February 20, 2006
A group of five environmental NGOs - Greenpeace Japan, Friends of the Earth Japan, WWF Japan, Global Environmental Forum, and Japan Tropical Forest Action Network (JATAN) today issued a joint statement recommending that all wooden products be procured from ecologically sound sources.
The NGOs issued the 'Joint NGO Recommendation on Ecologically Ethical Paper Product Procurement' in October 2004, however the current recommendation puts a focus on timber products such as building materials and furniture. The NGOs called on all companies and government agencies to adopt wood product procurement policies through time bound action plans and measurable targets conforming with the Recommendation, and to encourage their suppliers to adopt the same policies.
Deforestation of forests with diverse ecosystems is one of the global environmental issues feared to accelerate, and efforts of both producing and consuming countries are necessary in order to halt this destructive trend. The five NGOs call on every organization, public and private, to act as responsible citizens and urgently recognize the countermeasures against deforestation and have substantial procurement policies of wood products.
Since the end of the 1990s, companies in Europe and North America have begun to establish policies to halt the purchasing and use of timber and wood products sourced from old growth or any other High Conservation Value Forests (HCVFs). Nowadays, about 60 companies contribute to forest conservation through their procurement policies caring for forests*1.
In the public sector, some governmental bodies such as in the UK have already established procurement policies to ensure legality and sustainability of procured products. The Japanese Government also plans to revise a basic policy of the Law Concerning the Promotion of Procurement of Eco-Friendly Goods and Services by the State and Other Entities (Law on Promoting Green Purchasing) which is planned to take effect as of April 1st, and will mandate the verification of legality or sustainability of major wood products.
The five NGOs call on organizations and governmental bodies to confirm the following 6 points of the Recommendation.
The 6 main points of the Recommendation are as follows:
(1) To identify types, quantity and uses of all procured wooden products, and to disclose information of the source of the wood products, such as the quality of forest management. Also, do not use wood products made from wood where such information is not disclosed.
(2) As a minimum requirement, the wood used in the procured products must be from a verified legal source.
(3) Wood used in the procured products must not come from a source where it destroys the ecosystem of high conservation value forests.
(4) Wood used in the procured products must not originate from areas where the livelihood or human rights of local residents or workers are exploited, or where there is opposition from or conflict with stakeholders.
(5) Forests (including plantations) where the procured wood originates must be managed in a way that it does not conduct large-scale clear-cutting of natural forests which causes oppositions or conflict with stakeholders in terms of having a serious impact on the original ecosystem. Also, this forest management must not include use of herbicides and fertilizers that harm the surrounding environment, or use genetically modified species.
(6) All wood used in the procured products, whether originating from natural or planted forest, should come from sources that can be recognised as well managed forest, evidenced by credible forest certification with traceability from production to consumption, and inspected by an independent third party. In cases where such certification is not available, priority must be given to wood originating from forests which conduct continuous improvement toward certification.
Yuka Ozaki, Forest Campaigner, Greenpeace Japan
Tel.+81-3-5338-9800 http://www.greenpeace.or.jp/
Kenichi Nakazawa, Junichi Mishiba, Katsuo Suzuki, Forest Program, FoE Japan
Tel.+81-3-3951-1081 http://www.foejapan.org/
Mutai Hashimoto, Yoshiko Shibata, Forest Programme, WWF Japan
Tel.+81-3-3769-1713 http://www.wwf.or.jp/ (Japanese Only)
Yuki Sakamoto, Kanna Mitsuta, FairWood Campaign, Global Environmental Forum
Tel.+81-3-3592-9735 http://www.gef.or.jp
Takahiro Kohama, Japan Tropical Forest Action Network (JATAN)
Tel.+81-3-5367-2865 http://www.jca.apc.org/jatan/
*1 from the home page of Forest Ethics, NGO of U.S.