Economy
Is the Fox guarding the Forestry ‘Chook House’?
When the appointed auditor of compliance for FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification is paid by the timber management company (Forico) and Forico refuses to allow its own assessment of a published scientific paper, unless the author signs a confidentiality agreement, one wonders what the company and perhaps the auditor want to hide.
An internationally published paper*, with free online access, on the toxicity of specific plantation trees that has the capacity to directly impact human and environmental health, was submitted in a recent stakeholder submission to Forico in preparation for auditing for FSC Aus certification. Forico (the management company for New Forests, who bought a large share of the failed Gunns’ plantations) have consistently failed to provide persuasive reasons as to why their response should not be made public.
Given that the study raises important issues of concern for public and environmental health, an open and transparent response is appropriate. One can only assume that Forico is more concerned about the risk of adverse publicity than about engaging openly and producing data on forestry practices that could adversely impact on the whole community.
The auditors do not have to take any action on this lack of transparency and openness from Forico; it seems it is business as usual in the forestry industry.
Is Government policy on Forestry driving this? Indeed the Federal Government recently contributed nearly half a million dollars to FSC to allow its Australian standard to be established. Are there concerns with the failed MIS schemes so strenuously pushed by recent Federal Governments? Exactly who will be the beneficiary of these plantations?
Dr A. Bleaney OBE
MB ChB FACRRM
12 Sept 2015
*Bleaney A, Hickey C W, Stewart M, Scammell M & Senjen R, 2014, Preliminary investigations of toxicity in the Georges Bay catchment, Tasmania, Australia – International Journal of Environmental Studies: DOI:10.1080/00207233.2014.988550
Background …
• Comments sought for Australian applications for pesticide derogations
Dear Stakeholder,
A group of 10 Australian forest companies currently FSC certified, or seeking FSC certification, are developing derogation applications to enable the continued use pesticides listed as FSC Highly Hazardous.
FSC restricts the use of FSC Highly Hazardous in FSC certified forests. However, where a FSC-Highly Hazardous pesticide is the only viable tool available to the forest manager, FSC acknowledges that its controlled use may be warranted.
As an integral part of the derogation process the group of forest management companies, invite all interested stakeholders to provide feedback on the draft derogation applications and process. A range of consultation opportunities are available during the 52 day consultation period which extends from 25 September until 16 November 2015.
More information and details
For summaries of the derogations, relevant information and FSC documents and Full copies of the derogations please CLICK HERE:
https://au.fsc.org/fsc-highly-hazardous-pesticide-derogation-2015.397.htm
Finally please can we ask you to pass on this e mail to any other people you feel may want to make comments on the derogations.
Kind regards,
xxxxx xxxxx
Director and Principal Consultant
• FSC Australia Members
https://au.fsc.org/fsc-australia-members.224.htm
• Forest Stewardship Standard re pesticides is simply unacceptable …
This is my submission to FSC Australia re derogations for use of pesticides in plantations.
Please distribute to anyone who may assist to prevent this harmful certification that purports to be ‘environmentally friendly’ – but nothing is further from the truth in reality! For example FSC has been giving derogations for alpha-cypermethrin (ACM) since 2008, basically stating that the economic imperative for plantation tree survival supersedes environmental and health concerns. Research is continuing to demonstrate the adverse effects of ACM – endocrine disrupting effects, neurotoxic effects as well as those of acute toxicity – and it is currently classified as a highly hazardous pesticide.
No credence is given by FSC to modern toxicological research on mixture effects, endocrine disrupting effects, reproductive and developmental toxic effects, epigenetic effects and the adverse social and long term health effects when using pesticides.
The position currently held by FSC – International and Australia – regarding the cost/benefit risk of using hazardous pesticides without any consideration of the health and social costs/ consequences of their use on landscape/water catchments is no longer acceptable.
The current position held by FSC regarding ‘environmentally friendly’ plantation wood certification is simply untenable.
Regards,
Dr Alison Bleaney OBE
MB ChB FACRRM
Spokesperson for TPEHN (Tasmanian Public and Environmental Health Network) and member of NTN (National Toxics Network) and DEA (Doctors for the Environment, Australia)
Download …
http://cdn-src.tasmaniantimes.com.s3.amazonaws.com/files/Draft_2_FSC-FSS_Submission_Receipt_ABleaney.pdf
EARLIER on Tasmanian Times …
• Paul Harriss: Southwood Sawmill sale another sign of renewed confidence in forestry
• Anne in Comments: I suspect that when most Tasmanians hear the word ‘forestry’ they shudder inwardly. Forestry issues have dominated this island’s conversations about itself for decades. Forestry issues have caused community anger, resentment, anxiety, and despair, and spilled over into countless public protests about forestry management, and the often brutal and destructive practices the industry has adopted to harvest timber. Decisions about how our forests should be managed have divided communities and been cynically manipulated to influence elections. Since Gunns’ demise, nothing has changed …
• Leroy in Comments: The absolutely stupid, secretive, blockheadedness of the Forestry Industry in Tasmania I am sure would be incentive enough to drive even the peaceful Ghandi into swinging his stick around to try and pound some intelligence into very thick heads. Stupidly it seems,I keep thinking that the dinosaurs are extinct and then the next wonderful govt comes along, grabs a bag of bones, dresses them up in suits or high viz, renames them and like magic the beasts of the past, dragging with them the same attitudes and processes are foisted upon us yet again and to the ongoing detriment of the planet. Instead of hanging on to this primitive slash and burn mentality we must move forward and become the truly wonderful and intelligent island we could be. The rest of the 21st Century awaits us.