Forest Matters FSC UK Newsletter February 2015
Contents 2
Director’s Overview Dear Reader,
News in Brief
3 Forest Feature: Hafren Forest 5
Guest Feature: Animals in Forests
7 Forest Photo Competition 9
Certification and Restoration in Chile
News in Brief
10 FSC Certification brings benefits for UK forests 11 Product Focus: Yorkshire Tea 11 A Postcard from...Chile 12 WWF UK Forest Campaign
I retire shortly after more than eight years as Executive Director of FSC UK. I took the post as an entrant from industry with few firm views on FSC’s offer to its varied range of stakeholders, other than a firm conviction that over-exploitative logging, whether legal or not, was against most people’s longterm interest. It would not prove easy, because the devil always lurks in the detail, but surely a consensus could be maintained between all those who might claim to have a stake: be they producers, processers or retailers of forest products or those who spoke either for the communities and groups which rely on woodlands in some way or for the natural resources therein. Looking back over the years, I note that almost all the energy of my small team at FSC UK has been devoted to maintaining that consensus in some way or another, usually by explaining – to individuals, companies or the public at large - what is acceptable under FSC’s policies and standards or contributing to the debate when a new consensus is required. It is regrettable that, powerful though consensus has proved as an enabling tool, it has two salient features which many find frustrating: it takes a long time to reach agreements, and that those agreements have to be translated into extensive written policies and standards which many feel only the specialist can navigate. As I hand FSC UK over into the capable hands of Rosie Teasdale, who has been my deputy for the last six years, I am heartened by the latest draft of FSC’s global plan, which has specific objectives to streamline standards and overhaul international decision-making. I hope meeting these will remove some of the frustration, but the underlying concept of the need to balance monetary return from forest activities against the social and environmental costs (and potential gains) will in no way be diminished. Indeed, despite the difficulties, so obviously has the concept proved successful that the FSC model is being replicated for the management of other critical resources across the globe. Yours Sincerely,
Charles Thwaites MBE, Executve Director, FSC UK
FSC UK appoints new Executive Director We are pleased to announce that we have appointed a new Executive Director, Rosie Teasdale. After two rounds of interviews Rosie emerged as the successful candidate, and will replace Charles Thwaites in March.
Photography Winners Announced The results of our annual photography competition have been announced, and you can see the results on pages 7 and 8. All 12 photos will now be entered into a public vote for the ‘people’s choice’. This voting is done via Facebook, where a ‘like’ equals a vote. If you click on each photo it will take you through to our Facebook
Sainsbury’s Christmas Card Recycling
WWF Forest Campaign
Sainsbury’s launched their Christmas Card recycling appeal again last year, with over 800 stores taking part. People were invited to bring their Cards into the stores, with profits from recycling donated to FSC UK. We’d like to thank Sainsbury’s for this excellent campaign!
The WWFs new forest campaign focuses on two major objectives – to encourage businesses to change their procurement practices to sourcing FSC certified wood and paper, and to create a public campaign to ask the Government to lobby for a stronger European Union Timber Regulation, which currently only addresses the legality of 41% of timber products coming into the EU.
FSC UK visit Newtown College
NEW Forest Matters e-zine
In mid-January, the FSC UK communications team took a lesson at the Newtown Campus of the NTPC Group, for a group of students on a sustainability course. We covered the range of products produced by trees, the importance of forests around the world, and of course an insight into the FSC system.
FSC UK has combined our newsletter for FSC licence holders with our magazine for supporters to create Forest Matters, a new and freely available bi-monthly e-zine.
Would you like to run a lesson in your school on the FSC and the importance of forests? You can download all our free educational material on our website.
Have you got an FSC product you would like us to feature (p.11)? Would you like to submit a guest article on issues relating to FSC or sustainable forestry (p.5)? Forest Matters is sent to all subscribers and FSC UK licence holders. Licence holders also receive a ‘technical insert’ detailing important information about FSC policies and standards. All contributions should be sent to alex@fsc-uk.org.
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improved the social aspects of forest management.”
Forest Feature
Amongst the conservation objectives is the protection of the important waterways that flow through the forest. Too much felling alongside streams can increase the acidity of the water. Forests also have an important role in preventing flooding by taking up water that would otherwise enter streams and rivers, which is why the forest directly surrounding these areas is particularly important.
Hafren - a working forest in the heart of Wales Alex Kendall is Communications Officer at FSC UK. He has a masters in Conservation and Forestry and has worked on forest conservation projects in Borneo. He likes the woods.
