topic: Forest Stewardship Council

topic: Forest Stewardship Council

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NGOs say FSC label offers little protection for forests, Indigenous people
- The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a widely recognized ethical wood label, came under fire from NGOs this week for systematic flaws that allow deforestation and companies with questionable human rights records to benefit from certification.
- Forest certification allows timber suppliers to attract discerning, high-paying customers, adopt an eco-friendly image, and meet requirements to access lucrative markets, like the EU.
- Earlier this year, Greenpeace International published a report arguing that the FSC had “greenwashed” forest destruction, highlighting a trend of increasing deforestation and degradation despite the expansion of certification.
- In the Congo Basin, which hosts the second-largest tract of rainforest after the Amazon, the area under FSC certification has, in fact, shrunk, and even in certified concessions, experts say, valuable intact forestland is under threat.

Spike in deforestation detected in Papua concession linked to South Korea’s Moorim
- Satellite imagery has detected 965 hectares (2,384 acres) of tree loss from January to May this year in a concession run by a subsidiary of South Korean paper company Moorim in Indonesia’s easternmost region of Papua.
- The findings appear to corroborate an earlier investigation, using drone images, that showed signs of clearing in peat swamp areas in the concession.
- Besides the alleged deforestation, Indigenous communities in the area have also reportedly been denied the right to give their free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) to the project.
- The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which certifies Moorim’s paper products as sustainable, says its takes these allegations “very seriously”; Moorim did not respond to Mongabay’s requests for comment.

France’s tropical forest conservation efforts: an interview with AFD’s Gilles Kleitz
- Since hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2015 which resulted in the Paris Climate Agreement, France has become a leading proponent for tropical forest conservation. This effort has included establishing a National Strategy to Combat Imported Deforestation (SNDI) to effectively apply a zero deforestation policy to commodities produced at the expense of forests in the tropics.
- One of the key institutions charged with implementing the SNDI abroad is the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), France’s overseas development agency. AFD programs in tropical forests have not always been without controversy—NGOs have alleged that AFD has supported companies which contribute to deforestation—but AFD says it has incorporated this criticism as well as findings from research institutions into safeguards it now applies to the projects it finances.
- Accordingly, AFD’s emphasis around tropical forests in recent years has shifted toward conservation and “sustainable forest management”, which includes establishing forest management plans to reduce the impact of logging operations in places like the Congo Basin.
- To provide some context on AFD’s current approaches and priorities, Mongabay spoke with Gilles Kleitz, head of Agriculture, Water and Biodiversity at the French Development Agency.

Palm oil giant Korindo accused again of illegally burning Papuan rainforest
- An independent investigation based on satellite imagery has concluded that palm oil giant Korindo deliberately set fires to clear rainforest in its concession in Indonesia’s Papua province.
- Researchers from the University of London’s Forensic Architecture group and Greenpeace found that the spread and speed of the burning matched the pattern of land clearing, and didn’t appear as random as fires on neighboring concessions.
- The finding is the latest allegation of illegal burning by Korindo, which is accused of having cleared a Chicago-sized area of rainforest in Papua.
- The company accuses nearby villagers of setting the fires, but the villagers’ accounts of Korindo employees starting the fires matches with the burn periods determined by the analysis.

FSC slammed for slow probe into deforestation by firms linked to Indonesia’s richest man
- An environmental NGO that flagged deforestation by two pulpwood companies linked to a Forest Stewardship Council member says the FSC has dragged its feet on carrying out a proper investigation.
- The companies and the FSC member, a paper mill, are all controlled directly or indirectly by Robert Budi Hartono, Indonesia’s richest person.
- The complaint was filed last December, but the investigation only began in February this year, and has been put on hold since June because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the FSC says.
- The NGO has questioned the FSC’s delayed response, its non-standard investigation process, and its apparent failure to link the pulpwood companies to the certified paper mill earlier.

Ikea using illegally sourced wood from Ukraine, campaigners say
- The report provides evidence that some of the beech wood used in Ikea’s flagship Terje chair and other products came from a state-run forestry enterprise in Ukraine that was violating the law.
- Ikea’s suppliers in Ukraine harvested logs from the Velkyy Bychkiv state forestry enterprise during a “silence period” when the type of logging they were carrying out was legally prohibited.
- Campaigners say the Forest Stewardship Council, one of the world’s largest and most influential timber certification organizations, failed to note or take action on the illegalities.

Research points to low forensic capacity to tackle timber fraud in U.S.
- New research has found that more than 60 percent of a sample of 73 wood products in the U.S. had misrepresented or fraudulent species labels.
- While not “statistically representative,” the findings do indicate that improperly labeled wood is a concern in the U.S.
- The study also found that the U.S. does not have the capacity for forensic wood anatomy identification to address this issue.

Trekking the boreal forest for biodiversity (insider)
- Sweden is widely considered to be the world’s greenest country, but its surprisingly lax forestry laws often leave decisions about logging to timber companies, and large swaths of biologically-rich boreal forest are being lost.
- Federal agencies and certifying bodies such as the Forest Stewardship Council have tried to improve the situation, but activists charge that they are unable to prevent forestry companies from cutting even the most valuable and the oldest forest tracts. I traveled there in 2011 to investigate their claims.
- These forest watchdogs have trained themselves to identify rare and endangered species of fungi and lichens, whose presence prevents cutting of those richest tracts, a successful but rugged tactic requiring long days of trekking, climbing, and lifting or turning of many logs.
- This post is insider content, which is available to paying subscribers.

