In March 2022, the board of FSC International decided to suspend all Russian FSC trade certificates indefinitely which means that timber from Russia cannot be used in FSC certified products or sold as FSC-certified. Sources: Timberbiz, Lesprom
This can lead to negative consequences for forests and people in Russia, according to a statement issued by FSC Russia.
The statement said that it may release companies from their obligations as part of the certification, which will lead to the loss of forests of high conservation value (now there are more than 3.5 million hectares), a reduction in jobs and social obligations towards indigenous peoples and local communities.
The staff of the office and the FSC Russia Coordinating Council decided that they cannot represent FSC in Russia until such a decision by FSC International is cancelled, and decided to break off relations, as well as to close the FSC Russia office.
At the same time, the positive changes that have been achieved in the Russian forestry sector over more than 20 years of FSC certification should not be lost, said FSC Russia.
In particular, a mechanism for involving stakeholders to balance economic, environmental and social interests in the use of forests; voluntary commitments by companies to conserve high conservation value forests, including climate-critical intact forest areas (ILTs); the integrity of supply chains from responsibly managed forests and many other aspects.
FSC Russia in its statement appealed to all those involved in the certification to continue to adhere to high standards of forest management, but without market incentives, the forestry business will not be interested in continuing a responsible approach.
FSC Russia announced the launch of a temporary Russian scheme of voluntary forest certification “Forest Etalon” – not replacing but complementing FSC in Russia.
The aim of this move is to support responsible forest management in Russia in an extraordinary environment, to support the positive image of the Russian timber industry, and, most importantly, the opportunity for companies to maintain supply chains from responsibly managed forests and provide audited non-financial reporting on the responsible origin of raw materials.
The “Forest Etalon” system will allow keeping all the best that has been accumulated over the years of FSC work in Russia, and in case of an early improvement in the international situation, it will ensure a relatively quick and easy return to the FSC system.
In the event that FSC International activates the Russian FSC FM/CoC and CoC certificates again, the temporary scheme will cease to operate. It was said that all details and updates about the Forest Standard certification scheme will be published on the system website http://forestetalon.org/ (however, we have been unable to connect to that website).
According to the FSC Russia statement, its website and employees’ emails will stop working in the coming days.
In 2020, Russia ranked first in the world in terms of the area of FSC-certified forests, said FSC Russia. As of 1 April 2022, in Russia 60.98 million ha of forests were certified (991 COC certificates, 254 FM/COC certificates and 3 CW/FM certificates).
