|
| After months of efforts to obtain information and to improve the methodology of the World Bank-WWF questionnaire for assessing forest certification schemes (QACC), the PEFC, the world's largest forest certification umbrella, has had no option but to reject the World Bank ? WWF invitation to participate in a biased assessment of forest certification schemes in Europe to be conducted this autumn.
"Initially, the PEFC Council was delighted that the Alliance had approached the PEFC, especially as one partner, the WWF, has a history of rejecting all co-operation with the international PEFC certification system for sustainably managed forests (SFM)" said Mr Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of the PEFC Council. "However we soon realized that the Alliance was not interested in opening its doors to all stakeholders to develop a truly objective useable questionnaire. In addition our proposals and numerous suggestions to redevelop the QACC into an objective assessment tool have been rejected with only cosmetic changes being made."
The latest analysis of the QACC and its surrounding documents shows that it has and continues to have a very strong bias towards WWF's preferred scheme, FSC, in structure, in the use of specific terms and definitions and in requirements that remain even after alterations to the drafts have been made. The outcome of any field-testing or assessment of schemes using the QACC is therefore predetermined. It also has to be noted that the consultant in charge of revising the QACC and undertaking the assessment study, is an FSC member.
The QACC also continues to contradict normal certification and accreditation processes and discriminates against national initiatives rather than encouraging them.
The PEFC Council has a responsibility to its wide range of stakeholders and users of its services for certification to ensure that the efforts of those who support sustainable forest management are not frustrated or diminished by processes designed with preconceived outcomes in mind, controlled by vested interests and by stakeholders who have consistently declined to enter into constructive dialogue to work together to achieve a better management of the world's forests.
In light of its responsibility, the PEFC Council now calls upon the Alliance, in particular the World Bank, to accept the invitation to a new inclusive multistakeholder process to develop an objective questionnaire which all stakeholders can support and have confidence in and which the World Bank will be proud to adopt for its external investment and funding purposes.
|
|
|
Editor Notes
Forest Certification
Forest certification is a process which provides an assurance mechanism to purchasers of wood and paper products that the wood used in the products comes from sustainably managed forest. Sustainably managed forest are those whose management implements performance standards based on internationally agreed environmental, social and economical requirements.
Questionnaire for Assessing the Comprehensiveness of Forest Certification Schemes (QACC)
The QACC was internally developed by the World Bank / WWF Alliance to assess forest certification schemes worldwide. The World Bank intends to base its future decisions on investments in projects in forestry and use of timber on the outcomes of this questionnaire and its testing exercise.
The PEFC Council has raised the problematic of the QACC in an Open Letter to the World Bank / WWF Alliance.
PEFC Council has documented the QACC's shortcomings in structure, content and development process in a review and in its correspondence to the Alliance.
The World Bank / WWF Alliance so far has neither agreed to a new and transparent development process with multi-stakeholder participation nor have the key issues of the developed QACC been addressed. The majority and key issues documented in PEFC's review therefore still remain valid.
PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes)
PEFC is a framework for the mutual recognition of credible national or regional forest certification schemes that have been developed based on internationally recognised requirements for sustainable forest management. Since its launch in 1999, PEFC has become the largest forest certification umbrella organisation covering national schemes from all over the world, delivering hundreds of millions of tonnes of wood to the processing industry and then onto the market place from over 52 million hectares of certified forests. PEFC has strong grass roots support from many stakeholders including the forestry sector, governments, trade associations, trade unions and non-governmental organisations.
|
|
