English

Finnish forest companies and WWF co-operate for legal sourcing of wood

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3 July 2006 


At  the beginning of 2006, Metsäliitto, among other leading Finnish forest
companies, participated in a series of round table discussions under the
umbrella of the Finnish Forest Industries Federation (FFIF) to advance the
legal sourcing of wood. Other participants included WWF International, WWF
Russia and WWF Finland. The meetings were aimed at providing the opportunity to
exchange opinions and develop a common vision on the issue. The work resulted
in a joint statement accompanied by a press release. 

According to the statement, FFIF and WWF share a joint view on the ultimate
goal of legal and sustainable forest management, recognise illegal loggings as
a mutual concern world wide and share a vision of international timber trade
with wood procured from legal and sustainable sources only. 

Russian authorities taking an active approach

Russian authorities have recently been concerned about the influence of illegal
loggings on the country's forestry. In order to tackle the problem, the Russian
Federation hosted the Ministerial Conference ENA FLEG (Europe and North Asia
Forest Law Enforcement and Governance) in November 2005 in St. Petersburg,
bringing together nearly 300 participants from 48 countries representing
governments, the private sector, civil society and international organisations.
The Conference yielded the St. Petersburg Declaration, an expression of
commitment to take action to address illegal logging and associated forest
crimes. The participating governments also identified an Indicative List of
Actions for the implementation of the Declaration. 

Metsäliitto's wood origin tracking system receives recognition

Metsäliitto has implemented a wood origin tracking system in Russia to be able
to trace the flow of wood from the cutting sites to the mills. Environmental
audits of suppliers and logging sites are important components of this system.
The wood origin tracking system, which is integrated to Metsäliitto's ISO 14001
environmental management system, was presented as an example of good voluntary
company practices at the ENA FLEG conference. 

“I am delighted about the fact that we were able to produce this joint
declaration. It is also an indication of WWF's recognition of our wood origin
tracking system being an efficient tool that supports the legal sourcing of
wood,” says Terhi Koipijärvi, Vice President, Quality and Environment,
Metsäliitto Cooperative. 

The press release and the joint statement of WWF and FFIF are available at the
following addresses: 
Statement: 
http://english.forestindustries.fi/files/pdf/WWF_FIFF_joint_statement_ENG.pdf 
Press release: 
http://english.forestindustries.fi/press/2006/20060620130059.html

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