the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification, also said facts supplied to FERN had not been included. “It’s a very weak report. It was written by supporters of FSC who have not been involved in other schemes.”
Chew Lye Teng, of the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC), whose scheme is also criticised, said that the FERN representative in Malaysia had only approached opponents of the MTCC process.
Director Saskia Ozinga said FERN was represented on the FSC board via NGO umbrella group Forest Movement Europe. But she added “to say we are only positive about FSC because we are members is totally not true. We are also
critical of aspects of FSC.”
The WWF said that the fact FSC did not “get away scot free” in the report added to its credibility.
