FERN statement to the Forest Stewardship Council on withdrawing FERNs membership
8 June 2011
In a position paper presented to the FSC General Assembly in 2008, FERN and other FSC members from the environmental and economic chamber highlighted the changes necessary for the FSC to regain and retain its credibility. In 2009, FERN followed this up with a statement outlining that as a member of FSC, challenges to FSC’s credibility had a negative effect on FERN’s own credibility. The statement identified three courses of action that would lead to FERN terminating its FSC membership.
In the run up to the FSC’s general assembly, FERN has looked at the available information and come to the conclusion that progress towards achieving the changes requested in 2008 has been insufficient and that it is inevitable that the FSC will continue on the path of aligning itself with carbon offset standards and issuing certificates concurrently or jointly with carbon offset certificates. This development towards closer and pro-active cooperation with carbon offset standards is irreconcilable with FERN’s work and we have therefore decided to give up our membership. This statement outlines the reasons and some of the arguments against offsetting.
Category: NGO Statements