The report, entitled “On the Ground: The controversies of PEFC and SFI”, details the major shortcomings of forest industry-driven certification worldwide. It includes a case study on Ontario’s Kenogami forest highlighting Buchanan Forest Products’ failure to involve First Nations communities in forest management plans and failure to protect endangered caribou and wolverine habitat.
Buchanan’s operations also affect source water for fish and water species, habitat for moose, goose and wildlife along with wetlands and traditional medicine sites, all of which are used in food sustenance for First Nations members.
“The certification of the Kenogami Forest in northwestern Ontario is a perfect example of SFI’s failure to protect endangered species and habitats as well as local communities,” said Shane Moffatt, forest campaigner with Greenpeace Canada. “You can’t say that First Nations’ rights have been respected when they have not been meaningfully involved in forestry decisions on their traditional lands.”
Both SFI and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), which represents SFI and other national certification systems, have promised reforms to meet demand for reliable, high quality certification. However, the report identifies numerous PEFC and SFI certified forests which are failing on key environmental and social parameters that wood and paper consumers expect from a credibly certified product.
Kenogami is one of the largest forest management units in Ontario, but only about 25 per cent of its intact forests now remain. In 2006, when Neenah Paper relinquished ownership of the forest, Buchanan and the Ministry of Natural Resources struck a deal behind closed doors to transfer the licence, which left First Nations communities out of the decision-making process in their traditional territories.
“This report is a warning to consumers to use caution when dealing with the SFI label,” said Shane Moffatt. “It shows anyone who might sell products carrying the SFI label, such as Buchanan Forest Products and its Terrace Bay pulp mill, is simply not providing a minimum guarantee of environmental and social sustainability to their customers.”
While the serious issues highlighted in the report remain unaddressed, potential customers continue to avoid sourcing from Buchanan Forest Products due to ongoing environmental and social controversy.
The full report is available at: http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/Global/canada/report/2011/10/On%20The%20Ground%202011.pdf
The coalition of NGOs that produced the report includes Climate for Ideas (United Kingdom), Forests of the World (Denmark), Dogwood Alliance (United States), Hnutí DUHA (Friends of the Earth Czech Republic), Greenpeace, Sierra Club of British Columbia, and Finnish Association for Nature Conservation.
Greenpeace’s 2009 study of Buchanan Forest Products’ operations in the Kenogami is available at: http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/Global/canada/report/2009/12/Terrace_Bay_Pulp_Report.pdf
Our 2011 review of the McGuinty government’s record on forest management (including the Kenogami) is available at: http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/Global/canada/report/2011/06/GP_EXPOSE%20REPORT_EN.pdf