EU Forest Watch

April 1999: Issue 33

An Infant Certification Scheme: PEFC 

Sami representative arrested in Sweden.

WTO and EU - meetings

Brazil Pilot Programme

 Forest Regulation

 EU Forest Agenda

The Pan European Forest Certification Scheme (PEFC) was presented and discussed on April 20 at a seminar in Wurzburg, Germany. The PEFC scheme will be based on the six Helsinki criteria. A certification standard still needs to be developed. The scheme, set up mainly by forest owners, is intended to be an alternative to the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Scheme. Forest owners claim the FSC scheme is not suitable for small-scale forestry, and is dominated by NGOs.

Environment NGOs, sectors of the forestry industry and some unions have expressed strong reservations about the scheme. They feel it is not yet clear whether the PEFC scheme will lead to improved forest management in Europe.

The two-day seminar consisted of a day of lectures -comprising over 20 lectures in one day-, and a day of consultative workshops. The president of the German Forestry Council, Hermann Ilander, and several other speakers representing the PEFC, clearly felt that forest owners believe that 'after 9 months of hard work the baby was born'. It was therefore with considerable pride that they presented a PEFC logo. However, a joint press release launched the same morning by German NGOs strongly denounced the initiative. The certification debate was therefore once again caught up in misinformation and suspicion rather than in a constructive debate on how to move forwards.

It became apparent that the PEFC has as yet no certification standards, chain of custody or control mechanisms. The different national schemes presented at the seminar, which will fall under the PEFC umbrella are still very far apart, with the Nordic countries miles ahead of the rest. According to the PEFC statutes presented, most decision making power will be in the hands of the forest owners. The PEFC has therefore still a long way to go to become a widely acceptable scheme. It remains to be seen what the PEFC will contain once it is formally launched on June 30th.

Christian Anz spoke on behalf of the European Commission. Although he stated that the Commission cannot support one scheme only, he expressed strong support for the PEFC, indicating he felt it was credible and transparent. As this is not yet the case, the only conclusion is that he had not properly studied the PEFC documents.

The Forest Movement Europe’s position was presented by Saskia Ozinga (available from Fern). She stated that European NGOs could not support this scheme as it still lacked the basic elements a certification scheme should comply with. She mentioned that the FSC was an 'open' organisation, guided by its members, which could still be improved. She encouraged forest owners to join the FSC process to ensure it meets their needs.

Olof Johansson, the Swedish Sami representative who toured Europe in March, as part of a Sami delegation, was arrested as soon as he returned to Sweden. He was kept in custody for a week over Easter and was finally released without any charges.

The reindeer herding Sami toured Europe to ask for support in their struggle against forest owners.The forest owners have taken 12 Sami communities to court as they want to force the Sami people to stop reindeer herding in their forests during the winter period. (Forest Watch 32)

The sudden arrest of Olof Johansson on unsubstantiated charges has alarmed environment and human rights NGOs around the world1. Sweden is a well established democracy and has a reputation for openness and transparency. Nevertheless, it seems to neglect its own traditions with this sudden arrest.

It is also surprising that the Swedish Government has not yet ensured that the customary rights of its own indigenous people are respected. NGOs from all over the world have called upon the Swedish Government to intervene in the ongoing court cases against the Sami communities and to adopt and implement ILO Convention 169 to ensure the Sami customary rights are respected in the future.

The European Commission and Parliament organised 3 meetings to discuss the WTO’s Third Ministerial Conference in Seattle in November 99.

On 20 April, the Commission held an informal meeting on trade and environment with NGO and Member State representatives. The discussion centred on the integration of environment in the Seattle negotiations and capacity building for trade-institutions in developing countries. Environment NGOs demanded improved access to Commission papers to ensure proper consultation with civil society can take place. The Commission stated that it was willing to improve dissemination of documents but it depended on the approval of Member States.

On 22 April, the Committee on External Economic Relations of the European Parliament held a Public Hearing on the European Union and WTO. The Commission presented its current negotiation position for the up-coming WTO's conference. The Commission wants to expand the WTO negotiations to include government procurement, investment and competition. This is strongly resisted by most environment and social NGOs who have called for a moratorium on any new issues or further negotiations that expand the scope and power of the WTO (statement available from Fern).

On 27-28 April, the Greens in the Parliament held a meeting on the WTO. The discussion included the global financial crisis, trade and transnational corporations and redistribution of benefits. The lack of transparency within the WTO and the Commission was highlighted. Participants agreed that there should be no expansion of WTO's powers. Instead the focus should be on a comprehensive and in-depth review of the existing agreement. It was suggested that an institution within the United Nations should supervise the WTO.

On 7-9 April 1999, the donors of the Pilot Programme to Conserve the Brazilian Rainforest (PPG7), including the World Bank -which has a coordination role- and the Brazilian Government, met in Paris1 (Forest Watch 13). The new Brazilian Minister of Environment, Sarney Filho, reaffirmed his government’s support for the Programme and his desire to increase the participation of civil society.

The main topic discussed was a report on institutional arrangements for the PPG7. Other topics discussed included the role of the international advisory group and a forthcoming midterm programme evaluation - scheduled for early 2000.

Participants agreed with the main premises of the institutional review:

•greater Brazilian ownership

•decentralisation to state level

•an increased role for civil society

•the need to involve other sectors e.g. agriculture and transport.

Recommendations were made for the final report, including a more explicit problem analysis and further consultation at state level.

A full participants meeting, including civil society representatives, will be held in Brazil in late October 1999.

On 21 April the Development Committee of the European Parliament adopted a draft report of rapporteur J. Pomes Ruiz on the Commission's proposal for a new Regulation for the Tropical Forest Budget Line (Forest Watch 31 and 32). The Committee modified the Commission's proposal with over 40 amendments.

The amendments include:

•improved access to decision making mechanisms for forest dependent communities and indigenous peoples

•the need for better environment and social impact assessments

•no need for bank or credit guarantees of the contracted organisation

The European Parliament has also demanded that external experts be consulted by the Commission and that a minimum allowance be attributed to the budget line. The Parliament will vote on the amendments at its Strasbourg session in May after which the co-decision procedure will be followed.

EU Forest Agenda

• 1-14 May: Intergovernmental Forum on Forests, Geneva

• 13 May: NGO Meeting on WTO, Fern, Brussels

• 21 May: Development Council Meeting, Brussels