In mid-Wales, near the FSC UK office, lies Hafren Forest, close to the sources of both the Wye and Severn rivers and containing more than 34km of public rights of way. The forest is over 2800 hectares (nearly 4000 football pitches) in size and is a working forest, producing over 29,000 cubic metres of wood each year. We met up with Jim Ralph of Natural Resources Wales (NRW), who looks after the forest, to get his opinion on whether certification has made a difference to how the forest is managed, and how forestry in general has changed over the years. One obvious starting point is how the objectives have changed. “Where these used to be based on felling dates and economics, the arrival of FSC led
Hafren. © Alex Kendall.
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Broadleaved trees in the riparian zone. © Alex Kendall.
to more consideration of conservation objectives.” Hafren forest is certainly managed these days with a greater emphasis on the environment. A map showing the proposed future look of the forest shows an increase in broadleaves alongside waterways, and there is already a butterfly meadow next to the main visitor car park. This has deliberately not been planted with trees, and requires different skills in nature stewardship than would normally be present in a purely production focused forest. There is a clear vision in the management of the forest which combines social, environmental and economic factors. Trees are still felled, providing the necessary wood (in Hafren’s case) for fencing, panels, construction, pallets and wood fuel, but with FSC
12,000 people visit Hafren every year.
The butterfly meadow. © Alex Kendall.
“FSC certification has improved the social aspects of forest management.”
these products can be made whilst ensuring the forest is socially beneficial and environmentally friendly. 12,000 people visit Hafren every year according to NRW’s figures, and they take part in a huge number of different activities, from walking and cycling to motorbike and car rallies, and from osprey watching to police dog training and orienteering. People are also consulted on plans for the forest on a landscape scale; “FSC certification has
Linked to the concern for the health of waterways is the fate of the soil after trees are harvested, as when poorly managed this can be washed away. Amongst the machinery used for harvest, “the more damaging skidders are limited in their use, and the harvesters and forwarders have two more wheels, up to 8 from 6, to reduce pressure on the soil.” Perhaps the most concerning aspect of forest and agricultural management to members of the public are the chemicals sprayed to destroy pests and weeds. NRW has recently moved to using nematodes as a means of targeting some pests as opposed to chemicals, a process that was helped by certification. “There is also a reduced use of chemicals by using controlled doses more often than overall spraying, and a change in the type of chemicals from more to less damaging.” It is clear that certification and the FSC system has helped improve the social and environmental aspects of the management of UK forests registered with the scheme. We’re looking forward to seeing how forests in the UK change in the future, both as habitats for animals and places for people, and as productive forests where we can still get important wood based products. With FSC you can have both!
Public access is encouraged. © Alex Kendall.
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Guest Feature
Animals in Forests Ian Redmond is a wildlife biologist specialising in primates and elephants. He is a consultant to the Born Free Foundation and is their representative to the FSC. Ian also serves as Ambassador for the UNEP Convention on Migratory Species and was the Envoy for the UN Great Apes Survival Partnership. What is a forest? To most people, it is quite simply a place with a lot of trees. Right. We know this because when you walk through a forest, the trees dominate your senses. With luck, you might glimpse an animal, and so you might say a forest is a place with a lot of trees where some animals live. Again, you’d be right up to a point, but this rather suggests that the animals are an optional extra – and on this, you’d be categorically wrong. Animals don’t just live in the forest they are an indispensable part of the forest. This ecological fact is one reason why the new FSC marketing materials are so apt – but do the FSC Principles and Criteria reflect this need to care for animals as well as trees, forest workers and local communities? When we speak of forests, we need to think of forest ecosystems – the dynamic interaction between animals, plants, fungi and microbes. Remove any of these components, and your healthy forest ecosystem will go into decline – though this might not be immediately obvious. Without fungi and detritivores, nutrients from deadwood and fallen
leaves would not be returned to the soil to be taken up by tree roots. If, say, a certain species of insect needed to pollinate a tree species, or a certain fruiteating mammal or bird, is wiped out by pesticides, habitat loss or uncontrolled hunting, that species of tree will gradually disappear as old trees die but no seedlings grow to replace them. But it may be decades before anyone notices, and even longer before someone works out what caused the change. This is particularly important in tropical forests, where between 75-95 per cent of tree species have their seeds dispersed by animals (rather than by wind or water). The co-evolution of animals and plants has led to a mutual dependency. Frugivorous animals depend on tasty, nutrient-rich fruits, and swallow the s e e d s , depositing them far from the parent plant t h e next day in a neat package of fertiliser – hence being known as the ‘gardeners o f the forest’. But seeds that have evolved a tough integument to survive the passage through an animal’s gut acids are so well protected that if they are not chewed and partially digested, they are unlikely to germinate. Thus, no fruit-eating animals… no seedlings growing into the trees of tomorrow. For fifty tropical countries, 37 in Africa and 13 in Asia, elephants are the biggest seed dispersal agents. They have been dubbed Mega-gardeners of the forest because they eat more seeds, of more species, and disperse them further, than any other animal.
