Evaluation report of V&M Florestal Ltda. and Plantar S.A. Reflorestamentos, both certified by FSC - Forest Stewardship Council
Brazil, November 2002
A report written by a research team (*) for the World Rainforest Movement.

Contents:

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 01: SOME COMPANY FEATURES

- V&M Florestal Ltda

- Plantar S.A. Reflorestamentos

Chapter 2: THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS THROUGH SGS AND SCS

- The composition of the certifing group and content of the assessment

- Participation of the interested parties in the certification process

- The rational of conditionning

- Public access the the Public Summary (PS)

Chapter 3: REGARDING THE REGION'S SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT

Chapter 4: VERIFICATION OF FSC PRINCIPLES AND CRITERIA

Chapter 5: FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

Bibliography

Acronyms

Photos

Click here to download the complete report in word format.

INTRODUCTION

With the aim of contributing to fine tuning the principles and criteria establishing "good management" and with a view to enhancing the discussion on the FSC* forest certification system, the World Rainforest Movement (WRM) commissioned two studies to help assess the management of homogeneous plantations certified by FSC. One of the studies was made in Thailand and the other in Brazil. Particular attention was paid to Principle 10, on "plantations" and its specificity within the set of the other principles referring to actual forests.

The idea of carrying out independent studies of this type arose from a concern shared today by many socio-environmental movements and organisations both in the South and in the North, regarding the certification of millions of hectares of uniform and large-scale plantations of trees all over the world. In supplying wood products for unrestricted demand, many of these socio-environmental groups have questioned the possible "sustainability" of thousands of hectares of a single and uniform cultivation. It is not surprising that various complaints have been made against certified company plantations since the FSC included and approved Principle 10 on "plantations." However, in order to discuss within FSC improvements to the plantation certification system, in addition to complaints more elements are necessary. It is along these lines that the idea of a study arose, showing the results of an assessment of certified companies, based on a critical look at the local situation where such companies operate. In the case of the plantations assessed in Brazil, we have used as guidelines the Summary and Public Proceedings (PS) made by the Certifiers, the Brazilian FSC Plantation Certification Models and the FSC Principles and Criteria.

This study is an attempt to provide elements for discussion of the certification of plantations within FSC. Here in Brazil we decided to assess two companies: V&M Florestal Ltd., which in January 1999 obtained the FSC seal through SGS for all its managed units: 234,886 hectares, of which 128,326 are planted with eucalyptus. We also assessed Plantar S.A. Reflorestamentos that had an area of 13,287 hectares certified by SCS in two stages between 1998 and 2000.

During one week in October 2002, we listened to the various interested parties and visited the areas of the companies in the districts of Curvelo and Bocaiúva. We studied the Certification Summary and Public Proceedings and the Monitoring Reports. We talked to the inhabitants who live near the company zones, trade union leaders, sub-contracted workers, people who had had accidents, pensioners, workers who had been dismissed, city councillors, public inspectors, state deputies, technicians, research workers, academics, non-governmental organisations and representatives of regional public bodies and entities. We consulted available documentation on the region, academic theses, public civil legal action, and reports by the Parliamentary Investigation Commissions.

In the first chapter of this report, is a brief description of the two companies, presenting some of their general features. In chapter 2, a critique is made of the certification process for the two companies, as carried out by SGS in the case of V&M Florestal and by SCS in the case of Plantar S.A. Reflorestamentos. Following this, in chapter 3, we comment on the Public Summaries and their insufficient focus on the historical, economic, social and environmental context in which the companies participate. Furthermore, we have attempted to provide some elements that were not considered by the certifiers, but which are of importance in this context. In chapter 4, we record the lack of compliance by the companies with all the FSC Principles. As a conclusion, final considerations are made and a bibliography, list of acronyms and other attachments are included.

It is important to note that we are not authorised to reveal the name of some of the people interviewed in this report, as they feared reprisals would be taken by the companies. We can but respect such requests and fears. In some cases, we decided on our own to conceal the name of the person, due to the seriousness of the complaint and the power of the companies in taking reprisals. Therefore, in some cases some names are given as interviewee, local inhabitant and/or trade union member. We insist that these are real people and that they are at the disposal of FSC-International, under the condition that the necessary reserve is maintained. If they so request, we are willing to take FSC-International representatives to talk to these people, and to take them to see the places we visited and describe. Finally, we emphasise our concern and surprise over the fear these people feel, because this should not happen when dealing with certifying companies.

(*) report and field work by:

- Marco Antônio Soares dos Santos André - Articulação do Semi-Árido (ASA) - Espírito Santo.

- Rosa Roldan - Assessora de Meio Ambiente do Central Único dos Trabalhadores (CUT) - Rio de Janeiro.

- Fábio Martins Villas - Conselho Indigenista Missionário (CIMI) - Espírito Santo.

- Maria Diana de Oliveira - Associação de Geógrafos do Brasil - Minas Gerais.

- José Augusto de Castro Tosato - Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas para o Desenvolvimento do Extremo Sul da Bahia - CEPEDES - Eunápolis - Bahia.

- Winfried Overbeek - Federação de Órgãos para Assistência Social e Educacional - FASE- Vitória - Espírito Santo.

- Marcelo Calazans Soares - Federação de Órgãos para a Assistência Social e Educacional - FASE - Vitória - Espírito Santo.

This report is based on research carried out during November 2002 in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, coordinated by WRM with support from the Friends of the Earth biodiversity project.