Australia:
AFS certification scheme denounced by NGOs
In our previous issue (WRM Bulletin
Nº 110), we published a section on “plantation certification at
its worse”, including the case of the Pan European Forest Certification
Scheme (PEFC), a programme for the endorsement of national certification
schemes.
The Australian Forestry Standard (AFS),
developed by the Australian logging industry and the Australian
Government and Government agencies, is the Australian member of
the PEFC Council. It is also a main element of the Australian
Forest Certification Scheme (AFCS), started in 2000 to provide
an “Australian forest certification scheme”.
Similar to other certification schemes,
the AFS contributes to the expansion of large scale tree monocultures
as long as it allows the conversion of forests to plantations.
As an added negative attribute, it has also been heavily criticized
by local environmental NGOs. In
2002, National Australian environmental non-government organisations
(ENGOs) had expressed in a letter their complete rejection of
the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS).
The NGOs had explained that as a result
of the continued failure of the process to address any of their
concerns, they had withdrew from the Standard’s development process
at the beginning of that year because they had found that “there
was no involvement of environmental interests in the development
of either the Standard’s terms of reference, or the Steering Committee.
The terms of reference were developed by the Australian Federal
Government and the logging industry with no consultation of ENGOs
or other stakeholders”. Also, they referred that the “repeated
attempts by ENGOs to address these inequities were rejected by
those driving the Standard’s development process”.
Standards Australia - self-described
as the peak, non-government standards body in Australia which
ensures the effective development of standards – had received
ENGOs objections, but made no attempt to address their environmental
concerns, particularly logging of old growth forests, conversion
of native forests and native vegetation to plantations, clearfelling,
and inappropriate use of chemicals.
All ENGO’s withdrew from the process
in 2002 due to concerns over the lack of meaningful participation,
and the contents of the draft standard. Since from then on the
AFS has been developed and finalized without the involvement,
support or endorsement of the environmental NGO sector, the ENGOs
were deeply concerned that the Australian Government and the logging
industry would seek either to gain mutual accreditation with other
certification schemes or to misleadingly pass off this Standard
as being independent and having the support of environmental stakeholders.
In an open letter issued in October
2005, Australian national ENGOs denounced that “despite the lack
of a formal accredited Standard and the lack of ENGO participation,
one accredited organization appears to imply in its materials
that it is accredited under an AFS “Standard”, whilst materials
on the AFS Ltd’s website appear to imply the ongoing participation
of ENGOs.” They stated that “ENGOs do not – and did not – endorse
any of the standards setting processes as the current and previous
interim draft standards permit wood arising from clearing of native
forests (including old growth and threatened species habitat)
for conversion to single species plantations to be certified,
as well as the poisoning of native wildlife, and continues to
exclude ENGOs from meaningful participation in any of the standards
setting processes.”
Being neither independent, nor third
party, AFS’ poor performance adds to its responsibility as a promoter
of the “green deserts”, with their heavy toll on the environment
and the communities.
Article based on information from: “Open
letter to European Union Environment and Trade Ministers, timber
retailers, consumers and other interested parties”, June 2003;
“Open letter from Australian national ENGO’s campaigning for forest
protection and sustainable forest management”, October 2005, sent
by Jutta Kill, FERN, e-mail:
jutta@fern.org