Grauer’s gorilla eats Myrianthus fruit, thereby dispersing seeds. PNKB. Ian Redmond.
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They can also swallow large seeds, meaning trees with the biggest seeds can only have their seeds spread by elephants – and as elephant numbers have declined by an estimated 95 per cent in the last century, there must have been a similar decline in obligate elephant-dispersed tree species (though in the 19th century, little was known about the species composition of remote forests in Africa and SE Asia).
“75-95 percent of tree species have their seeds dispersed by animals” Loss of elephants has other serious consequences too. An elephant eats about four per cent of its body weight per day, which means that each elephant produces about one tonne of manure per week. There may have been 10 million elephants in Africa before the advent of fire-arms, producing 10 million tonnes of rich organic fertiliser every week. Asian elephants also probably numbered in the millions. Now – thanks largely to the global demand for ivory - there are fewer than half a million, and falling, across both continents. Think of the loss of productivity of the soils! Many other large mammals have suffered a similar decline in population size, and the process continues wherever hunting is not tightly controlled, even in what is left of the tropical forest belt. The rise in commercial bushmeat hunting, often linked to the opening up of forests for timber extraction, has led to what ecologists refer to as ‘empty forest syndrome’, or more poetically ‘silent forests’. Studies are now confirming what many predicted would happen – that the number and species mix of seedlings in over-hunted forests is changing dramatically, with a corresponding loss of biodiversity. The consequences of this may be dire as climate change brings new stresses to forests, such as changing patterns of rainfall, an increase in extreme weather events and changing distribution of insects as they adapt to new conditions. The Convention on Biological Diversity reports that biodiverse ecosystems are more resilient to climate change, having more species with more characteristics and so a greater likelihood of being able to cope with changes in their habitat.
Myrianthus fruit, seeds dispersed by apes, PNKB. Ian Redmond
This is the ‘natural capital’ which we have for so long taken for granted, but which must now be valued and included in economic assessments as part of land-use planning and development. Not only do forests lose resilience as their component species disappear, their capacity to store carbon appears to be diminished. Botanists have noted a correlation between wood density and seed size; trees with larger seeds tend to have denser wood. Denser wood contains more carbon, and as we now recognise the importance of tropical forests for carbon sequestration and storage, we must ensure that the primates and elephants thrive to play their role as keystone species. The Oxford-based Global Canopy Programme concludes, in reports on tropical deforestation, “If we lose the forests, we lose the fight against climate change.” But it is equally clear that even if we keep some forests standing if we lose the animals, we still reduce the forest’s ability to deal with our global greenhouse gas emissions and changing climate. This realisation brings a new urgency to the work of wildlife conservation organisations such as the Born Free Foundation. Born Free has pioneered the concept of compassionate conservation, in which natural habitats are protected and individual animals are valued and respected for the role they play within their social group, wider community and ecosystem. The message is clear for FSC members – as responsible stewards of forest ecosystems - the health of the planet depends on the forests, and the health of the forests depends on the animals: the insects that pollinate the flowers and the birds, fruit bats, primates, tapirs, elephants, etc. who disperse the seeds and fertilise the soil for the next generation of trees.
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2nd (Places for People) James Dickenson
Forest Photos Winners
2nd (Lovely Labels) Colin Reekie
2nd (Woodland Wildlife) Sally Norcliffe 1st (Working in the Woods) Christine Davies
1st place (Terrific Trees) Ancient Hornbeam Marion Sidebottom
1st (Flora & Fungi) Martin Jones
Congratulations to the winners and runners up in our 2014 photography competition! Head to our Facebook page to vote for your favourite. The photograph with the most likes (by end of February 2015) will be selected as the ‘people’s choice’ and will win expert tuition from professional photographer and judge, Edward Parker and a Go Ape family ticket. All winners and runners up will receive an FSC goody bag. Keep an eye on the FSC UK website for judges’ comments, special commendations and the result of the public vote.