Saving the forests of the Congo Basin: Q&A with author Meindert Brouwer
- Central African Forests Forever, first published in 2017, takes readers to the heart of the continent, introducing them to the people and wildlife of this region.
- Its author, independent communications consultant Meindert Brouwer, says the book also functions as a tool for sharing information about efforts to address poverty and environmental issues in the region.
- Mongabay spoke with Brouwer to learn more about his motivations and the reception of his work in Central Africa.

The biggest rainforest news stories in 2018
- This is our annual rainforests year in review post.
- Overall, 2018 was not a good year for the planet’s tropical rainforests.
- Rainforest conservation suffered many setbacks, especially in Brazil, the Congo Basin, and Madagascar.
- Colombia was one of the few bright spots for rainforests in 2018.

EU demand siphons illicit timber from Ukraine, investigation finds
- Corrupt management of Ukraine’s timber sector is supplying the EU with large amounts of wood from the country’s dense forests.
- The London-based investigative nonprofit Earthsight found evidence that forestry officials have taken bribes to supply major European firms with Ukrainian wood that may have been harvested illegally.
- Earthsight argues that EU-based companies are not carrying out the due diligence that the EU Timber Regulation requires when buying from “high-risk” sources of timber.

Conservation Effectiveness series sparks action, dialogue
- Our in-depth series examined the effectiveness of six common conservation strategies: Forest certification, payments for ecosystem services, community-based forest management, terrestrial protected areas, marine protected areas, and environmental advocacy.
- We also examined how four of the biggest groups that dominate today’s conservation landscape — The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Conservation International (CI), the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) — make decisions about which conservation strategy to employ.
- Our series generated a lot of discussion and attracted a wide variety of feedback.
- We hope to keep our databases of scientific studies and our infographics alive and relevant by developing a platform that allows researchers to update them by adding studies. We welcome ideas on this effort.

FSC-certified timber importer failed to check legality of shipment from Cameroon
- Hardwood Dimensions, a timber importer in the U.K., violated the EU Timber Regulation by not properly verifying the legality of a shipment of Cameroonian ayous in January 2017.
- A judge ordered Hardwood Dimensions to pay 4,000 pounds ($5,576) plus court costs in the case.
- The case calls into question the effectiveness of Forest Stewardship Council certification, which Hardwood Dimensions has held since 2000.

Zero-deforestation pledges need help, support to meet targets, new study finds
- The study’s authors reviewed previous research to understand the impact that zero-deforestation commitments are having on reducing the loss of forests.
- Nearly 450 companies made 760 such commitments by early 2017.
- These pledges can reduce deforestation in some cases, but in others, they weren’t effective or had unintended effects, according to the study.
- The authors advocate for increased public-private communication, more support for smallholders, and complementary laws that support these pledges.

Rainforests: the year in review 2017
- 2017 was a rough year for tropical rainforests, but there were some bright spots.
- This is Mongabay’s annual year-in-review on what happened in the world of tropical rainforests.
- Here we summarize some of the more notable developments and trends for tropical forests in 2017.

New study: Gorillas fare better in logged forests than chimps
- A study in the northern Republic of Congo found that gorillas and chimpanzees both became scarcer at the onset of logging.
- However, gorillas move backed into logged areas more readily, while chimpanzees were more likely to stay away.
- The researchers believe that gorillas are better able to cope with logging because they’re not as territorial as chimps and they seem to be more flexible in their eating habits.

Camera traps reveal surprises in Peru
- Scientists set 72 camera traps and audio recorders to compare biodiversity across certified forested areas and forests that are not certified for sustainable use.
- The first few images reveal the presence of jaguars, pumas, jaguarundis, tapirs, red deer, tufted capuchins and even bush dogs, which are elusive and difficult to find.

Audio: Impacts of gas drilling on wildlife in Peru and a Goldman Prize winner on mercury contamination
- On today’s episode: a look at the impacts of drilling for natural gas on birds and amphibians through bioacoustics, and a Goldman Prize winner discusses her ongoing campaign to rid mercury contamination from the environment.
- Our first guest on this episode of the Mongabay Newscast is Jessica Deichmann, a research scientist with the Center for Conservation and Sustainability at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. Deichmann led a study that used acoustic monitoring, among other methods, to examine the impacts on wildlife of a gas drilling platform in the forests of southeastern Peru.
- Next, we talk with 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize winner Yuyun Ismawati, an environmental engineer from Indonesia who currently lives in the UK. As the founder of an NGO called BaliFokus and a steering committee member of IPEN, a non-profit based in Sweden that works to improve chemicals policies and practices around the world, Ismawati has made it her life’s mission to stop the use of mercury in activities like gold mining that cause the toxin to leach into the environment and thereby threaten human health and wildlife.

Is the Forest Stewardship Council going to stay ‘fit for purpose’ for this century? (commentary)
- Reflecting on the General Assembly in Vancouver, held earlier this month, has me questioning whether FSC is going to stay fit for purpose for this century, or whether it is going to be held back by misguided economic self-interest.
- The idea is that members of the three FSC chambers – social, environmental, and economic – come together to shape the future of the certification system by discussing and voting on motions that fundamentally affect the way FSC is run. But is that really still the case?
- For the first time in the eight FSC general assemblies I’ve attended over the past 20+ years, I wondered whether this is a network with a shared vision that is innovative, adaptive, and progressive.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Does forest certification really work?
- Based on a review of 40 studies of variable quality, we found that certified tropical forests can overall be better for the environment than forests managed conventionally.
- But there wasn’t enough evidence to say if certified tropical forests are better than, the same as, or worse than conventionally managed tropical forests when it comes to people.
- We also found that profits and other economic benefits can be hard to come by for certified logging companies working in tropical forests.
- This is part of a special Mongabay series on “Conservation Effectiveness”.

