Posted by Juliette Terzieff
Environmental and human rights watchdogs often levy criticism against governments and corporations for failing to live up to socially responsibility commitments. But this week Global Witness released a report on the World Wildlife Fund’s Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) initiative highly critical of failures to adequately screen participating companies for illegal timber and habitat destruction activities.
Global Witness’ report Pandering to the Loggers claims that companies associated the GFTN are using WFF association to bolster environmental credibility while continuing to contribute to the destruction of forests and trade in illegally sourced timber. The report names Malaysian logging company Ta Ann Holdings Berhad, British building supplier Jewson and the Swiss-German timber company Danzer Group as GFTN members involved in human rights abuses or environmental degradation of forests.
“WWF should publicly disassociate itself from any company using timber from illegal or unethical sources. It’s shocking that one of the world’s most trusted conservation groups deems it acceptable to take money from such companies. This investigation raises bigger questions about the underlying strategy and efficacy of such voluntary schemes,” Global Witness Forest Campaign Leader Tom Picken said.
The report’s authors noted that producing a report so critical of another NGO stakeholder that is involved in promoting solutions to some of the world’s most pressing environmental and human rights issues was a difficult decision. But because the GFTN receives public funds and current strategies to combat deforestation are insufficient, publication of the report went ahead.
The GFTN works to link environmentally responsible producers, suppliers and buyers committed to forest protection through sustainable forest management, supply chain transparency, and product certifications. Over 270 entities – including major international brands Avon, Hewlett-Packard, Kimberly-Clark and Marks & Spencer — representing annual trade in wood and forest-sourced products worth $45.2 billion participate in the 20-year old program.
Global Witness said the network lacks transparency, a system for independent evaluations, and monitoring or enforcement mechanisms, and that membership rules are simply inadequate to prevent abuses. The organization has called for an independent assessment of GFTN rules and effects on the world’s forests.
GFTN officials were quick to respond to the Global Witness allegations by highlighting the network’s contribution to creating a multi-sector standard for responsible purchasing and credible product certification.
“GFTN creates market conditions that help conserve the world’s forests, while providing social and economic benefits for the businesses and people that depend on them,” GFTN head George White said in response to the Global Witness report.
“Of course, some GFTN partners have a way to go on their journey to sustainability. But these are precisely the companies that should be in GFTN, and we applaud their commitments to improving their environmental performance. Companies caught flouting the rules and spirit of GFTN will be removed from the network.”
Destruction of the world’s forests and the long-term environmental implications have united a broad array of stakeholders in efforts to slow the pace of deforestation. The United Nations General Assembly declared 2001 the International Year of Forests noting that 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods and that 80% of the world’s biodiversity is housed in forests.
The overall rates of annual global deforestation dropped from 16 million hectares in the 1990s to 13 million between 200 and 2010 according to the UN Food & Agriculture Organization, but the amount of primary forest – areas untouched by human activity – continues to decline.
Efforts to build on forest protection efforts will ultimately be most successful with the inclusion of private sector actors who help manage local, national and global marketplaces’ demand for forest products. The reality that not all companies are able or willing to shift over to sustainable practices should not erode support for efforts such as the GFTN.