2nd place (Terrific Trees) Scots Pine Gabriel Hemery
2nd (Working in the Woods) Carol Miller 1st (Places for People) Ceri Jones
1st (Woodland Wildlife) Nicola Wearmouth
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1st (Lovely Labels) Joanna Sedgwick
2nd (Flora & Fungi) Christine Davies
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Chile
Certification and Restoration in Chile Plantation companies in Chile have committed to restore large areas of native forest as a condition of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. When Chile’s biggest plantation companies, Arauco and CMPC, sought FSC certification toward the end of the last decade, it brought the controversial issue of forest conversion into the spotlight. Large areas of natural forest in southern Chile were cleared to make way for plantations. Most of this happened in the 1970s and 80s, but some conversion was more recent (after 1994). As a requirement from civil society to enable the FSC certification process, the companies committed to restore more than 35,000 hectares of native forest to compensate for all the conversion that took place after 1994.
compensation can also happen in other areas. That means that, rather than restoring many small, scattered areas, companies can focus on larger units that will have a greater positive impact. CMPC, for example, considers criteria to decide where restoration bring the biggest benefits, such - Improving water supplies - Connecting areas of high conservation value - Restoring degraded soils - Providing recreational and landscape benefits. Restoration on this scale has never happened before in Chile, but it has the potential to go much further. The big question being discussed on the study tour was how we can build on the companies’ restoration plans and experience to bring even greater environmental and social benefits. Key lessons: Social considerations
Masisa (which has been FSC certified since 2004) and CMPC both presented their restoration plans during the study tour, and we visited several sites where restoration is under way. The approach taken depends on the surrounding vegetation and the amount of regrowth naturally occurring. Some sites were being left to regenerate naturally, some had to be entirely replanted, and others involved a mixture of the two. Both companies are working closely with academic researchers to guide and monitor the restoration.
To maximize the benefits of restoration, it’s important to look beyond a company’s own operations. Companies need to consider the role of forests within the landscape and collaborate with other land users. We’d like to thank Barney Jeffries of New Generation Plantations Platform for this story. You can find out more at http://newgenerationplantations.org.
Simon Hart, Dave Robson and Ben Drake at Winnows Woodland (© Egger)
Certification brings benefits for UK forests Egger Forest Management has introduced a forest certification group scheme helping landowners to demonstrate both their commitment to sustainability and get a better price from their managed woodlands. The Egger Forestry Ltd group scheme (SGS-FM/ COC-010252) achieved FSC forest management certification in August 2014. Some 1.4 million hectares of the UK’s forests are now certified. Simon Hart, a veteran of forest certification having been involved since its inception in the UK some 15 years ago, is managing Egger’s scheme. He commented: “Since Forest Management ago, this scheme is worked hard and at no
launching the Egger operation a year something we have little cost to achieve.
“Being able to offer clients the benefits of certification, including third party audit of management against a recognised standard, gives us the ability to achieve the highest price for the land owner from the market for their timber.
Plantation companies in Chile have committed to reforestation. New Generation Plantations.
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UK Forests
14 will as:
Consulting with neighbouring communities is a crucial part of the companies’ restoration plans. For example, to protect an area under restoration, they may need to provide alternative sites where people can graze cattle or collect firewood. There are also opportunities to involve local people in the restoration work, for example in collecting seeds of native species and growing seedlings.
While some restoration is happening in the same places where conversion occurred, other certification bodies have agreed that
An additional benefit of certification is that our scheme and systems are independently audited each year, which gives them piece of mind that we are managing to a high, sustainable standard.”
Egger Forest Management’s first load of certified timber has just left the Winnows Hill woodland near Consett, County Durham. The site is managed by forest manager Dave Robson who is based at Egger in Hexham. He said: “It is really important to be able to offer certified timber to the market place as it ensures we can maximise the price for the woodland owner. Most timber markets are demanding at least an element of certified timber, meaning there is always the highest demand for certified material. The timber moves from the site quickly and our client benefits. My Scottish colleague Sam Booth is about to put 14,000 tonnes of Egger-certified wood to market from Crookedstane Craig, Beattock Summit in Dumfriesshire. He was recently quoted a £2 per tonne differential between certified and uncertified timber, so it doesn’t need a large timber project for the client to soon get back the additional costs associated with meeting the certification standard.” Egger Forestry Ltd have also held an FSC Chain of Custody certificate (TTCOC-001129) since March 2000.
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WWF-UK is calling on YOU to help stop forests being erased!
Product Focus Company: Taylors of Harrogate Licence number: FSC-C112718 Certified since: 2013 Product: Yorkshire Tea (packaging) Label: FSC Mix
Forests are much more than just a collection of trees. They’re critical to life on Earth and are home to over half of land-dwelling animals, plants and insects – and 75% of bird species too! They are also vital for people; around a billion people depend on forests for their livelihood. With demand for wood expected to triple by 2050 it is essential we act now to #SaveForests and encourage responsible use.
