[Greenbuilding] Forest Stewardship Council: A list of their latest lying certifications!

Thu Oct 12 19:41:51 CDT 2006

Re: [Greenbuilding] ***Forest Stewardship Council: A listTim, Please tell me which temperate second-growth certifications are sound--I'd really like to know. Certainly not Tembec, not MRC, not J.D. Irving... 

The 80% figure concurs with the depletion of the ancient redwood forests--in fact, they have entered and destroyed or severely damaged almost 98%. With that stat comes the stat that most of this damage was done in the past 30 years, which is true of the redwood forests: circa 1970 is when industrial logging went into high gear. By the way, these two stats are many years old by now--I've been using them for the past six years. And Big Timber hasn't been whistling Dixie in the interim.

Tim, I really don't think any one knows for sure the exact figure, at this point. The latest study of satellite photos released this past year reportedly show that the Amazon has been logged twice as much at twice the rate than was previously believed (I can dig up these articles if you like). 

Where do you get your 50% figure? The UN? I had an exchange with Simon Counsell of Rainforest Foundation, UK, who is at sharp odds with the UN's latest rosy figures, and who believes that there are no reliable figures--there need to be (I can send you those exchanges with all the details as to why they are grossly inaccurate). 

Environmentalists can figure the damage in their forests--like we have done--and those figures are generally staggering, well beyond the 80% figure--like the 98% of old growth redwood gone. Or did you want to contest that, too. Please come to the redwoods and show me those millions of acres of ancient forests--I invite you to.

Mary

Mary Bull, Co-director
Greenwood Earth Alliance, Save the Redwoods - Boycott the Gap Campaign
252 Frederick, San Francisco, CA 94117 http://www.gapsucks.org
Chalice Farm and Sustainable Living Center, 748 Montgomery Rd, Sebastopol CA 95472
415-731-7924 - 415-509-1188 chalicenew at earthlink.net

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Tim Keating 
  To: Mary Bull - Greenwood Earth Alliance ; Greenbuilding ; Tim Hermach (Native Forest Council) ; Bug Deacon (Heritage Salvage) ; Mike (Green Frame) 
  Sent: Thursday, October 12, 2006 5:01 PM
  Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] ***Forest Stewardship Council: A list of their latest lying certifications!***

  Mary,

  You know I agree with most of what you post - we're no real fan of FSC: while I think that many of the temperate second-growth certifications are sound, we're totally against certifications in old growth rainforests. But I feel compelled to again point out that using the "20%" number for remaining primary forests is, I believe, misleading. The fact is that we've cut through about 50% of the old growth (primary) forests that existed on Earth 6,000 years ago, not 80%. The 80% figure comes from World Resources Institute's assessment of what they termed "Frontier Forests" - that is, forests that are expansive and in-tact enough to retain all of their ecological functions. These figures are staggering enough. I think it's important not to confuse these two stats. I've called RAN on it before, too. My concern is that, with the industry constantly trying to undermine our credibility, I don't think giving them more ammo based on us misquoting stats is a good idea.

  tim keating

  At 9:27 AM -0700 9/29/06, Mary Bull - Greenwood Earth Alliance wrote:
    Greetings, Greenbuilders and Colleagues:

    Below are the latest bogus FSC certifications (the list at the end of Rainforest Foundation's executive director Simon Counsell's letter to Greenpeace (many environmentalists have pressured GP--and RAN-- to withdraw from the FSC, since their support is what provides its credibility; when my group did--by writing to GP's 50 offices worldwide, since our direct appeals to their leaders were ignored--GP and RAN finally wrote public letters denouncing the heinous, lying Mendocino Redwood Company certification--an investment of the Fishers of Gap, Inc, hence the boycott---and GP agreed to sponsor our appeal to the FSC, though they told us we didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning it). Add them to the heap of lies already accrued, such as that FSC-certified Tembec is logging sustainably (30 million acres of boreal forest to be clearcut). If you want more info on any of these I will send it.

     I will also be sending the latest scientific analysis of the critical importance of maintaining the last intact temperate rainforests--such as in northern canada and siberia--as an essential deterrent to global warming...

    ***Note that the FSC certifies industrial logging of primary forests--the last 20% on the face of the earth!***

    ***The latest proposal to end this pillaging, which seems really right-on to me, is that governments subsidize the preservation of primary forests and restoration of secondary forests. When you read how we in the US subsidize corn, soy, and cotton so that food processing giants like Cargill (recently nailed by GP for funding illegal logging of the Amazon to grow soy beans to feed beef that go into MacDonald's hamburgers) and Archer Daniels Midland (the GMO-laced high-fructose corn syrup kings, in large part responsible for the dramatic rise in obesity and diabetes in the US, especially in children), can get even more obscenely rich, and think that we could be using that money to preserve and restore this essential component of the earth's eco-system. Another proposal is to restore marginal farmland in the southern US to forest, also through government subsidies--we be fixing two travesties there: industrial farming and deforestation!***

    So-called "green" builders have to wake up from their state of denial, and use only salvaged wood in their buildings, such as that provided by Heritage Salvage in Petaluma! (Go, Bug, go!!!)

    I will be at the West Coast Green Building Conference today and possibly tomorrow handing out literature denouncing the FSC and hopefully having lunch with my colleagues in this good fight to save the planet!

    Cheers!