Big data timber exchange partners with FSC in Brazil
- BVRio pulls together data on the pricing, supply chain and certification of timber and wood products through its Responsible Timber Exchange.
- Since opening in November 2016, the exchange has fielded more than 400 offers for 5 million cubic meters of timber.
- The partnership with the Forest Stewardship Council is aimed at bolstering the market for certified forest products.

The Republic of Congo: on the cusp of forest conservation
- The Republic of Congo’s high forest cover and low annual deforestation rates of just over 0.05 percent have led to the country being named as a priority country by the UN’s REDD+ program.
- The country has numerous protected areas and has signed agreements to certify the sustainability and legality of its timber industry.
- Skeptics caution that more needs to be done to address corruption and protect the country’s forests, a third of which are still relatively untouched.

Forest Stewardship Council cuts ties with Austrian timber giant
- A year-long investigation by the FSC found Holzindustrie Schweighofer was illegally sourcing wood from Romania – including from national parks. In response, the FSC put the company on probation, a move seen as a slap on the hand by critics.
- On February 17, the FSC announced its intention to fully disassociate from Schweighofer. Re-association is possible in the future.
- Romania is home to Europe’s last old-growth lowland forest, which is losing its tree cover to deforestation activities.

Logging in certified concessions drove intact forest landscape loss in Congo Basin
- A study published in the journal Science Advances this month found that, between 2000 and 2013, the global area of intact forest landscape declined by 7.2 percent.
- Certification of logging concessions, which aims to ensure sustainable forest management practices, had a “negligible” impact on slowing the fragmentation of intact forest landscapes (IFLs) in the Congo Basin, according to the study.
- According to Corey Brinkema, president of the Forest Stewardship Council US, the findings of the study may be noteworthy, but they don’t apply to how FSC operates today.

‘Last frontiers of wilderness’: Intact forest plummets globally
- More than 7 percent of intact forest landscapes, defined as forest ecosystems greater than 500 square kilometers in area and showing no signs of human impact, disappeared between 2000 and 2013.
- In the tropics, the rate of loss appears to be accelerating: Three times more IFLs were lost between 2011 and 2013 as between 2001 and 2003.
- The authors of the study, published January 13 in the journal Science Advances, point to timber harvesting and agricultural expansion as the leading causes of IFL loss.

UK greenheart restriction could put pressure on Guyana’s logging economy
- Greenheart is one of the toughest and most durable woods known to man, and is particularly suited to marine and freshwater based applications. The UK instituted a ban on its import earlier this year.
- Over the last four years, greenheart exports generated $27 million for the Guyanese economy.
- Greenheart represents over 18 percent of Guyana’s logging industry production, of which timber is a major export earner – it brought in $45.6 million just last year.

FSC puts timber processor on probation after ‘scathing’ investigation
- Holzindustrie Schweighofer is an Austrian company that sources timber from Romania, which contains some of Europe’s last tracts of primary forest.
- An FSC investigation uncovered evidence of Holzindustrie Schweighofer engaging in activities in Romania that went against FSC certification policy, such as sourcing illegally logged timber.
- The investigation’s conclusions led its panel to recommend that the company be disassociated from the FSC, but the organization chose instead to put the company on a two-month probation during which time it must fulfill certain conditions.
- The move has attracted criticism from Environmental Investigation Agency, which called the decision “shocking.”

Timber trading platform aims to increase transparency, legality
- The Responsible Timber Exchange, launched November 23 by the organization BVRio, provides buyers with pricing, supply chain and certification information on timber and wood products coming from several countries, as well as FSC- and PEFC-certified suppliers.
- It builds on BVRio’s other risk assessment tools, available since 2015 in the form of mobile applications and online software.
- The platform’s creators say it will help diminish illegality in the timber sector, which may taint 90 percent of all timber sold.

Brazzaville-issued mining permits dip into Congo’s flagship park
- In 2016 the Ministry of Mines and Energy issued at least seven permits that allow companies to prospect or begin mining for gold inside the Republic of Congo’s largest national park.
- Odzala-Kokoua became a national park in 2001 by presidential decree, which does not allow mining.
- Congo’s pivot toward mineral extraction as an economic development strategy may mean that the government could change the park’s borders to allow mining if it is ‘in the public interest.’

Voluntary certification standards have far to go, say experts
- Certification should be combined with other standard public policies to promote sustainable forest management principles, say experts.
- Experts point to a need for more relationship building between voluntary certification schemes and public institutions.
- Effective certification requires the cooperation of policy makers, certification schemes, companies, academics and other stakeholders.

Communities lead the way in rainforest conservation in Guatemala
- The Maya Biosphere Reserve, which covers one-fifth of Guatemala, is one of the most important tropical forest areas north of the Amazon and contains dozens of ancient Mayan archaeological sites.
- The best way to protect the reserve’s rainforest—better than national parks—has turned out to be nine community concessions, forest allotments where locals earn a living from the carefully regulated extraction of timber and plants.
- However, the community concessions’ future remains unclear, with contracts set to expire in the coming years and powerful forces opposing them.