Why FSC? “FSC protects and maintains natural communities and high conservation value forests and respects the rights of workers, communities and indigenous peoples. This is why Taylors and Bettys Group decided to gain FSC Chain of Custody certification to demonstrate our support for the responsible supply of packaging materials. The principles of the FSC are synonymous with the values that we hold dear within our Company. We strive to pay fair prices and to improve social and environmental standards throughout our supply chain.”
Currently, every two seconds an area of forest the size of a football pitch is destroyed. Yet here in the UK you can still buy furniture, books, cards and other products made from illegally or unsustainably sourced wood. This means it’s likely every person in the UK has (or uses) products made with illegally logged timber in them somewhere.
What’s next? “Recently we have extended the use of our FSC CoC Licence code to products we have co-manufactured in the UAE that are for sale in Australia and now about to be launched in America.”
Transition to a market in sustainable timber by 2020.
Photographs © Taylors of Harrogate
So why is this happening?
A postcard from... Chile The FSC story began in 1998 when a working group was formed by several different organisations with the aim of mitigating the impact of forest management on the environment.
FSC certified. Chain of Custody certification is also growing and because of this, we can see more certified products in the market, such as packaging, paper bags and construction materials.
The FSC office developed out of this. FSC Chile was recognised by FSC International in 2004 as a National Initiative, and was recognised as a National Office in 2010.
FSC Chile has three members of staff, who manage the work of the FSC in Chile and work on assignments with different working groups. The ForCES project is currently ongoing in Chile, which aims to see how FSC certification can be extended to cover ecosystem services, and is due to conclude this year.
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reviewed. This is a chance to get the loopholes closed and call for all timber and timber products to be included in the EUTR. This would help prevent illegally logged timber entering the EU because the government enforcement teams would be looking for whether goods were legal or not, across the board. As well as supporting the legislation changes WWF-UK are also asking UK businesses to pledge to buy timber and timber based products from sustainable sources by 2020. These changes to legislation and the way businesses operate would mean you could be sure the timber and timber products you buy are both legal and sustainable. What can you do to help? WWF-UK need your support to help to make this happen and to #SaveForests! Add your name to WWF-UK’s online petition so they can tell businesses and governments to support thriving and healthy forests and stop them from disappearing. Alongside this we encourage you to continue to buy FSC certified products to ensure your timber and timber products are from credible sources.
On top of this problem, even if the timber has been logged legally it doesn’t mean it’s sustainable. What is legal when it comes to timber production varies considerably from country to country – the laws could be basic, authorising trees to be cut and traded but not making any other conditions, or they could cover more requirements – but that doesn’t necessarily mean the long-term future of the forest has been considered.
In Chile there are more than 2.4 million hectares of FSC certified forest. We have 23 companies certified with forest management certificates, and 131 companies with Chain of Custody certificates.
FSC certification is growing in Chile. Since 2013 we have had a big growth in certified area because two of the largest forest companies in Chile became
In 2013, the European Union (EU) introduced the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) to prevent illegally logged wood being imported into Europe. However due to some loopholes, only half of all timber and timber products are covered. So, for example this means that a picture frame is covered under the regulation but a picture frame with a picture in it is not! More worryingly some major sectors of the market in timber and timber based products aren’t covered at all, such as printed materials, including books and cards. This means illegally logged timber is legally entering and being sold in the UK.
WWF Forest Campaign
What is WWF-UK doing to change this?
©FSC A.C
It’s time to say no to this nonsense! WWF-UK’s Forest Campaign seeks to cut out the trade in illegal and unsustainable timber within the EU. Fortunately there is an opportunity to change the timber law as in December 2015 it is due to be
Steve Backshall and Deborah Meaden attended a recent WWF-UK event to support the Forest Campaign and to call on businesses to help protect the world’s forests from deforestation.
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Guess the product! Each edition of Forest Matters will include a small competition. For this issue, can you work out what the certified product is in the photo? Tweet your suggestions to @FSCUK or hashtag #chooseFSC. Correct suggestions will have our lasting respect.
#chooseFSC FSC in numbers 2,360 Chain of Custody certificates in the UK 1,585,385 hectares of FSC certified forest in the UK 28,303 Chain of Custody certificates worldwide 182,024 million hectares of FSC certified forest worldwide Latest figures from FSC IC.
Forest Stewardship Council速 (FSC速) UK is a charity dedicated to promoting responsible forestry. For more information about FSC UK: www.fsc-uk.org 11-13 Great Oak Street Llanidloes Powys, SY18 6BU 01686 413916 info@fsc-uk.org
Charity number: 1130203 FSC速 F000231