Updated 20/02/2013: A small but significant mistake within the submission to the Legislative Council Select Committee on the Tasmanian Forests Agreement Bill 2012 by Mr. Malcolm Mars has been brought to the author’s attention. This submission contains certain erroneous information in respect to Rob Valentine’s alleged involvement/endorsement of a media release sent to the media on 13 February 2012 by 12 Legislative Councillors. By including a link to the submission, the author has inadvertently re-published this error and wishes it to be known that Mr Valentine was definitely not a party to the media release, nor indeed was he an elected representative of the Legislative Council at the time. The media release clearly states the names of the members involved and he was not one of them. The media release concerned has been published on the website of Ta Ann Tasmania, and can be viewed here.
A concern about governance integrity of the Australian Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has been raised with FSC International.
The concern has arisen due to the current board Chair of FSC Australia, Mr Jim Adams, being the CEO of Timber Communities Australia (TCA). According to SourceWatch, TCA is actually a Front Group for the timber industry ( see http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Timber_Communities_Australia ).
The FSC organisational structure comprises three chambers (Environmental, Social and Economic), and FSC members are assigned to whichever chamber best categorises the interest that they represent. The purpose of these chambers is for the FSC to be able to certify timber production as balancing environmental, social and economic needs. According to their website, “FSC certification is internationally recognised as the most rigorous environmental and social standard for responsible forest management”.
The timber industry in Tasmania desperately requires FSC certification to build a new brand image and add much needed value to their product. But to achieve public confidence in any FSC certification decision, the chambers must be seen to be correctly balanced. The concern here is that TCA has been accepted into the Social chamber of FSC Australia, yet if the SourceWatch article is correct, they should be placed in the Economic chamber instead; otherwise FSC Australia would be unfairly weighted in favour of the timber industry.
It is to be hoped that FSC International will provide a public response to this concern via the Editor of Tasmanian Times.
TT readers are also reminded of Paul Harriss’ TCA membership ( see Page 1 of the Mars’ LegCo submission here ), as well as the TCA Board’s decision to overrule their constituent members’ TFA vote ( here ).
Download email:
Email_to_FSC_International.pdf
Kev Rothery Kev Rothery is an IT Specialist who emigrated to Tasmania 8 years ago. Kev takes a keen interest in local affairs, and is a former employee of The Wilderness Society Inc. He believes in the importance of public participation, and the right of the public to be kept properly informed.