Can conservationists overcome their differences to save life on Earth?
- Conservation, Divided is an in-depth series investigating how the field of conservation has changed over the last 30 years — and the challenges it faces moving into an uncertain future.
- The series explores how the world’s biggest conservation groups have embraced a human-centric approach known as “new conservation” that has split the field over how best to save life on Earth.
- It also investigates the role of big money in pushing conservation agendas, and the field’s changing relationship with people living in areas targeted for conservation.
- Jeremy Hance reported the Conservation, Divided series over the course of eight months. Stories ran weekly in April and May, generating intense interest from readers.

Successes and many challenges in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve
- The Maya Biosphere Reserve, which covers one-fifth of Guatemala, is one of the most important tropical forest areas north of the Amazon.
- The reserve is a gem of biological and cultural heritage, with more than 500 species of birds, numerous endangered and iconic wildlife species, and dozens of ancient Mayan archaeological sites.
- The reserve’s multiple-use zone has generally succeeded at reducing deforestation and providing sustainable livelihoods for communities living there. But deforestation remains a huge problem in the reserve as a whole, pushed along by complex factors, including illegal settlement by landless migrants, oil development, and the presence of drug traffickers, cattle ranchers, and other armed groups.

How big donors and corporations shape conservation goals
- In Part 2 of Conservation, Divided, veteran Mongabay reporter Jeremy Hance explores how major donors at foundations, governments, and corporations are pushing conservation groups to adopt a human-centric approach known as “new conservation” that some critics say leaves wildlife and wild lands out in the cold.
- Meanwhile, cozy relationships with environmentally destructive corporations have prompted long-running arguments that some of the world’s biggest conservation groups have lost sight of their environmental missions. Yet big conservation and corporations are closer than ever.
- Conservation, Divided is an in-depth four-part series investigating how the field of conservation has changed over the last 30 years — and the challenges it faces moving into an uncertain future. Hance completed the series over the course of eight months. Stories are running weekly between April 26 and May 17.

Has big conservation gone astray?
- In Part 1 of Conservation, Divided, veteran Mongabay reporter Jeremy Hance explores how the world’s biggest conservation groups have embraced a human-centric approach known as “new conservation” that has split the field over how best to save life on Earth.
- Neither side of the debate disagrees that conservation today is failing to adequately halt mass extinction. But how to proceed is where talks break down, especially when it comes to the importance of protected areas and the efficacy of the biggest, most recognizable groups.
- Conservation, Divided is an in-depth four-part series investigating how the field of conservation has changed over the last 30 years — and the challenges it faces moving into an uncertain future. Hance completed the series over the course of eight months. Stories will run weekly through May 17.

Maroon 5 musicians voice support for community forestry in Guatemala
- Concerned that wood used in guitars and other instruments be sustainably sourced, members of the American bands Maroon 5 and Guster visited Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve in December.
- While there they met with governmental officials, the Association of Forest Communities of Peten, and locals involved in the harvest, processing, and export of certified wood from community forest concessions.
- Citing reduced deforestation and benefits to communities in the concessions, the musicans urged Guatemalan president Jimmy Morales to extend the concessions’ contracts, several of which are set to expire within the next decade.

Market-based conservation programs slow deforestation in Chile, study finds
- In recent years, eco-certification, moratoria, and other so-called non-state, market-driven governance regimes have become a common approach to reducing deforestation.
- However, data on the effectiveness of these programs has been limited.
- A new study analyzing three such programs in Chile finds that the more collaboration between industry and environmental groups a program entails, the more successful it may be.

Greenpeace responds to Tropical Forest Trust on moving ‘Beyond Certification’

Editor’s Note: Greenpeace submitted this commentary in response to an interview Mongabay recently conducted with Scott Poynton of Tropical Forest Trust (TFT). In the interview, Poynton said the forest commodity sector needs to move ‘beyond certification’ to effectively address social and environmental issues. The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the […]
Do we need to move ‘beyond certification’ to save forests?

Over the past two years dozens of companies have established “zero-deforestation” or “deforestation-free” policies for the commodities they source, trade, and produce. The pace of adoption has been staggeringly fast for a business that have been historically slow-moving relative to other industries. Some sectors, like the Indonesian palm oil industry and the Brazilian soy industry, […]
With new policy, 3M drops controversial forestry certification label

Washington state rainforest. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. 3M has announced a new sustainability policy that will reduce the impact of its fiber-sourcing practices on forests and wildlife. The initiative, unveiled Thursday, came after engagement with several environmental groups, including The Forest Trust, ForestEthics and Greenpeace. It commits 3M to establish and implement a traceability […]
Selective logging causes long-term changes to forest structure

Logging in Gabon. Photos by Rhett A. Butler Selective logging is causing long-term changes to tropical forests in Africa by facilitating the growth of weeds and vines, which reduces plant diversity and diminishes carbon storage, reports a new paper published in the journal Ecological Research. The paper, led by Roberto Cazzolla Gatti of the University […]
Rainforests: 10 things to watch in 2015

What’s in store for rainforests in the new year.
Boosting the conservation value of 4M sq km of rainforest logging concessions