    Mary

    Mary Bull, Co-director
    Greenwood Earth Alliance, Save the Redwoods - Boycott the Gap Campaign
    252 Frederick, San Francisco, CA 94117 http://www.gapsucks.org
    Chalice Farm and Sustainable Living Center, 748 Montgomery Rd, Sebastopol CA 95472
    415-731-7924 - 415-509-1188 chalicenew at earthlink.net

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: Simon Counsell
    To: Simon Counsell
    Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006 8:12 AM
    Subject: Greenpeace's misleading public statements concerning the Forest Stewardship Council

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      From: Simon Counsell
      Sent: 29 September 2006 11:11
      To: 'John.Sauven at uk.greenpeace.org'
      Cc: 'stephen.tyndale at uk.greenpeace.org'; 'pat.venditti at uk.greenpeace.org'; grant.rosoman at dialb.greenpeace.org
      Subject: Greenpeace's misleading statements concerning the FSC
      Importance: High

      Dear John

      Whilst I applaud your efforts to bring to public attention the UK government's failure to comply with its timber procurement policies, I was very surprised to hear you on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme this morning claiming that "the Forest Stewardship Council is the only system that guarantees that timber comes from legal and sustainable sources". I note that the Greenpeace UK website, as of today, also implies that by buying only FSC timber, the problems of illegal logging and destruction of rainforests would be solved.

      Over the last 18 months or so, I have been sending to your colleagues Gavin Edwards (Greenpeace International Forest Campaign Coordinator), Judy Rodrigues (European Forest Campaign Coordinator) and Grant Rosoman (Greenpeace NZ, and member of the FSC International Board), masses of information on numerous FSC certificated logging operations that absolutely contradicts your claim that FSC guarantees anything of the sort. Your forest campaigning colleague in Greenpeace UK, Pat Venditti, has also received most of this information.

      Only yesterday I circulated to all of the above, including Pat, another piece of information showing how an FSC certified logging operation in Laos is, in fact, producing illegal timber. A couple of days before that, I circulated information about an FSC certified operation in Panama which actually transpires to be a massive financial scam with Mafia connections.

      Other recent bits of information which have been sent to Greenpeace about failures of the FSC system are shown in the 'Annex' below. I would be happy to copy to you all the full correspondence between myself and your Greenpeace colleagues on these FSC failures, as well as all the supporting information and documentation.

      I would add that NONE of the information I have provided on these dismal FSC certificates has been challenged by any of your Greenpeace colleagues. In fact, Greenpeace has been fully aware of the major problems within FSC for at least 4 years - and even acknowledged in 2002 that many if not all of the allegations against the FSC made in the Rainforest Foundation's report 'Trading in Credibility' were, in fact, valid.

      I therefore put it to you that for Greenpeace to claim that "the FSC is the only system that guarantees that timber comes from legal and sustainable sources" is knowingly to mislead the public.

      I therefore suggest that you issue a public retraction, clarification or correction to your statement on the radio this morning, and change the Greenpeace UK website appropriately. Unless such a correction is forthcoming by 15.00 today, I will feel compelled to take steps myself to try and remedy any mis-perception that you have created in the media, the government and the general public.

      Your sincerely

      Simon Counsell

      Simon Counsell
      Director

      The Rainforest Foundation UK
      196 Old Street
      London EC1V 9FR
      England
      Tel:  +44 (0)207 251 6345
      Fax: +44 (0)207 251 4969
      Skype ID: scounsell
      www.rainforestfoundationuk.org

      Annex

      Recent information given to Greenpeace about failures in the FSC system (with date on which the information was provided)

      Sept 2nd, 2006 - World Rainforest Movement demands cancellation of ten major FSC certificates for various environmentally and socially damaging industrial plantations around the world, including in Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Ireland, South Africa, Spain and Uruguay.

      Also Sept 2nd, 2006 - Presov Forest District in Slovakia (which is clear-felling  natural forest in mountainous areas) is 'de-certified' by the Soil Association, but then simply 're-certified by SGS.

      August 1st, 2006 (and in fact, throughout the last year) - Environmental and social groups in Ireland demand the de-certification of Coillte, the Irish State forestry company, for gross non-compliances with the FSC's Principles and Criteria, including use of non-native species, pesticides, destruction of native habitats, lack of accountability, illegalities etc etc etc

      July 24th, 2006 - Spanish environmental groups leave FSC Spain because of the certification of the company NORFOR

      July 19th, 2006 - Ecuadorian environmental and indigenous peoples groups leave FSC Ecuador because of the FSC certification of various awful plantations companies, which are destroying natural forest, using non-native species, in conflict with local communities...

      June 23rd, 2006 - FSC certification of the Cameroonian logging company Wijma, which Greenpeace itself has identified in one of its reports as being deeply involved in criminal activities, so say nothing of destroying tropical rainforests and being in conflict with local Pygmy people.

      June 6th, 2006 - FSC certified company Global Forest Products is found to be exterminating the population of baboons in one of its certified plantation areas in South Africa

      May 30th, 2006 - FSC certified logging company Sumalindo Lestari Jaya is going to start clearfelling 37,000 hectares of its rainforest logging concession in Indonesia

      May 17th, 2006 - FSC's 'controlled wood standard' will actually allow the entry of illegally logged wood into the FSC-certified supply chain

      January 10th, 2006 - Greenpeace urged to withdraw from the FSC by environmental groups in the US who are campaigning against the FSC-certified logging company Mendocino Redwoods, which is destroying ancient redwood forests.

      December 13th, 2005 - Colombian environmental groups call for cancellation of the FSC certificate of Pizano SA

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