Certified timber market speaks for itself

WWF’s response

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG) – Allegations made in a new report that WWF is obstructing PNG’s development are completely baseless and unfounded, says the global conservation organisation. The report ‘Whatever it takes: Greenpeace’s anti-forestry campaign in Papua New Guinea’ [1], commissioned by Rimbunan Hijau, PNG’s largest forestry company, also falsely alleges that WWF is pressuring buyers in Europe and Australia not to buy timber products from PNG.

“Rather than providing constructive comments on the potential for indigenous communities in PNG to actively participate in supplying sustainable timber products to the international market, the report chooses to undermine WWF efforts to develop local people’s capacities to play on a level playing field”,
said Michael Avosa, WWF-PNG’s Country Programme Manager.

 

Extraordinarily, the report also accuses NGOs of engaging in a global campaign to replace commercial forestry with eco-forestry. “WWF works with communities on small-scale eco-forestry projects, but we also work with commercial forestry companies all over the world who appreciate that truly sustainable forestry provides greater economic and social benefits to themselves and the owners of the resource,” said Ted Mamu, WWF-PNG’s Sustainable Forestry Officer. “We’ve been trying to develop similar work in PNG with logging companies, but haven’t got very far,” he added.

Much of the criticism levied against WWF in the report is wrongly based on the assumption that WWF owns and manages the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) [2], an independent forest management scheme. The report also claims that buying FSC-certified forest products is a condition of becoming a member of WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network [3] - this is not true, and if it were, would contravene EU anti-monopoly laws.

“The author’s lack of knowledge on these initiatives, has resulted in misinformation and confusion, and has wrongfully harmed WWF’s reputation in PNG”, said Mr Mamu.

Global wood importers, suppliers, retailers and consumers are increasingly demanding greater evidence that environmental criteria are being applied and met on the wood they purchase. In June, the UK Timber Trade Federation issued its own press release advising its members “sourcing wood products made from timber from Papua New Guinea (PNG) or the Solomon Islands was 'high risk'”, in that such evidence is not available [4].

WWF promotes and supports the FSC because timber-consuming countries recognise the FSC as one of the few schemes that guarantees the timber has come from a legal and sustainable source.

“Despite the fact that the PNG Government recognises the FSC as a voluntary certification scheme, the international timber market is otherwise showing FSC or equivalent schemes are mandatory”, said Mr Avosa.

“Consumers in Europe and the United States and increasingly in other major timber markets, are not interested in uncertified timber. Whether the PNG logging industry or the Minister for Forests like it or not, this is the reality of today’s international timber market trend and it speaks volumes for itself”, he added.

Notes to the Editor:

WWF has been working in PNG since 1995. Our work focuses on linking community action, science and effective policy to ensure the protection and sustainable use of forests, freshwater and marine resources across the island of New Guinea.

1. “Whatever it takes: Greenpeace's anti-forestry campaign in Papua New Guinea” (July 2006), a report by ITS Global, an Australian consulting firm, for Rimbunan Hijau (PNG) Group
2. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), promotes good forest management practice, ensuring that it is environmentally appropriate, as well as socially and economically beneficial. The FSC is one of the few forest certification systems accepted internationally, including by environmental NGOs, which provides the guarantee that wood products have come from a legal and sustainable source. Today, 73 million hectares of the world’s forests in 72 countries have been FSC-certified. Forest products derived from FSC-certified forests are allowed to carry the FSC trademark.
3. WWF is helping forest managers in timber-producing countries to establish market links in timber–consuming countries, through itsGlobal Forest & Trade Network, a successful initiative that now includes more than 300 major timber producing and consuming companies worldwide.
4. See Timber Trade Federation (UK) press release: ‘TTF Advises Members on PNG and Solomons’, released on 28th June 2006.

For further information please contact the media team:

Ashwini Prabha (Ms), Communications Coordinator, WWF South Pacific Programme, Private Mail Bag, Suva, Fiji Islands. Telephone. +679 3315 533.

Christian Thompson, Communications & Policy Advisor, Forests of New Guinea, WWF Papua New Guinea. Telephone: +679 3315 533.

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