Short of buying back logging concessions, switching from conventional logging approaches to reduced impact logging techniques across existing forestry concessions may be the best way boost biodiversity in areas earmarked for timber extraction, argues paper. Logging in Borneo. Photos by Rhett A Butler. Logging is one of the most important drivers of deforestation. However unlike […]
Tradeoff: Sabah banks on palm oil to boost forest protection

Last month Sabah set aside an additional 203,000 hectares of protected forest reserves, boosting the Malaysian state’s extent of protected areas to 21 percent of its land mass. But instead of accolades, Sabah forestry leaders were criticized for how they went about securing those reserves: allowing thousands of hectares of deforested land within an officially […]
Tradeoff: Sabah banks on palm oil to boost forest protection

Last month Sabah set aside an additional 203,000 hectares of protected forest reserves, boosting the Malaysian state’s extent of protected areas to 21 percent of its land mass. But instead of accolades, Sabah forestry leaders were criticized for how they went about securing those reserves: allowing thousands of hectares of deforested land within an officially […]
FSC passes motion for greater protection of primary forests

Borneo rainforest canopy. Photo by Rhett Butler The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has passed a motion to increase protection of old-growth forests. Motion 65, a measure proposed by Greenpeace, passed with over 90 percent support from FSC members. The motion specifically increases protection of Intact Forest Landscapes, which Greenpeace defines as “remaining large unfragmented areas […]
FSC meeting weighs old-growth forest protection, smallholder participation

Industrial logging operation in Malaysian Borneo in 2012. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a body that sets social and environmental certification criteria for forestry products, is weighing measures that could step up protection for old-growth forests and make it easier for indigenous people and traditional forest communities to qualify for […]
Greenpeace alleges SLAPP suit tactic by logging company

Greenpeace Canada has filed a Statement of Defense in response to a $7 million lawsuit by Resolute Forest Products (NYSE:RFP) over allegations that the logging company destroyed forests in Quebec and Ontario. Filed Thursday in Ontario Superior Court, the Statement of Defense argues that Resolute Forest Products is using the suit in an attempt to […]
Nothing else left to log: are eco-certified timber companies stripping Russia of its last old growth forests?

Russian ‘intact forest landscape’ loses 100,000 hectares in 12 years due in part to FSC-certified timber companies Russia’s trees fuel our increasing demand for wood-based products. The country’s vast forests, which cover over 800 million hectares or almost half its land area, are a major source of wood for global timber, paper and pulp industries. […]
Commodity eco-certification skyrockets, but standards slip

Trends in commodity certification markets Market share for certified commodities. All figures courtesy of IISD’s report The volume of commodities produced under various social and environmental certification standards jumped 41 percent in 2012, far outpacing the 2 percent growth across conventional commodity markets, finds a comprehensive new assessment of the global certification market. The report […]
Reduced impact logging failing to cut emissions in Indonesia

Advocates for reduced impact logging in tropical forests often make a case that better forest management cuts carbon emissions relative to traditional forms of timber harvesting. While the argument for altering logging approaches to limit forest damage makes intuitive sense, a new study suggests that the carbon benefits may not bear out in practice. Bronson […]
Rainforest news review for 2013
- 2013 was full of major developments in efforts to understand and protect the world’s tropical rainforests.
- The following is a review of some of the major tropical forest-related news stories for the year.
- As a review, this post will not cover everything that transpired during 2013 in the world of tropical forests. Please feel free to highlight anything this post missed via the comments section at the bottom.

Canada’s biggest logger loses eco-certification

Resolute Forest Products, the largest industrial logging company in Canada, suffered a major setback this week when the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) revoked three certifications for the forestry giant. According to Greenpeace, the company lost its certification in Quebec and Ontario due to several problems, including a lack of consent from the Crees nations and […]
Greenpeace: APP making ‘encouraging’ progress on zero deforestation commitment

Rainforest in Sumatra. Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), an Indonesian forestry giant once notorious for destroying rainforests and peatlands, is making ‘encouraging’ progress in phasing forest destruction out of its supply chain, reports a new assessment from Greenpeace, which until recently was one of APP’s fiercest critics. The review, released today, evaluates APP’s progress on […]
Certification body officially terminates ties with controversial logging company

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has formally ended its association with Indonesian logging giant Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL), reports the forest products certification body. The move, announced last week, came after APRIL said it would withdraw from the FSC due to the eco-labeling initiative’s rules on recent forest conversion. “The decision by APRIL […]
FSC response to TFT: Ensuring a Strong Chain-of-Custody System

This is the Forest Stewardship Council’s response to a recent commentary carried on Mongabay.com. The following represents the views of the FSC, not necessarily Mongabay.com. On August 8. 2013 Poynton responded to comments posted on his op-ed. Recently, the Director of The Forest Trust (TFT) shared his opinion with Mongabay readers criticizing Chain-of-Custody systems in […]
80% of rainforests in Malaysian Borneo logged

Bulldozer at a conventional logging site in Borneo Eighty percent of the rainforests in Malaysian Borneo have been heavily impacted by logging, finds a comprehensive study that offers the first assessment of the spread of industrial logging and logging roads across areas that were considered some of Earth’s wildest lands less than 30 years ago. The […]
Chain of custody nonsense from FSC & PEFC: protecting income streams rather than the world’s forests

This commentary represents the views of the author, not necessarily those of Mongabay.com. On July 23, 2013, the FSC issued a response. On August 8. 2013 Poynton responded The FSC and PEFC released a joint statement on July 8th urging ISO members to vote against a new proposal for an ISO Chain of Custody certification. […]
World’s biggest companies lay out path toward zero-deforestation commodities

