First Timber & Forest Certification Conference in Ireland

The following is an extract from the keynote address by Francis O'Sullivan of WWF, at Just Forests  Timber & Forest Certification Conference held in Navan 1995 to see more visit http://archive.justforests.com/forests1995/owp/keynote3.htm enter Username:justforests and Password:archives)

We can either sit back and wait for "someone else" to do something about it - in which case we are looking at:
- the loss of millions of jobs in the wood product industry worldwide, and a
widespread substitution to other materials (almost certainly non-renewable),
- massive social dislocation as those communities dependent on forests and forestry
lose their livelihood and the extinction of the majority of the world's biological diversity - which is tantamount to burning down all the libraries in the world or, we have to get tough and prevent the "free-riders" from getting away with it, and ensure that compliance is made to work. The question is how? WWF believes that if the market is responsible for creating the demand for wood products then it is the market which must take the responsibility for dealing with the problems it is causing.

This means that if you are a tropical hardwood importer in Europe that you need to influence the way the production of your timber is carried out - as your business depends on it. From our experience in the UK, traders are quick to blame other people (corrupt government, ignorant peasants, firewood collectors) and slow to realise that they must take full responsibility for the actions of their suppliers, if THEY THEMSELVES are to survive in business. We will hear later today that increasing numbers of European companies are doing just that.

(For a profile on all speakers at the Forest Certification Conference held in Navan 1995 visit http://archive.justforests.com/forests1995/owp/keynote3.htm  enter Username:justforests and Password:archives)

EU governments failing the forests

Brussels, Belgium – European governments are dragging their heels on a key EU initiative designed to tackle illegal logging, according to a new assessment released by WWF.

The Illegal Logging Government Barometer shows that the UK and Austria are doing the most and Ireland and the Czech Republic the least to prevent unsustainable timber coming into the EU...more