03/30/2007 - FSC shows the way to deal with deforestation
Australian Government statistics show that the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification system is one of the most effective tools for dealing with the trade in illegal and unsustainably harvested wood.
In recent years, Australia’s imports of ‘dubious’ wood pulp from Indonesia have been eliminated voluntarily as a result of work to meet FSC requirements by Australia’s largest office paper manufacturer Australian Paper.
Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) statistics show that imports of mechanical wood pulp from Indonesia fell from nearly $18 million in 2003-04 to zero in 2005-06 (1).
This dramatic fall coincided with Australian Paper working toward and then receiving their FSC Chain of Custody certificate in 2006 for the Maryvale Mill in Victoria where the company produces Reflex papers.
A 2005 report for the Australian Government identified about $400 million in illegal or unsustainably harvested wood imported to Australia. For wood pulp, the report identified Indonesia “as the country most likely to have sourcing problems” (2).
FSC provides an effective, low cost tool for the Australians to deal with deforestation by blocking the trade in illegal and unsustainable wood and promoting responsible forest management globally.
While many people have been talking about dealing with Australia’s role in the illegal wood trade, FSC is doing what the system founders intended – providing a market driven mechanism to deal with global deforestation.
An independent not for profit organisation, FSC has been the fastest growing initiative in the Australian forest products industry over the past 12 months with the number of companies participating growing from 10 to more than 40.
The system now includes some of the largest players in the Australian forest products industry including Paperlinx (marchanting and paper), ITC Limited, Timbercorp, Hancock Victorian Plantation and other downstream manufacturers and processors.
FSC is a global system active in countries where there is most concern about deforestation. A recent United Nations report observed that in all new certified tropical and sub-tropical forest areas, FSC had issued the first certificates.
While FSC is an effective tool for dealing with illegal and unsustainable logging, it is also an important tool for promoting forest management that is environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable.
In Australia, FSC is managed by a Board that includes three people from the forest products industry, three from environmental groups and three from social interests such as timber communities.
1 Australian Forest and Wood Products Statistics, March and June quarters 2006, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) November 2006
2 Overview of Illegal Logging, Jaakko Pöyry Consulting, for the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, September 2005
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