With a backdrop of fires raging across oil palm and timber plantations in Sumatra, business and political leaders convened in Indonesia to discuss a path forward for producing deforestation-free commodities by 2020. The gathering in Jakarta was the first meeting of the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, a public-private push to implement the zero deforestation target […]
Greenpeace launches series of case studies critiquing forest certification standard

Activist group Greenpeace says it will publish a series of case studies highlighting examples of good and bad practice among operations certified under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an eco-standard for forest products. Greenpeace, an FSC member since the body was found in 1993, says that as the standard has expanded, the risk to its […]
Indonesian logging giant pulls out of FSC certification scheme

6/24/13 update: APRIL responded to request for comment. Its remarks have been added to the story. Following a complaint filed by environmental groups, Indonesian forestry giant Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) has pulled out of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an eco-labeling initiative for timber and other forest products. “On 14 June 2013, the […]
63,700 ha of Borneo rainforest gains protection in Sabah

Protected forest in Sabah. Photo by Rhett A. Butler The Sabah Forestry Department has reclassified 63,700 hectares of rainforest zoned for logging as protected areas. The reclassification applies to four commercial forest reserves: Malua (33,969 hectares), Mt. Magdalena (6,665 ha), Tambulanan (3,265 ha) and Sungai Tiagau (19,870 ha). It will increase contiguity between the Maliau […]
Forest certification body revokes Swiss logging company’s certificate over alleged Congo abuses

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a body that certifies forest management practices, has revoked all certificates granted to the Danzer Group, a multinational logging company, over alleged human rights abuses by one of its former subsidiaries in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), reports Bloomberg. According to a complaint filed by Greenpeace, the subsidiary, Siforco, […]
Yum! Brands announces ‘greener’ paper policy

KCF, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell policy excludes fiber from conversion of old-growth rainforests to plantations. After a prolonged campaign by environmental activists, the world’s largest fast food company has announced a new sourcing policy that will shift it toward greener packaging materials. Yum! Brands, the restaurant giant that owns Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut, […]
U.S. book industry using 24 percent recycled paper on average

Deforested peat forest in Indonesian Borneo. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. From 2004 to 2010, book publishers increased their use of recycled fiber by nearly five times, from 5 percent to 24 percent on average, according to a new report by the Book Industry Environmental Council (BIEC) and Green Press Initiative. The report, which depends […]
Saving forests by stemming agricultural sprawl

Mongabay.com is partnering with the Skoll Foundation ahead of the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship to bring a series of perspectives that aim to answer the question: how do we feed the world and still address the drivers of deforestation? HOW DO WE FEED THE WORLD AND STILL ADDRESS THE DRIVERS OF DEFORESTATION? Soy, […]
Malaysian NGOs boldly demand forest conservation action in Borneo

In an unusually bold statement catalyzed by the deaths of 14 rare elephants, six Malaysian NGOs today called on the Sabah state government to pursue “a more conservation focused agenda” in managing the state’s forests. The call-to-action, addressed to Sabah’s chief minister Musa Aman, focuses on three core recommendations: setting aside more forest areas for […]
Activists blast World Bank on continued support of industrial rainforest logging

Logging in Borneo. All photos by Rhett A. Butler Two environmental activist groups blasted the World Bank over its reported decision to block a probe into its support of industrial-scale rainforest logging. Greenpeace and Global Witness issued a statement condemning last Friday’s decision by The World Bank Board of Directors not to pursue a review […]
HarperCollins establishes policy barring paper sourced from rainforest destruction

Rainforest in Sumatra HarperCollins has established a policy that excludes paper sourced from destruction of tropical rainforests and old growth forests. The revised policy, posted on its web site earlier this month, is a response to a campaign by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), an activist group that is targeting companies linked to clearing of […]
Borneo may lose half its orangutans to deforestation, hunting, and plantations

Future hanging in balance? Borneo orang-utan. Photo by Rhett Butler. Borneo will likely lose half of its orangutans if current deforestation and forest conversion trends continue, warns a comprehensive new assessment by an international team of researchers. The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, overlays orangutan distribution with land use regulations in Malaysian and […]
Timber, paper demand contributing to destruction of rainforests

Logging truck in Borneo. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Demand for timber and paper is contributing to destruction of the world’s most biodiverse rainforests and worsening climate change, argues a new report issued Tuesday by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The report, “Wood for Good: Solutions for Deforestation-Free Wood Products,” says that certified wood […]
Boosting forestry at the bottom of the pyramid

Nearly 600 million people manage some one billion hectares (2.5 million hectares) of agroforests worldwide, yet these smallholders have been largely left out of a push to move some commodities up the value chain through certification programs. To date, it has been mostly corporate entities and commercial farmers who have been able to capitalize on […]
Industrial logging leaves a poor legacy in Borneo’s rainforests

This is an expanded version of an article, titled A Desperate Effort to Save the Rainforest of Borneo, that appeared last month on Yale e360. Rainforest in Sabah. All photo by Rhett A. Butler. For most people “Borneo” conjures up an image of a wild and distant land of rainforests, exotic beasts, and nomadic tribes. […]
10,000 sq mi of Congo rainforest declared World Heritage site

Infant lowland gorilla in the Congo basin rainforest. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Central Africa has the newest World Heritage site. On Tuesday, the United Nations Education, Science, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared the Sangha Tri-National Protected Area complex (TNS) as a World Heritage Site for its density and diversity of rainforest wildlife. Formed by […]
Elephant numbers halved in Central Africa in 5 years

Photo Credit: Thomas Breuer/Wildlife Conservation Society Elephant numbers in areas surveyed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Central Africa halved between 2006 and 2011, hinting at the carnage wrought by the surging commercial ivory trade and demonstrating a need to boost protection efforts, said the Bronx Zoo-based conservation group. The number of elephants counted […]
IKEA logging old-growth forest for low-price furniture in Russia

Destroyed old-growth forest with piles of timber on land leased by IKEA/Swedwood in Russian Karelia. Photo © Robert Svensson, Protect the Forest 2011. A new campaign is targeting IKEA, the world’s biggest furniture retailer, for logging old-growth forests in the Karelia region of Russia. An alliance of groups, headed by the Swedish NGO Protect the […]
Can loggers be conservationists?

Sawmill in Indonesia. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Last year researchers took the first ever publicly-released video of an African golden cat (Profelis aurata) in a Gabon rainforest. This beautiful, but elusive, feline was filmed sitting docilely for the camera and chasing a bat. The least-known of Africa’s wild cat species, the African golden cat […]
Controversial logging company sells operations in DR Congo

Deforestation by forest type/classification in DRC, 2000-2005 and 2005-2010. Click image to enlarge. Danzer, a Swiss-German forestry company that has been heavily criticized by environmentalists for its logging practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has sold its operations in the Central African country, reports Greenpeace. “Effective February 23rd, its subsidiary Siforco (which holds […]
APP affiliates in U.S., Australia, pledge to drop controversial pulp supplier linked to deforestation

Two affiliates of Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) have announced they are severing at least some ties with the beleaguered paper giant, according to the Northern Virginia Daily and Greenpeace, an environmental group whose recent undercover investigation found ramin, a protected species, at APP’s pulp mill in Sumatra. Oasis Brands, a firm that handles sales, […]
Featured Video: logging run amuck in Latvia
A recent expose by Al Jazeera reveals the environmental toll of clear-cutting on Latvia’s forests, in addition to highlighting the fact that the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certifies clear-cut forests. The FSC responded shortly afterward that it did not re-certify logging in Latvia as reported in the expose. However, the FSC is currently in the […]
Some toilet paper production destroys Indonesian rainforests, endangering tigers and elephants

Peat draining and large-scale clearance of natural forest by APP wood supplier PT. Ruas Utama Jaya. Eyes of the Forest said the clearing occurred inside APP’s Senepis Tiger Sanctuary, but the paper giant says the clearing is in an area that was allocated for conversion — and signed off by the Indonesian government — in […]
Economic slowdown leads to the pulping of Latvia’s forests

Aerial view over Latvian forests—please note almost all cutting patches are fresh, not yet regenerated. Photo by: R.Matrozis, 2007. The economic crisis has pushed many nations to scramble for revenue and jobs in tight times, and the small Eastern European nation of Latvia is no different. Facing tough circumstances, the country turned to its most […]
Levi’s new forest policy excludes fiber from suppliers linked to deforestation

Editor’s note: this story has been corrected since originally posted. See the box below for details. Rainforest in Sumatra Levi Strauss & Company had issued a new policy that will exclude fiber from controversial sources from its products. The move will effectively bar Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) as a supplier, according to the Rainforest […]
The year in review for rainforests

2011 was designated as “Year of the Forests” by the United Nations. While there was relatively little progress on intergovernmental forest protection programs during the year, a lot happened elsewhere. Below is a look at some of the biggest tropical forest-related news stories for 2011. We at mongabay readily acknowledge there were a number of […]
Peace accord reached in violent conflict between locals and Indonesian state plantation company

A peace accord has been announced to resolve a long-running conflict between a giant state-owned plantation company and local communities on the Indonesian island of Java. The Forest Trust (TFT), an international NGO that works to improve the environmental performance of companies’ supply chains, says it has negotiated a deal under which timber giant Perum […]
WWF partnering with companies that destroy rainforests, threaten endangered species

A new report finds that conservation giant WWF may demand too little when working with logging companies. Screenshot of WWF website. Arguably the globe’s most well-known conservation organization, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), has been facilitating illegal logging, vast deforestation, and human rights abuses by pairing up with notorious logging companies in a […]
Endangered species trafficking: What did Gibson Guitar know?

Rosewood logging in Masoala National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Photo by Rhett A. Butler A motion filed last month by the U.S. Department of Justice alleges Gibson Guitar knew it was trafficking in endangered timber when it was busted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in November 2009, reports the Environmental Investigation […]
FSC mulls controversial motion to certify plantations responsible for recent deforestation

Update: Motion 18 passed the General Assembly with substantial amendments, including a call to revise FSC’s plantation regulations. Members of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), meeting in Malaysia next week for its General Assembly, will consider various changes to the organization, including a vote on a controversial motion that would open the door—slightly at first—to […]
FSC to continue allowing baboon killing on sustainably-certified plantations

Infant Chacma baboon in Botswana. Photo by: Tiffany Roufs. Shooting baboons will continue in Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified plantations. After examining a complaint by the NGO GeaSphere against South African plantations for trapping and shooting hundreds of baboons, the FSC has announced it will not place a moratorium on baboon-killing in its sustainably-certified plantations. “The […]
Ahead of meeting, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) loses another supporter

The forest organization, FERN, has pulled its support from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), reports FSC-Watch. FERN has quit the increasingly troubled organization due to FSC pursuing carbon credits through forestry. The FSC loses FERN just weeks before its 6th General Assembly, in which FSC partners—including private corporations and some environmental groups—will meet to debate […]
90% of tropical forests managed poorly or not at all

Less than 10% of tropical forests are ‘sustainably’ managed More than 90 percent of tropical forests are managed poorly or not at all, says a new assessment by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). The report, Status of Tropical Forest Management 2011, finds that while forests continue to be degraded and destroyed at a rapid […]
Shipping firm pledges to disconnect itself from rainforest destruction

Maersk shipping containers, each with a wood floor, stacked up along the Panama Canal. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. The Danish shipping giant Maersk pledged this week to stop purchasing containers with floors made from uncertified tropical hardwood, reports Deutsche Welle press. In an effort to reduce illegal logging and combat climate change, the company […]
Locals clash with ‘sustainable’ FSC logging company in the Congo

Two separate protests against logging companies by local communities have turned violent in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), leaving at least one dead. According to Greenpeace, one of the companies involved in the violence, Sodefor, is sustainably certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Given that the industry in DRC is rife with social […]
Australia forest destruction connected to local products

Some of Australia’s most popular stores are driving the destruction of native forests, according to a report by a new environmental group Markets for Change (MFC). Furniture, building materials, and paper products were found to be coming at the expense of native forests in Australia and being sold by over 30 businesses in the country, […]
Memberantas penebangan liar di Indonesia dengan memberikan kesempatan pada masyarakat lokal untuk mengelola hutan

Pembalakan liar di pinggir Taman Nasional Gunung Palung, Kalimantan Barat. Kayu-kayu ini digunakan untuk membangun kerangka yang menarik burung walet. Sup sarang burung walet merupakan salah satu makanan yang diminati di Cina. Foto diambil oleh Rhett Butler pada Maret 2011. Selama dua puluh tahun terakhir Indonesia telah kehilangan lebih dari 24 juta hektar hutannya, lebih […]
Fighting illegal logging in Indonesia by giving communities a stake in forest management

Illegal logging on the edge of Gunung Palung National Park in West Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. This timber is being used to construct structures to attract swiftlets for the production of bird-nest soup, a delicacy in China. Photo taken by Rhett Butler in March 2011. Over the past twenty years Indonesia lost more […]
Complaint lodged at FSC for plantations killing baboons

The African environmental group, GeaSphere, has lodged a complaint with the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) for certifying tree plantations as sustainable that are culling baboons in South Africa, as first reported by FSC-Watch. The primates are trapped with bait and then shot. According to the complaint, “unofficial numbers from reliable sources state that more than […]
Groups call on KFC to end greenwashing
A coalition of environmental groups is calling on Kentucky Fried Chicken to end its use of products carrying the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certification label. The coalition, which includes nine organizations, says the SFI is little more than a greenwashing initiative by forestry companies that are unwilling to meet the environmental criteria set forth by […]
Can ’boutique capitalism’ help protect the Amazon?

An interview with Katherine Ponte, founder of Ecostasy. Most companies talk green, but few—almost none in fact—actually walk the walk. Sustainable design company, Ecostasy, not only walks the walk, but actually seeks out among the most challenging places to work: the imperiled Brazilian Amazon. Specializing in hand-crafted products by indigenous groups—such as jewelry, pots, and […]
The Nestlé example: how responsible companies could end deforestation

An interview with Scott Poynton of The Forest Trust. The NGO, The Forest Trust (TFT), made international headlines this year after food giant Nestlé chose them to monitor their sustainability efforts. Nestlé’s move followed a Greenpeace campaign that blew-up into a blistering free-for-all on social media sites. For months Nestle was dogged online not just […]
Timber certification is not enough to save rainforests

Activists from the Rainforest Action Network voice support for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification scheme but say stronger policy measures are needed to control deforestation. In the 1980s and 1990s pressure from activist groups led some of the world’s largest forestry products companies and retailers to join forces with environmentalists to form the Forest […]
‘Greening’ logging concessions could help save great apes

Promoting reduced impact logging in forest areas already under concession could help protect populations of endangered great apes, argues a new report published by WWF. Analyzing scientific studies on the consequences of different types of logging on great apes, Arnold van Kreveld and Ingrid Roerhorst found that logging concessions certified by the Forest Stewardship Council […]
Retailers Costco and Amazon.com flunk sustainable paper use, WalMart and Target fare little better

Greenpeace gets called out by activist group on logging agreement

A forest activist group has called out Greenpeace on its support of Kimberly-Clark’s new fiber-sourcing policy. Ecological Internet, a campaign group run by forest activist Glenn Barry, says that Greenpeace is implicitly condoning the logging of old-growth boreal forests in Canada by supporting Kimberly-Clark’s decision to use wood fiber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council […]
Congo pygmies use GPS to map eco-certified timber concession

Congo pygmies use GPS to map eco-certified timber concession Congo pygmies use GPS to map eco-certified timber concession mongabay.com May 29, 2008 Loggers have teamed with indigenous Pygmies to establish the largest ever eco-certified logging scheme. The 750,000-hectare tract of forest, located in the Republic of Congo, is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), […]

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